Staff Attorney 2

State of Connecticut - Department of Correction; Hartford (CT); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Professional growth

Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)

Work-life balance

Professional development opportunities

Job summary

The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) seeks a Staff Attorney 2 in the Office of Legal Counsel, under the Commissioner’s Office, to advise on environmental programs. You will review statutes and regulations, draft opinions, represent the agency in proceedings, and support enforcement, permitting, and policy initiatives.

A Connecticut bar admission is required; two years of legal experience; occasional travel may be required.

Qualifications

• Two years of experience in the practice of law.
• Admission to practice law in Connecticut required.
• Experience interpreting and applying state or federal law to resolve issues and participate in proceedings.

Responsibilities

• Provides legal guidance to the Commissioner and agency personnel.
• Reviews, drafts, and implements statutes and regulations with health and environmental impacts.
• Represents the agency in formal proceedings and supports enforcement and permitting.

Skills

Legal knowledge

Research skills

Oral & written communication

Administrative law

Education

Licensed attorney in CT

Job description

Introduction

The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), has an exciting opportunity for a Staff Attorney 2 in the Office of Legal Counsel within the Commissioner’s Office.

What We Can Offer You

Visit our NEW State Employee Benefits Overview page!

• Professional growth and development opportunities
• A healthy work/life balance to all employees
• The State of Connecticut is an eligible Public Service Loan Forgiveness employer, meaning you may be eligible to have qualifying student loans forgiven after 10 years of service.

Position Highlights

This position will support the Department’s Environmental Quality (EQ) Branch, which consists of the Bureaus of Air Management, Materials Management and Compliance Assurance, and Water Protection and Land Reuse.

Key responsibilities of the EQ staff attorney include the following:

• Providing legal guidance to and representation of the Commissioner and/or agency personnel to help achieve programmatic goals of clean water, clean air, waste minimization, remediation of pollution, adaptation to climate change, and more;
• Reviewing, drafting, and implementing statutes and regulations that have direct impacts on human health and the environment. Examples include discharges to water, emissions to air, management of coastal resources, and management of solid and hazardous waste;
• Navigating the overlapping federal and state jurisdictions and working to ensure that state programs approved by the federal government remain eligible for federal funding. This includes, but is not limited to, the state’s water, air, PCB, underground storage tank, and hazardous waste programs;
• Providing support for a variety of permitting programs and enforcement matters to ensure consistency and compliance with legal requirements and programmatic objectives;
• Communicating with or engaging in policy and legal strategy discussions with other federal, state or municipal governmental entities; and
• Supporting the bureaus’ enforcement efforts to include drafting, negotiating, and reviewing consent orders, some in recent years with substantial civil penalties.

About Us

DEEP is charged with conserving, improving and protecting Connecticut’s natural resources and environment as well as making affordable, clean and reliable energy available for the people and businesses of the state. The agency is also committed to playing a positive role in building Connecticut’s green economy and fostering a sustainable and prosperous economic future.

Purpose of Job Class (Nature of Work)

In a state agency this class is accountable for independently performing a full range of tasks in the legal work of the agency.

Examples of Duties

• Performs advanced and complex legal work of an agency;
• Researches, interprets, analyzes and applies complex and conflicting laws and regulations, case law and legal principles;
• Acts as hearing officer or represents agency in formal administrative and public proceedings on a full range of cases involving complex legal and technical issues;
• Negotiates and drafts settlement agreements;
• Drafts advisory opinions, rulings, decisions, recommendations, findings, legislation, statutes, regulations, publications and other related legal documents;
• Assists in the preparation and presentation of trials and appeals;
• Consults with the Office of the Attorney General on legal issues;
• Researches complex legal issues;
• Conducts investigations and enforcement proceedings;
• Prepares comprehensive reports for use in administrative and court proceedings;
• Prepares pleadings and other court papers;
• Interprets and applies complex or conflicting laws and regulations, case law and legal principles;
• Participates in the conduct of various educational activities;
• Provides legal guidance when duly authorized;
• Provides input into policy formation;
• Reviews court decisions, new and proposed laws and regulations to determine impact on agency operations;
• Prepares and maintains precedent manuals;
• Reviews legal and other related documents for legal sufficiency;
• May testify at or monitor legislative proceedings;
• May represent agency in court when authorized;
• Performs related duties as required.

Knowledge, Skill and Ability

• Considerable knowledge of legal principles, practices and procedures in Connecticut;
• legal research techniques;
• the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act;
• and the ability to interpret and apply relevant state and federal laws, statutes, regulations and legislation;
• relevant agency policies and procedures;
• Knowledge of the rules of evidence;
• criminal and constitutional law and legislative process;
• Considerable interpersonal skills;
• oral and written communication skills;
• Considerable ability to apply judicial decisions to the interpretation of statutes;
• comprehend, analyze and organize technical data and coordinate elements of legal cases.

Minimum Qualifications - General Experience

Two (2) years of experience in the practice of law.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience interpreting and applying state or federal law to resolve legal issues, develop legal strategy, and support participation in contested proceedings;
• Experience interpreting and synthesizing federal and state laws, legislation and regulations;
• Experience independently conducting legal research and preparing written legal analysis including memoranda of law, legal briefs, decisions or opinions for legal proceedings;
• Experience collaborating with technical staff or experts to synthesize complex technical information into persuasive legal analysis;
• Experience drafting legal documents, including legislation, regulations, contracts and other legal instruments;
• Experience managing one or more tasks and prioritizing assignments with competing deadlines; and
• Experience providing oral presentations or arguments.

Special Requirements

• Incumbents in this class must be admitted to practice law in the State of Connecticut.
• Incumbents in this class may be required to travel.

This employer may participate in E-Verify and will provide the federal government with your Form I-9 information to confirm work authorization.

AN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION/EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

The State of Connecticut is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and strongly encourages the applications of women, minorities, and persons with disabilities.

Acknowledgement

As defined by Sec. 5-196 of the Connecticut General Statutes, a job class is a position or group of positions that share general characteristics and are categorized under a single title for administrative purposes. As such, a job class is not meant to be all-inclusive of every task and/or responsibility.