Assistant Division Chief and Counsel, Law Division

Responsibilities

• Advising and counseling the division on a wide variety of difficult and complex legal matters, including contract interpretation and administration, special education issues, litigation, and labor and employment law.
• Investigating, evaluating, and negotiating difficult and complex pre-litigation claims, including breach of contract and illegal but equitable claims, and claims brought pursuant to the alternative dispute resolution procedures in PPB rules and City contracts, and other claims having significant financial, procedural, or policy consequences.
• Monitoring, evaluating, negotiating, and approving settlements of lawsuits, including those related to class actions, labor and employment, special education, and other lawsuits having significant financial, procedural, or policy consequences.
• Attending and representing the Comptroller’s Office at settlement conferences in federal and state courts, when required.
• Drafting comprehensive yet concise memoranda recommending settlement outside of delegated authority.
• Supervising division staff, including reviewing and assigning work assignments based on knowledge and experience of staff; reviewing and deciding on recommendations by staff for settlement or disallowance of claims; providing support and guidance to staff to ensure the timely and appropriate handling of claims; preparing employee performance evaluations; and ensuring compliance with agency and bureau policy and procedures.
• Assisting the Division Chief in managing the division’s functions to effectuate operational efficiency and resolution of claims in compliance with bureau procedures, statutes, and laws.
• Recommending, designing, and implementing new procedures for the effective and efficient resolution of claims.
• Acting as a point of contact with other bureaus, the staff of elected officials, agency personnel, attorneys, the public, and others, as necessary.

Qualifications

• Admission to the New York State Bar; and four years of recent full-time responsible, relevant, satisfactory legal experience subsequent to admission to any bar, eighteen months of which must have been in the supervision of other attorneys, in an administrative, managerial or executive capacity, or performing highly complex and significant legal work.
• Experience in the supervision of legal staff, including other attorneys, claim examiners, investigators, or paralegals, in administrative, litigation management, or other managerial or executive capacity, or performing highly complex and significant legal work, including those areas in the bulleted list of the above job description.
• Comprehensive knowledge of City Contracts and the PPB Rules.
• Strong negotiation skills and analytical skills with attention to details.
• Exceptional analytical, organizational, writing, and verbal communication skills and the ability to perform multiple tasks requiring prioritization with minimal supervision.
• Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced environment while managing multiple priorities.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to interact with all levels of management.