Associate Attorney

Duties Description

The Office of Counsel provides legal guidance and services to the Office for People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) network on the myriad of issues arising from the delivery of supports and services to individuals with developmental disabilities. Attorneys are called upon to draft and review legislation, regulations, policy, contracts, and real property transactions, advise on compliance with Medicaid programs for people with developmental disabilities, certification, and approval of providers of services, employment matters, participate in administrative hearings and oversee litigation. The Associate Attorney will be assigned to the Policy and Regulatory Affairs Unit.

Duties include but are not limited to the following:

• Provides legal support for the development and implementation of proposals to amend the State's legislation, regulations or agency policies.
• Reviews proposed and pending federal and state legislation for legal sufficiency and effect on the agency.
• Conducts research, reviews and provides legal analysis of legislative proposals including justification, impact to programs, data analysis and fiscal impact.
• Provides legal opinion and suggests changes where appropriate.
• Drafts legislation and guides proposal through the legislative process.
• Provides legal support in implementing adopted legislation.
• Oversee the drafting and implementation of agency regulations.
• Provide legal advice, assistance, and guidance to Counsel's Office staff, Executive level leadership, and OPWDD employees on subjects related to regulatory affairs, legislative matters, records access, privacy, ethics, and administrative hearings.
• Researches and analyzes legislative issues or external proposals that impact agency operations
• Provides analysis and interpretation of existing laws and regulations, particularly in new/emergent areas.
• Analyzes proposed or new legislation, directives, and/or policies for impact on agency policies, practices, and operations.
• Conducts legal research of statutes, decisions, opinions, and other sources to respond to requests and inquiries.
• Distills and communicates legislative information to agency staff.
• Provides coordinated agency feedback to internal and external stakeholders.
• Serves as the agency Ethics Officer:
• Provides guidance and advice to agency staff on ethics questions/issues, conflict of interest questions, compliance with ethics laws, rules, regulations, and agency policies.
• Acts as liaison with Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government (COELIG) to communicate agency compliance, receive updates and disseminate to staff.
• Ensure training for agency staff is scheduled and conducted; participate in the delivery of training.
• Review and approve/disapprove employee requests for outside employment and activities.
• Tracks the number of agency staff who are required to file financial disclosure statements and coordinates with COELIG to ensure such filing occurs.
• Reviews and tracks legislative budget bills and coordinates with Legislative Affairs staff to obtain information requested during budget negotiations.
• Oversees administrative hearings pursuant to 14 NYCRR 633.12; 14 NYCRR 633.21; 14 NYCRR 602; and Mental Hygiene Law 41.34; assists the commissioner with preparing decisions under these authorities.
• Offer legal opinions and make recommendations to agency staff from various program areas; ensure agency actions are legally supported.
• May also be assigned to other program areas or special projects as needed and at the discretion of the General or Deputy Counsel.
  
  

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nys-office-for-people-with-developmental-disabilities/posts/?feedView=all

Minimum Qualifications

Candidates must be reachable for appointment on Current Civil Service Eligible List for this title.

OR

Candidates must have one year of permanent competitive or 55-b/c status in the posted title and be eligible for lateral transfer; OR be eligible to transfer via Section 70.1, 70.4, or 52.6 of Civil Service Law. The transfer cannot be a second consecutive transfer resulting in an advancement of more than two salary grades.

Additional Comments

• The Office for People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) and it's Division of Executive Office is committed to creating and sustaining a culture of inclusion. We believe that we are most effective in managing and improving our service system with a diverse team of employees. With such a large workforce, we rely on the collective individual differences, life experiences, knowledge, self-expression, ideas
  
  

and talent that our employees bring to their work. This speaks to our culture, and is a key part of our successes. As we continuously recruit people for our

team, we welcome the unique contributions that applicants bring in terms of their education, culture, ethnicity, race, sex, gender identity and expression,

nation of origin, age, languages spoken, veteran’s status, color, religion, disability, sexual orientation and beliefs.

• Preference will be given to OPWDD employees impacted by closures. If you are being impacted by closure, please indicate this on your resume/cover letter.
• In order to be eligible for appointment and to maintain employment, you cannot be listed as an excluded individual or entity on any of the Federal and/or State
  
  

Medicaid and Medicare exclusion lists (or excluded from any other Federal or Federally assisted program). If you are appointed and subsequently listed as an

excluded individual or entity on any of these lists (or excluded from any other Federal or Federally assisted program), you may be terminated from your

employment.

• OPWDD is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.