Assistant Counsel for Civil Rights

Assistant Counsel – Civil Rights

NYS Executive Chamber

Location: Albany, NY or New York, NY

Salary Range: $170,000-$200,000

The Executive Chamber is seeking a highly motivated and experienced attorney to serve as the Assistant Counsel for Civil Rights. The Assistant Counsel serves under the general supervision of the Counsel to the Governor and Deputy Counsels and will act as liaison to state agencies in the civil rights portfolio and legislative staff, responsible for crafting and implementing civil rights, elections, and victim rights policy.

As part of managing this portfolio, you are expected to be responsible for the following agencies, subject to assignment by the Counsel: State Board of Elections, Division of Human Rights (DHR), Office of New Americans (ONA), Office of Language Access, Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence (OPDV), and Office of Victim Services (OVS).

To succeed in this role, you must be a leader, strong writer and communicator, and facilitator of a collaborative environment. You must be able to identify legal issues and risk across various units and operations. You must possess excellent time management and organizational skills and be able to oversee a wide range of priorities and competing tasks. You must be able to exercise impeccable judgment in a high-stress and fast paced environment.

Routine travel between NYC and Albany offices required, frequently overnight, and as often as weekly.

Specific Duties Include:

• Serve as the legal subject matter expert for civil rights, elections, and victim rights for the Executive Chamber.
• Serve as liaison between the Executive Chamber and each agency counsel in the civil rights portfolio.
• Provide strategic legal counseling and subject matter expertise to address the needs of your agency counsels relating to legislation, budget making, rulemaking, litigation, and operations.
• Lead, manage, develop, and collaborate with your agencies on the planning, drafting, reviewing, and negotiation of legislation and creation of policy.
• Advise, guide, and collaborate with agency counsels and the Office of the Attorney General or outside counsel on litigation.
• Collaborate with agency counsels to proactively identify and mitigate risk and ensure integrity.
• Provide programmatic legal support to agency counsels to ensure accuracy and timely implementation of policies, responses to issues, and programs, consistent with the Governor’s priorities.
• Develop and maintain strong working relationships with the State Operations team for the civil rights portfolio to ensure seamless operations of the portfolio’s agencies.
• Develop and maintain strong working relationships with outside organizations, experts, advocates, and other stakeholders relevant to civil rights issues.
• Process, review, investigate, and make recommendations relating to civil rights, elections, and victim rights policy, laws, rules, and regulations on both a State and Federal level.
• Conduct legal research and draft memoranda relating to legislation, litigation, operations, and compliance as assigned.
• Report, summarize, and present information to the Governor, senior staff, executive, cross-functional teams, and outside stakeholders.
• Work closely with the Counsel, senior staff, and cross-functional teams in administering programs and initiatives.
• Ensure accuracy in work-product from agencies and cross-functional teams, maintain strong channels of communications, and develop detailed work plans for the civil rights portfolio and regularly present them to the Counsel and Deputy Counsels.
• Perform other related duties as assigned by the Counsel or Deputy Counsels.

Minimum Qualifications:

Must have a Juris Doctorate from an accredited law school and be a member in good standing with the New York State Bar, and a minimum of 6 years of relevant post-bar legal work experience.

Additionally, candidates should have the following knowledge, skills, and abilities:

• Knowledge of applicable local, state, and federal statutes, rules, regulations, internal controls and processes related to civil rights, elections, and victim rights.
• Knowledge of New York State legislative and budget making process.
• Ability to make excellent judgments, and exercise critical, analytical, and problem-solving skills under pressure and at times with extreme time sensitivity.
• Ability to compile, evaluate and interpret information and data from a variety of information sources.
• Ability to independently act on priority projects.
• Ability to prioritize and complete work assignments in a timely manner.
• Ability to identify the most effective and efficient method to carry out duties.
• Excellent organizational skills to manage a varied and high-volume workload.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills with an attention to detail are required, including the ability to communicate complex information to a lay audience.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills including the ability to interact with colleagues and senior leadership inside and outside the Executive Chamber.
• Excellent case and record management skills with the ability to follow-up as necessary.
• Excellent familiarity with Google and Microsoft software products including Gmail, Google Docs, Sheets, Word, Excel, OneDrive, SharePoint, Power Point and Outlook/Exchange. Strong proficiency in Excel is desired.