Description:

Do you have a passion for public service and enjoy making a difference? Don't miss out on this opportunity. A Government Entity is hiring! Apply now if you're looking for a rewarding career in public service. We regulate the insurance industry, administer the Texas workers' compensation system, and educate and protect consumers.

Attorney III (Attorney)
Develop your skills with a dynamic team of legal professionals at A Government Entity. With $212.4 billion in premiums in 2021, Texas is the home to the nation's second largest insurance market and the seventh largest in the world. The Office of Financial Counsel in the General Counsel Division is hiring for an attorney skilled in research and advising clients to support A Government Entity in areas such as company licensing, mergers, acquisitions, corporate formation, insolvency, troubled companies, receiverships, company stability, and examinations.

This position performs highly complex legal work for the Office of Financial Counsel in the General Counsel Division. Work involves researching complex technical legal issues; advising and briefing the agency leadership and subject matter experts; analyzing statutes and legislative bills; and preparing orders, memoranda, briefs, pleadings, and other documents. Work often involves representing program clients in meetings with insurance entities and their counsel and working with the Office of Attorney General on their representation of the agency in district court. You will work under limited supervision, with considerable latitude for the use of initiative and independent judgment.

The General Counsel Division provides training and a positive, collaborative work culture. An ideal candidate will have excellent legal research, communication, and writing skills, the ability to interpret state and federal laws and apply them to novel legal problems, and the ability to draft thorough and plain language legal documents. The ideal candidate will show a willingness and ability to take on new challenges and subject matter. The candidate will be detail-oriented and an excellent communicator, with good collaboration skills and judgment in the analysis of legal risks.

This position:
  • Researches and analyzes state and federal laws and regulations, orders, pleadings, and other documents.
  • Provides legal support and advice to client program areas and interacts with outside counsel on interpretation and application of state and federal laws and regulations.
  • Directs, organizes, and coordinates legal and administrative activities.
  • Attends, participates, presents, and leads in both virtual and in-person meetings with staff and external stakeholders.
  • Coordinates, advises, and drafts legal opinions, memoranda, briefs, contracts, pleadings, and reports.
  • Briefs executive management and the commissioner on legal issues.
  • Plans and presents internal training to staff and attorneys.
  • Reviews legislation, drafts bills, and advises and works on agency implementation projects.
  • Coordinates case preparation for court hearings and represents the agency in hearings. Assists the Attorney General's office in preparing cases for litigation. May assist in analysis of evidence and the development and assembly of evidence for pleadings.
  • Works with industry stakeholders and program staff on complex transactions and performing regulatory duties.
  • Assists agency staff with analyzing documents and filings to determine if filings comply with statute and rules.
  • Works on and may be lead attorney on team projects involving outside stakeholders and program staff. Researches and analyzes a variety of diverse legal issues and strategies involved with projects. Advises program staff and others with proper course of action.
  • Assists program staff with analyzing and evaluating legal strategies.
  • Performs other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:
This position requires:
  • Graduation from an accredited law school with a Juris Doctor (J.D.) or comparable advanced legal degree.
  • Must be licensed as an attorney to practice law in the State of Texas.
  • Member in good standing with the State Bar of Texas.
  • 3 years of legal research and writing experience on complex technical issues preferred.
  • 3 years of experience advising clients on complex matters as an essential job function.
  • Drafting legal opinions, memoranda, briefs, and other legal documents.
  • Managing caseload with variety of legal issues requiring prioritization, decision making, and collaboration with client(s).

Note | substitution language:
Law clerk experience can be counted toward the legal experience.

Additional job details:
This position requires regular work attendance. The position may be eligible for a hybrid work schedule. If eligible, the employee must have a secure, dedicated workspace with reliable broadband internet service. The ideal candidate must be available for weekly meetings and group collaboration via Microsoft Teams and other applications during regular business hours.

You must submit a resume with your application.

Preferences for this position include:
  • Experience in researching complex issues and briefing subject matter experts and management.
  • Regulatory or administrative law experience.
  • Experience with insurance or other regulatory compliance, information sharing agreements, and confidentiality.
  • Experience advising clients on complex matters.
  • Experience working with or for organizations or agencies with multiple layers of management.
  • Experience with litigation (includes trials, litigation support or discovery).

This position requires demonstrated knowledge of:
  • State laws, rules, procedures, and regulations relevant to job requirements.
  • Legal analysis and research.
  • Legal principles, practices, and procedures.
  • Caseload management, including prioritization, decision making, and collaboration with clients.
  • State and federal rules of evidence and procedures, evidentiary, techniques, and procedural requirements for administrative and state court proceedings.

This position requires demonstrated skill in:
  • Problem solving and critical thinking.
  • Using Adobe Acrobat and Microsoft Office software applications, including Word, Excel, Outlook, and SharePoint.
  • Using personal computers sufficient to enter and extract data from related systems and programs, such as Centralized Accounting Payroll and Personnel (CAPPS) and other systems required to perform the job.
  • Legal research, writing, and analysis, including plain English legal writing.
  • Using reasoning and logic to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to complex problems.
  • Managing and prioritizing workloads, including meeting deadlines.
  • Using good judgment to analyze legal problems and identify courses of action.
  • Project management and/or team leadership.
  • Collaborate effectively with all levels of employees and management in a hybrid or in-person work setting.

This position requires the demonstrated ability to:
  • Communicate and work effectively with a wide range of people with varied skills, knowledge, and backgrounds.
  • Maintain the confidentiality of sensitive information.
  • Analyze and solve work-related problems and work independently on a variety of administrative work and technical assignments.
  • Manage workload and priorities to meet necessary deadlines.
  • Work both independently and as a team player.
  • Lead team meetings and projects as needed.
  • Apply critical thinking skills to novel and complex legal questions in order to identify solutions and evaluate risk.
  • Identify and analyze legal problems, and prepare sound, clear opinions, and briefs.
  • Research legal issues efficiently.
  • Summarize research findings clearly and effectively.
  • Use or learn to use agency technology tools, databases, and tracking systems.
  • Use electronic and hard-copy legal reference materials.
  • Express comments and legal opinions clearly and persuasively.
  • Deal tactfully and professionally with the public, coworkers, agency staff, and industry representatives and establish and maintain effective working relationships with both internal and external customers in a hybrid or in-person work setting.
  • Explain legal concepts to lay persons.
  • Respond to dynamic situations on an as-needed and case-by-case basis.

Veterans
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