Assistant Counsel – Environment Portfolio

The Executive Chamber is seeking a highly motivated and experienced attorney to serve as the Assistant Counsel for Environment. 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 environmental portfolio and legislative staff responsible for crafting and implementing environmental policy.

As part of managing this portfolio, you are expected to be responsible for the following agencies: Department of Environmental Conservation; New York State Energy Research & Development Authority; Environmental Facilities Corporation; Department of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation; Department of Agriculture & Markets; Adirondack Park Agency; Hudson River Park Trust; Hudson River Valley Greenway; Lake George Park Commission; and the New York State Fair.

To succeed in this role, you must be a leader, proactive, 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. You also must be creative, inspirational, and have a sense of humor.

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 environmental policy for the Executive Chamber.
• Serve as the primary legal coordinator between the Executive Chamber and each agency counsel in the environmental portfolio.
• Develop and maintain strong working relationships with each of your agency counsels.
• Provide strategic legal counseling, subject matter expertise, and identify the needs of your agency counsels relating to legislation, rulemaking, litigation, and operations.
• Lead, manage, develop, and collaborate with your agencies on the planning, drafting, reviewing, and negotiating 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.
• Develop and maintain strong working relationships with each of your internal deputy secretaries in the environmental portfolio to ensure seamless operations of the portfolio’s agencies.
• Develop and maintain strong working relationships with outside organizations, experts, advocates, and other institutions relevant to all environmental issues.
• Process, review, investigate, and make recommendations relating to environmental 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 environmental 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.
• Minimum of 5 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, particularly as they relate to environmental policy.
• 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.
• 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.