Managing Attorney

New York City Department of Housing Preservation & Development; New York (NY); On-site; USD 85,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

New York City Department of Housing Preservation & Development seeks an Agency Attorney L3 to lead the Bronx Unit in the Housing Litigation Division. You will litigate complex housing cases, supervise staff, and negotiate resolutions for the agency.

You must be admitted to the New York State Bar and bring several years of post‑bar experience handling housing maintenance and tenant disputes. The role emphasizes enforcement of codes and ensuring tenant protections.

Qualifications

• Licensed to practice law in New York State.
• Three years of legal experience after admission to a state bar.
• Active membership in good standing with the New York State Bar.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a Senior Staff Attorney and litigate complex cases for the Bronx Unit.
• Assist the Supervising Attorney in managing the Bronx Unit and supervising staff.
• Negotiate complex matters on behalf of the agency.
• Review and revise agreements prepared by other attorneys.
• Confer disputes between landlords and tenants regarding housing code violations.
• Prepare briefs, motions, opinions, affidavits, and memoranda for housing code violations.
• Conduct trials and hearings, and provide legal guidance on enforcement actions.

Skills

Litigation leadership

Tenant harassment

Written communication

Verbal communication

PC literacy (Excel/Word)

HPD databases (LMS/HPDINFO)

Education

Juris Doctor (JD)

Tools

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Word

Job description

About the Agency:

The Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) oversees housing standards across all 3.7 million homes in New York City.

As the nation’s largest municipal housing agency, HPD is responsible for building and preserving affordable housing, protecting tenants from harassment and displacement, and holding landlords accountable across the five boroughs. Under Commissioner Dina Levy and the Mamdani Administration, HPD is pursuing an ambitious housing agenda focused on the needs of New York’s tenants. With a broad set of tools including standards enforcement, tenant resources, and the creation of new affordable housing, HPD is committed to making New York City a more affordable place for renters and homeowners alike.

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Your Team:

The Office of Enforcement and Neighborhood Services (OENS) is charged with enforcing the New York City Housing Maintenance Code and New York State Multiple Dwelling Law. To ensure compliance with the legal and regulatory obligations of these laws, the Office of Enforcement and Neighborhood Services conducts inspections, issues violations, corrects emergency conditions, seeks civil penalties and enforcement of Orders to Correct in Housing Court, issues fees, targets proactive and building-wide activities to buildings identified with systemic maintenance issues and responds to claims of harassment based on maintenance conditions. OENS works closely with other HPD divisions and community partners to identify distressed buildings and develop appropriate strategies to address those properties.

The Office of Enforcement of Neighborhood Services is composed of seven divisions: Data Management & Technology (DMT), Division of Neighborhood Preservation (DNP), Administration & Internal Compliance (AIC), Housing Litigation Division (HLD), Division of Code Enforcement (DCE), Emergency Operations and Enhanced Enforcement Division (EOD) and Division of Emergency Housing Services (EHS).

Your Impact:

Housing Litigation Division (HLD) initiates litigation against building owners in Housing Court to ensure compliance with housing standards contained in the New York City Housing Maintenance Code and New York State Multiple Dwelling Law. HLD seeks orders to correct violations, civil penalties, access warrants, 7A Administrators and appears in tenant-initiated proceedings.

Your Role:

As an Agency Attorney L3, Managing Attorney for the Bronx borough unit and under the direction of the Assistant Commissioner and/or Supervising Attorney in the Housing and Litigation Division, your responsibilities will include, but will not be limited to the following:

Your Responsibilities

• Serving as a Senior Staff Attorney and litigating complex cases; Assisting the Supervising Attorney in managing the Bronx Unit.
• Assisting the Supervising Attorney in managing the Bronx Unit, including supervising legal staff litigating complex cases or handling matters having significant financial, procedural and policy consequences.
• Executing difficult and involved negotiations on behalf of the agency.
• Reviewing, revising and approving agreements prepared by other attorneys.
• Conferencing disputes between landlords and tenants regarding housing code violations.
• Preparing and reviewing complex briefs, motions, legal opinions, affidavits, memoranda and other legal papers related to housing code violations.
• Reviewing and assessing cases on merit and preparing memoranda with recommendation.
• Completing research and preparing cases for trial and arguing them before courts or quasi-judicial bodies.
• Conducting legal investigations and informal hearings and interviewing witnesses.
• Advising on legal aspects of enforcement and administration of acts, rules, laws and regulations.

Preferred Skills

• Experience litigating complex cases involving housing maintenance issues.
• Experience litigating issues involving tenant harassment.
• Possesses excellent written and verbal communication skills as well as proficiency with PC software such as Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Word.
• Knowledge of the various HPD’s internal databases, including but not limited to: HLD’s Litigation Management System (LMS) and HPDINFO.

Requirements

• Admission to the New York State Bar.
• Three years of satisfactory United States legal experience subsequent to admission to any state bar.
• Incumbents must remain Members of the New York State Bar in good standing for the duration of this employment.

AGENCY ATTORNEY - 30087

Minimum Qualifications

• 1. Admission to the New York State Bar; and either "2" or "3" below.
• 2. One year of satisfactory United States legal experience subsequent to admission to any state bar; or
• 3. Six months of satisfactory service as an Agency Attorney Interne (30086).
• Incumbents must remain Members of the New York State Bar in good standing for the duration of this employment.
• In addition to meeting the minimum Qualification Requirements: To be assigned to Assignment Level (AL) II, candidates must have one year of experience at Assignment Level I or two years of comparable legal experience subsequent to admission to the bar, in the areas of law related to the assignment. To be assigned to AL III candidates must have two years of experience in Assignment Levels I and/or II or three years of comparable legal experience subsequent to admission to the bar, in the areas of law related to the assignment.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness

As a prospective employee of the City of New York, you may be eligible for federal loan forgiveness programs and state repayment assistance programs. For more information, please visit the U.S. Department of Education’s website at https://studentaid.gov/pslf/.

Residency Requirement

New York City Residency is not required for this position

Additional Information

The City of New York is an inclusive equal opportunity employer committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce and providing a work environment that is free from discrimination and harassment based upon any legally protected status or protected characteristic, including but not limited to an individual's sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, gender identity, or pregnancy.