Description:
Job Description:The Office of the Attorney General ("OAG") has an opening for an Assistant Attorney General within the Litigation Division in the Augusta Office. Thisposition represents the Department of Corrections ("DOC") in state and federal court and before administrative agencies, provides day-to-day advice to DOC, and conducts trainings for DOC staff on corrections law. The types of cases include, but are not limitedto, Rule 80C appeals, primarily of disciplinary decisions regarding prison residents, tort claims, and civil rights actions. The civil rights actions cover a wide range of subjects, such as use of force, conditions of confinement, use of segregation, medicaland mental health care, religious practice, and failure-to-protect claims.
The duties of this position include defending lawsuits brought against DOC and its employees, including motion practice, trial defense, and appeals inboth state and federal courts; defending complaints alleging discrimination that prison residents have filed with the Maine Human Rights Commission; representing DOC in seeking involuntary medication orders with respect to certain prison residents; reviewingand responding to subpoenas and court orders served on DOC staff, especially as they relate to the disclosure of information about DOC prison residents and probationers; assisting OAG Criminal Division attorneys with petitions for post-conviction review andhabeas corpus actions to the extent issues arise concerning DOC; assisting OAG DHHS Division attorneys obtain information and/or witnesses related to child protection cases involving a parent who is a prison resident; reviewing DOC rules; providing legal adviceon such matters as legislation, contracts, sentence calculation, DOC policies and practices, prison residents' grievances, and responses to unusual events; and providing trainings on legal issues for DOC staff, including the Maine Criminal Justice Academy'scorrections law training for new DOC corrections officers, training on law enforcement powers for adult and juvenile probation officers, and training for DOC facility staff, especially for disciplinary hearing officers and grievance officers.
Office of the Attorney General, State of Maine (https://www.maine.gov/ag/)
Minimum Qualifications:
Applicants must be members of the Maine Bar in good standing or eligible to become a member of the bar in a reasonable amount of time, have an eye forlegal detail, be interested in complex state and federal litigation, have strong legal advocacy and writing skills, and a demonstrated ability to function effectively as part of a team. One to three years of legal practice with demonstrated proficiency incivil litigation and/or corrections law and litigation is preferred.