Closing Date: 13th May, 2024
Description:
General Job InformationJob Summary:
Located in the nation's capital, A Government Entity is the chief legal office of the District of Columbia. OAG enforces the District's laws, works to protect and defend D.C. residents, and provides the highest level of independent legal advice and guidance to District of Columbia government agencies. This position is located in within the Immediate Office.
The Immediate Office sets the direction for OAG. It is responsible for establishing the policy priorities that OAG pursues and ensuring that the OAG consistently provides high quality legal services to the District and the District agencies OAG supports.
The Ethics and Compliance Counsel (E&C Counsel) serves as OAG's senior advisor on all matters involving legal or government ethics and also serves as OAG's Freedom of Information (FOIA) Officer. E&C Counsel provides ethics and legal compliance advice to the Attorney General and all other OAG personnel, and manages OAG's responses to FOIA requests and OAG's FOIA reporting.
Duties and Responsibilities:
The incumbent in the position of E&C Counsel serves as OAG's senior advisor on all matters involving legal or government ethics and as OAG's FOIA Officer. As such, the primary duties of E&C Counsel are (1) to serve as an ethics and compliance resource for the Attorney General and all OAG personnel, providing independent, reliable analysis and guidance on an as-needed basis, and (2) to administer OAG's FOIA request response function. E&C Counsel reports to the Chief Deputy Attorney General.
The incumbent:
- Assists in developing OAG ethics policies.
- Provides ethics training to all new OAG employees, District legal counsel, and, upon request, District agencies.
- Reviews all OAG employees' requests to engage in paid and unpaid activities outside their government duties.
- Reviews all donations to OAG for legal sufficiency and other issues.
- Confers with District agency counsel and private sector lawyers to review all outside counsel engagements for District agencies for conflicts of interest and advises the Attorney General as to whether the District may waive conflicts of interest as they arise throughout the professional relationship with outside counsel.
- Manages OAG's FOIA function to ensure compliance with the District's FOIA and relevant privacy statutes.
- Reviews, manages collection of documents responsive to, and prepares responses to all FOIA requests received by OAG, researches and resolves legal issues regarding FOIA requests, and confers with Division managers as warranted.
- Prepares OAG's annual FOIA report.
- Administers OAG's pro bono program.
Qualifications and Education:
The successful candidate must have a law degree and be an active member in good standing of the bar of any jurisdiction. If not a member of the District of Columbia Bar, the candidate must be sworn into the District of Columbia Bar within 360 days of his/her initial appointment with the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia.
The successful candidate should have a minimum of 6 to 10 years of legal experience, including significant litigation experience and at least five years of legal ethics practice.
The successful candidate must have excellent oral and written communication skills, including excellent legal research and writing skills; excellent judgement and the ability to make well-reasoned decisions on complex ethical issues of first impression; the ability to provide reliable analysis and advice on a tight deadline; unimpeachable integrity; the ability to build and maintain a reputation for approachability and trustworthiness within OAG and the broader District government legal community; the ability to work independently without direct oversight and to exercise independent judgement regardless of circumstances; and strong organizational skills.
The successful candidate should have demonstrated knowledge of government ethics, FOIA, and government legal practice.
The successful candidate must have demonstrated experience establishing and maintaining effective working relationships with co-workers, managers, and external stake holders.
Trial Attorney, LA-0905-14
Incumbent must have a Juris Doctor (J.D.) from an American Bar Association (ABA) accredited law school at the time of appointment. A minimum of 6 years of specialized experience is required.
Trial Attorney, LA-0905-15
Incumbent must have a Juris Doctor (J.D.) from an American Bar Association (ABA) accredited law school at the time of appointment. A minimum of 10 years' specialized experience is required.
Licenses and Certifications:
The successful candidate must be an active member in good standing of the District of Columbia bar or must be sworn into the District of Columbia Bar within 360 days of their initial appointment to OAG.
Working Conditions/Environment:
Work is normally performed in an office environment.
