TJJD - Attorney III - Staff Attorney - (AUS) - 49784

Texas Department of Public Safety; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 60,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player is seeking a skilled attorney to join their Office of General Counsel. This role involves providing legal advice on juvenile justice matters, representing the agency in hearings, and conducting legal research. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in legal principles and a passion for juvenile justice. This position offers a unique opportunity to impact the lives of youth and contribute to meaningful legal work. Join a team dedicated to ensuring justice and advocating for youth rights in a supportive environment. If you are a proactive legal professional ready to make a difference, this opportunity is for you.

Benefits

Paid holidays

Paid vacation leave

Paid sick leave

Educational assistance program

Employee assistance program

Retirement plan

Longevity pay

Optional add-on benefits

Qualifications

• Licensed attorney in Texas with 3 years of experience required.
• Experience in juvenile justice and litigation preferred.

Responsibilities

• Provide legal advice on juvenile justice matters.
• Represent the agency in administrative hearings.
• Conduct legal research and prepare legal documents.

Skills

Legal research

Legal writing

Negotiation skills

Contract drafting

Knowledge of state and federal laws

Communication skills

Education

Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D.)

Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.)

Job description

HOW TO APPLY

Complete a State of Texas Application for Employment and the following additional forms (available at https://www.tjjd.texas.gov/careers/ )

TJJD Employment Application Supplement (HR-003)

Child Abuse Registry Check Consent Form (HR-028)

Disclosure of PREA Employment Standards Violation (HR-975)

Authorization to Release Information (HR-074)

Failure to complete and submit the above forms will cause delays in your consideration for this position.

Apply Online at https://capps.taleo.net/careersection/644/jobdetail.ftl?job= 00049784 &tz=GMT-05:00 and attach to the application the above additional forms along with copies of high school/college diploma(s), copy of official college transcripts, any licenses/certifications, and, if a military veteran, any Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty (DD Form 214).

Apply through Work-In-Texas at https://www.workintexas.com/vosnet/loginintro.aspx . You will also need to complete and attach to the application the supplemental questions/forms indicated above along with a copies of high school/college diploma(s), copy of official college transcripts, any licenses/certifications, and, if a military veteran, any Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty (DD Form 214). The additional forms are available at: https://www.tjjd.texas.gov/careers and can be submitted via email to: [e-mail] .

PLEASE NOTE

Your job application must be completely filled out and include all employment, do not limit employment to the past 10-15 years. Your application must contain complete job histories, which include job titles, name of employer, dates of employment (month & year), supervisor’s name and phone number, and a description of duties performed, and whether it was full-time or part-time and hours per week. If any of this information is not provided, your application may be rejected as incomplete. Resumes do not take the place of this required information.

Applicants must be able to pass a Criminal Background Check and any other requirements listed under Minimum Qualifications.

BENEFITS

State of Texas Benefits and Retirement Information can be found at https://www.ers.texas.gov . Benefits include: Retirement plan, paid group health & life insurance for employee, paid holidays, paid vacation leave, paid sick leave, longevity pay, educational assistance program, employee assistance program. Optional add-on benefits include: Dental, Vision, Optional Life Insurance, Voluntary AD&D Insurance, Dependent Health & Life insurance, Health & Dependent care flexible spending accounts, etc. Additionally, certain designated positions are eligible for hazardous duty pay, career ladder advancements, and free meals while on duty.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

Performs complex (journey -level) attorney work for the Office of General Counsel (OGC), which provides in-house legal and administrative services to TJJD and provides educational training and technical assistance on juvenile-related matters to counties, juvenile boards, and probation offices.

