Attorney Advisor

This position is located within the Office of the General Counsel of the Department of General Services (OGC-DGS). OGC-DGS is responsible for providing legal counsel to the Department of General Services (DGS). DGS' mission is to build, maintain, and sustain the District of Columbia's real estate portfolio, which includes more than 157 million square feet of land and 35.7 million square feet of state-of-the-art facilities in Washington, DC. To achieve its mission, DGS coordinates its following six divisions as needed: Sustainability and Energy Division, Capital Construction Division, Contracts and Procurement Division, Facilities Management Division, Protective Services Division, and Portfolio Management Division.
The Attorney Advisor will be primarily responsible for providing legal support to DGS with respect to the implementation of the Public Facilities Environmental Safety Amendment Act of 2020 (D.C. Law 23-237; D.C. Code 10-711 et seq); and the Zero Waste Omnibus Act of 2019 (D.C. Law 23-211; D.C. Code 8-1031.01 et seq).

The Public Facilities Environmental Safety Amendment Act of 2020: sets environmental testing and reporting requirements for public buildings, playground surface materials, and environmental hazards at construction projects at District-owned sites. The law requires DGS to establish allowable thresholds and assess public sites for different environmental risks and requires assessment of each site every ten years. The law also requires environmental assessments of any public site that is undergoing demolition, construction, excavation, or substantial renovation. If DGS determines a potential environmental hazard exists at a site, it must conduct a test to see if the risk exceeds established thresholds and publish the test results on its website within ten business days. If test results are found to be in excess of thresholds, DGS must isolate the area of risk until remediation can occur and provide public notice of potential environmental risks and a timeline for remediation. Within 20 days, DGS must coordinate with relevant agencies to conduct a public meeting on test results, and repeat testing until conditions do not exceed established threshold levels. DGS must publish online and submit to the Council an annual report that describes each publicly owned site that has undergone significant renovation and details of environment hazards and remediation that have occurred. The law requires DGS to conduct lead testing every three years on all public playground surfaces that are composed of synthetic materials. If a playground test identifies lead levels above established thresholds, DGS must close the playground within 24 hours and not reopen until the lead is remediated and a subsequent test determines the level of lead is below thresholds. Within ten business days of a playground closure, DGS must publish notice on the DGS website and post signage communicating the reason for the closure and planned remediation efforts.

The Zero Waste Omnibus Act of 2019: requires the preparation of a plan for comprehensive organics site management and recycling infrastructure. Among other things it requires a uniform recycling labeling scheme, requires waste collectors to address contamination in recyclables and compostables and requires the imposition of a surcharge on recycling disposed of at District transfer stations when they exceed a contamination threshold. It establishes additional standards regarding the use of compostable disposable food service ware such as requiring the use of reusable food service ware when providing food for consumption. It also establishes a reuse and donation program to reduce waste in landfills and incinerators. It makes grants available to support reductions in the use of disposable food service ware as well as for food waste programs and to encourage share tables at public and public charter schools. The law also requires District government agencies to comply with the District waste management and source separation practices. DGS oversees all District-owned and District-leased properties and will need to ensure that District agencies have source separation infrastructure with a consistent appearance. DGS will need to purchase thousands of new receptacles for District-owned facilities and will need to ensure that leased facilities upgrade their infrastructure and personnel are properly trained to meet the District's requirements. The law's requirement that DPW develop an Organics Management Plan would likely require DGS to implement a composting program at District agencies. The full text of the law is available at https://lims.dccouncil.us/Legislation/B23-0506.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• The incumbent will be responsible for providing expert legal advice and conducts extensive reviews of various legal documents; and provides statements of reasons, drafts letters, memoranda, and recommendations. Responsible for consulting management and supervisors on legalities that affects their organization's mission and provides clarification of policies, statutes and legislation. Reviews and evaluates existing statutes and regulations to determine the need for new regulations or amendments or new administrative and enforcement procedures; and recommends changes and drafts new legislation and amendments of the same as needed.
• Reviews cases and documents to ensure support of legal position. Represents the agency in hearings, and prepares necessary documentation to support cases. Assists the Office and/or the Office of the Attorney General with litigation.

Qualifications and Education:

• Must possess a LLB or Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA) at the time of appointment.
• Must have at least two (2) years of post J.D. professional legal experience

Licenses and Certifications:
Must be an active member in good standing of the District of Columbia Bar or have the ability to waive in and be admitted within 360 days of appointment. An appointee to the Legal Service position shall remain a member in good standing of the District of Columbia Bar during his/her employment in the Legal Service.

Working Conditions/Environment:

The work is performed in an office setting.

Other Significant Factors

Tour of Duty: Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Pay Plan, Series and Grade: LA-0905-13

Promotion Potential: No known promotion potential.

Duration of Appointment: Legal Service Permanent

Collective Bargaining Unit (Union): This position is in collective bargaining unit AFGE 1403 and you may be required to pay an agency fee through direct payroll deduction.

Emergency Designation: This position is designated as Emergency. An Emergency employee will be required to either report to work, stay at work or telecommute during a declared emergency or during a period of non-emergency where your duties have been deemed as critical District government functions/operations.

Position Designation: This position as been designated as security-sensitive under the guideline of the DC Personnel Manual. Incumbents of this position are subject to enhanced suitability screening pursuant to Chapter 4 of DC personnel regulations. Accordingly, incumbents must successfully pass a criminal background and consumer credit check as a condition of employment and will be subject to periodic criminal background checks for the duration of their tenure.
Residency Preference: When claiming residency preference, you are required, and must agree in writing, to maintain bona fide District residency for a period of seven (7) consecutive years from the effective date of employment. You will be required to present documents (proofs) to show District residency and failure to maintain bona-fide District residency for the seven-year (7-year) period will result in forfeiture of employment.