Staff Attorney 2

State of Connecticut - DESPP Commissioner's Office; Hartford (CT); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Professional growth

Work‑life balance

PSLF eligibility

Job summary

The State of Connecticut, Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection (DESPP) invites applications for a Staff Attorney 2 within the Connecticut CJIS‑CT program. This role drafts MOUs and DSAs with state agencies and police departments to enable secure data sharing while advising on compliance and FOIA matters.

You will work with legal counsel and CJIS technologists to harmonize data-sharing policies and ensure alignment with privacy rules and FBI CJIS Security Policy, in a hybrid,

Qualifications

• Two (2) years of experience in the practice of law.
• Experience with developing, interpreting, or applying MOUs and data sharing standards.
• Experience with the FBI CJIS Security Policy compliance.

Responsibilities

• Drafts MOUs and DSAs with state agencies and municipal police departments.
• Provides legal guidance on compliance and FOIA responses.
• Reviews proposals, supports legislative engagement, and assists CJIS‑CT subcommittees.
• Harmonizes data-sharing frameworks and ensures statewide adoption of policies.
• Collaborates with CJIS technologists to align data sharing with privacy and security requirements.

Skills

Legal principles

Legal research

Administrative law

Statutory interpretation

Communication skills

Interpersonal skills

Criminal law

Job description

Introduction

The State of Connecticut, Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection (DESPP) has an exciting opportunity for a Staff Attorney 2 in the Connecticut Criminal Justice Information System (CJIS‑CT).

What We Can Offer You

• 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

In this role, the attorney will draft and negotiate Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) and Data Sharing Agreements (DSAs) with state agencies and municipal police departments to support secure data‑sharing initiatives. The position also provides expert guidance on legal and compliance matters—including FOIA responses using the Everlaw platform—while reviewing statutory proposals, supporting legislative engagement, and assisting CJIS‑CT subcommittees in analytics, security, and electronic workflow areas.

A key part of this work includes collaborating with legal counsel across state agencies and municipal police departments to harmonize data‑sharing frameworks and ensure consistent statewide adoption of criminal justice information sharing policies. The attorney will work closely with CJIS technologists and system architects to ensure that data‑sharing solutions, security controls, and workflow tools align with statutory, privacy, and compliance requirements. These functions reflect the Governing Board’s identified need for dedicated legal expertise to drive transparency, efficiency, and public safety outcomes across Connecticut.

With a flexible hybrid work environment and the opportunity to contribute meaningfully to statewide criminal justice information systems, this position is ideal for an attorney with criminal justice experience with an interest in technology and data who seeks to make a measurable impact on Connecticut’s public safety infrastructure.

This is a full-time position, Monday-Friday. A Hybrid schedule may be available based on agency availability.

About Us

The Connecticut Criminal Justice Information System (CJIS‑CT) is seeking a dedicated attorney to support its mission of enabling secure, statewide criminal justice data sharing. This position plays a vital role in maintaining compliance with FBI CJIS Security Policy, strengthening Connecticut’s criminal justice data governance, and advancing collaboration across law enforcement, judicial partners, and public safety agencies.

DESPP is committed to protecting and improving the quality of life for all by providing a broad range of public safety services, training, regulatory guidance, and scientific services utilizing enforcement, prevention, education and state of the art science and technology. DESPP is structured on three key Strategic Pillars created by Commissioner Ronnell Higgins.

Strategic Pillars

• 1. Operational Efficiency, Efficacy and Excellence
  • Making decisions through the thoughtful and informed use of data
  • Challenging the 'that's the way it's always been done' construct—i.e., thinking outside the box as to how we can improve
  • Constantly seeking better results
• 2. Shared Fiscal Responsibility
  • Recognizing our collective responsibility to steward the agency's resources
  • Realigning planned budgetary actions to ensure that they are in taxpayers' interests
  • Preparing together for potential budget stresses and fiscal challenges
• 3. Ethics and Accountability
  • Critically and constantly measuring our practices against our policies
  • Performing quarterly performance evaluations agency-wide to measure success and flag areas needing improvement
  • Regularly engaging external partners for feedback and assessments
  • Opening our doors to Connecticut students and workers for apprenticeships, internships, and career pathways

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 with developing, interpreting, or applying Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) and data sharing or data classification standards.
• Experience working within government environments, including collaboration with criminal justice agencies or related entities.
• Experience providing guidance on legal or compliance requirements related to multi-component technology systems.
• Experience with applying or ensuring compliance with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Security Policy.

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.

Conclusion

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.