Work involves: (1) providing legal advice to agency staff on issues including personnel, juvenile corrections and supervision practices, open records, open meetings, administrative procedure, and transactional matters; (2) providing technical assistance on juvenile-related matters to juvenile justice practitioners across the state; (3) review the investigations for legal sufficiency and represent the agency in administrative hearings before the State Office of Administrative Hearings in abuse, neglect, or exploitation cases involving potential revocation or suspension of certification for juvenile probation or supervision officers; (4) serving as hearing officers in parole revocation hearings and employee termination grievances and may serve as mediators in employee-related mediations; (5) performing legal activities and providing oversight for the records and public information section, which is responsible for records management, records retention, and maintenance of all youth records in accordance with state rules and agency policy; and (6) performing legal activities for the youth rights section, which involves management of a confidential grievance system, through which youth, parents or guardians of youth, and youth advocates file grievances concerning the care, treatment, services, or conditions provided for youth in state-operated facilities or programs, review of grievance resolutions to ensure all issues are addressed appropriately, and advocating for the protection of basic youth rights.

May supervise the work of others. Works under general supervision, with limited latitude for the use of initiative and independent judgment. May be required to work in excess of 40 hours per work week, and be on-call.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

Works under the direction of the General Counsel. Duties may include:

Planning and organizing legal activities

Coordinating the preparation of legal opinions, briefs, contracts, proposals, and reports.

Scheduling and conducting administrative, regulatory, evidentiary, and enforcement hearings either as a hearings examiner or representing the agency before the State Office of Administrative Hearings; enforcing agency regulatory provisions; prosecuting violations of regulatory provisions; reviewing agency hearing decisions; and researching points of law involved in agency hearings; interrogates witnesses, and prepares decisions on administrative appeals of decisions and rulings. Advising staff and the public on legal matters and on the interpretation and application of agency regulations state and federal laws.

Providing legal technical assistance to juvenile court judges, probation officers, parole officers, prosecutors, and other juvenile justice practitioners on matters pertaining to Title III of the Family Code and related laws.

Advising TJJD staff and the public on legal matters and on the interpretation and application of agency regulations and state and federal laws.

Investigating alleged law/regulatory violations and preparing reports of findings.

Reviewing drafts of laws, rules, regulations, and policies affecting agency direction and operations; analyzing juvenile justice legal issues; monitoring legislation affecting justice and agency operations; and drafting or assisting in drafting bills, legislative amendments, or agency administrative rules and policies.

Preparing legal opinions, briefs, contracts, proposals, reports and cases for administrative hearings and represents the agency in matters as appropriate; assists in preparing subpoenas requiring the appearance of witnesses, records, and documents for hearings and civil litigations.

Assisting in obtaining established agency objectives and goals; evaluating agency programming, organization, and systems to determine effectiveness and best legal practices; sharing information, identifying concerns and trends, and recommending improvements to resolve problems or enhance operations. Assisting in formulating, coordinating, and establishing policies and procedures.

Investigating alleged law/regulatory violations, preparing reports of findings.

Interfacing with and communicating with others including but not limited to the TJJD Board of Directors, the Office of the Inspector General-TJJD, the Office of the Independent Ombudsman, county juvenile probation departments, state legislators, and agency stakeholders.

Conducting trainings and making legal presentations to agency personnel, the TJJD Board of Directors, juvenile probation, juvenile parole, juvenile justice attorneys, and others on legal and juvenile justice matters.

Drafting memoranda on regulatory matters and administrative rules for the Texas Register.

Serving as a liaison with complainants to be represented in an administrative hearing or with their authorized representatives.

Performs a variety of related duties not listed, to be determined and assigned as needed.

Performs all duties in compliance with agency safety policies and procedures:

• Reports safety hazards and corrects hazards when possible.
• Completes required documentation in the event of an accident/injury within requested time frames.

Attends work on a regular and predictable schedule in accordance with agency attendance and leave policies.

Will be required to travel up to 25% of the time.

Expected to have an understanding of TJJD's treatment programs for the youth including Texas Model 2.0 and be able to evaluate application of the Model by TJJD staff when visiting/auditing facilities and locations where youth are supervised.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D.) Degree or a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.).

Must be licensed as an attorney by the State of Texas and must be in good standing with the State Bar of Texas.

Three (3) years of full-time wage-earning experience as an attorney.

Experience and Education Substitutions:

• Experience requirements may be satisfied by the prorated part-time equivalent.

Note: Any degree, diploma, high school equivalent, or course hours required to meet minimum qualifications must be obtained from an accredited educational institution.

Preferred:

· Juvenile justice experience

· Prosecution or other litigation experience.

· Experience drafting, reviewing and negotiating contracts.

· Experience working on employment matters.

· Experience in legal research and writing.

· Knowledge and understanding of basic adult training and legal education concepts.

Requirements for Continued Employment:

· Failure to maintain required licensure/certification will result in termination of employment.

· Remain in good standing with the State Bar of Texas.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES

· Knowledge of legal principles, practices, and proceedings.

· Knowledge of state and federal laws, rules, and regulations.

· Knowledge of agency administrative rules and regulations.

· Skill in legal research, writing, and analysis.

· Skill in operating computers and using applicable computer software.

· Skill in using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.

· Skill in identifying and solving complex problems.

· Skill in prioritizing workloads.

· Skill in analyzing.

· Skill in using judgment to identify courses of action.

· Ability to conduct computerized legal research and access information from legal and legislative databases (e.g., LexisNexis, Westlaw Next and other Internet sources).

· Ability to conduct hearings.

· Ability to prepare cases for trial.

· Ability to write clear and accurate opinions and briefs.

· Ability to summarize findings.

· Ability to use legal reference materials.

· Ability to interpret and apply knowledge of laws affecting the agency and the juvenile justice system.

· Ability to draft, review and negotiate contractual matters.

· Ability to conduct hearings, negotiate and prepare cases for trial, summarize findings and use legal reference materials.

· Ability to see with or without visual aid.

· Ability to hear with or without hearing aid.

· Ability to communicate effectively orally and in writing.

· Ability to work collaboratively with all stakeholders and maintain a professional, courteous demeanor and establish and maintain an effective working relationship with others.

· Ability to prioritize and manage multiple tasks; plan, organize, and coordinate work assignments; and meet deadlines.

· Ability to recognize when decisions need to be made, process information logically, make decisions, and demonstrate the soundness of those decisions.

· Ability to supervise the work of others.

· Ability to travel, work in excess of 40 hours per work week and/or be on-call.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS AND WORKING CONDITIONS

The following physical demands and working conditions are representative of those encountered and/or necessary for the employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations will be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Heavy lifting, up to 25 lbs.

Heavy carrying, up to 25 lbs.

Pulling

Pushing

Alphabetizing

Repeated bending

Identify colors

Depth perception

Operate motor equipment

Reaching above shoulder

Dual simultaneous grasping

Manual/finger dexterity

VETERANS

In order to receive veteran’s preference, a copy of your DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty), VA disability rating (if applicable), or a DD Form 1300 (Report of Casualty) must be attached to your application.

Go to https://texasskillstowork.com/ , https://www.onetonline.org/ , or http://www.careeronestop.org/ for assistance translating your military experience and training courses into civilian job terms, qualifications/requirements, and skill sets.

Additional Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) Code or Crosswalk information is available from the Texas State Auditor’s Office at Legal MOS Codes.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

If you are scheduled for an interview and require any reasonable accommodation in our interview process, please inform the hiring representative who calls you to schedule your interview. Whenever possible, please give the hiring representative sufficient time to consider and respond to your request.

Only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.

Due to the high volume of applications, we do not accept telephone calls. If you submitted your application through the CAPPS Career Center ( https://capps.taleo.net/careersection/ex/jobsearch.ftl?lang=en ), you may also check the status of your application by accessing your profile and selecting My Jobpage and selecting My Submissions.

Thank you for considering employment with the Texas Juvenile Justice Department.

AN EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

The Texas Juvenile Justice Department does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or disability in employment or the provision of services.