Director and Senior Assistant General Counsel for Litigation and Privacy Officer

The New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) regulates the safe and lawful use of buildings and properties by enforcing the New York City Construction Codes, New York City Zoning Resolution and the New York State Multiple Dwelling Law. DOB performs its mission by, among other things, reviewing building construction plans, conducting safety and other inspections, licensing construction trades, responding to complaints of unsafe, unlicensed and/or illegal construction work, and conducting industry outreach.

The Office of the General Counsel (GC’s Office) provides guidance to all units within the agency on all aspects of the agency’s functions. DOB seeks a seasoned attorney to serve in a managerial position as the Director and Sr. Asst. General Counsel for Litigation and Privacy Officer to perform the duties listed in the job description below.

This is a management position reporting to the Associate General Counsel in GC’s Office. The attorney in this position will have one or more direct reports and will also supervise the work of various Assistant General Counsels (AGCs) on a variety of legal matters, as well as directly handle such matters. The work will include some or all of the following:

1. Serve as DOB’s Agency Privacy Officer, directly performing and supervising other attorneys in performing privacy law related work including without limitation, preparing required reports; responding to privacy complaints; advising on privacy-related issues; drafting Memoranda of Understanding related to data exchanges and other privacy-related matters; working as needed with NYC’s Office of Information Privacy.

2. Perform and supervise others in performing all required work on the large volume of litigation filed against DOB, including without limitation liaising with the NYC Law Department; reviewing and drafting litigation papers; analyzing complex legal and factual issues; advising on litigation settlements; and working with other DOB units as needed. The attorney in this position will be expected to develop an ongoing knowledge of laws and policies related to the subject matters often arising in such lawsuits.

3. Track and reporting on litigation and other matters.

4. Respond to and supervise AGCs in responding to Small Claims court cases brought against DOB, including drafting papers and court appearances.

5. Handle and supervise AGCs in handling equal-opportunity-opportunity (EEO) cases brought against DOB at administrative forums. Work includes drafting papers; researching facts and law; appearances as needed; and working with DOB’s EEO unit and other units.

6. Draft and supervise AGCs in drafting Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) and other inter-agency agreements, including ensuring the agreements comply with applicable laws and including working with other agencies and other DOB units.

7. Assist as may be needed with contract work.

8. Assist as may be needed with NYC conflict-of-interest law/COIB issues.

9. Assist as may be needed with Freedom of Information (FOIL) matters, particularly in connection with privacy-related issues.

10. Advise on various premises-related issues and respond to correspondence regarding premises-related or other legal matters.


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Only candidates with at least one year of satisfactory United States management or supervisor experience, over one or more attorneys, subsequent to admission to any state bar will be considered.


REMOTE WORK
This position may be eligible for remote work up to 2 days per week, pursuant to the Remote Work Pilot Program.

EXECUTIVE AGENCY COUNSEL - 95005

Qualifications

Admission to the New York State Bar; and four years of recent full-time responsible, relevant, satisfactory legal experience subsequent to admission to any bar, eighteen months of which must have been in the supervision of other attorneys, in an administrative, managerial or executive capacity, or performing highly complex and significant legal work.

Incumbents must remain Members of the New York State Bar in good standing for the duration of this employment.

Additional Information

The City of New York is an inclusive equal opportunity employer committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce and providing a work environment that is free from discrimination and harassment based upon any legally protected status or protected characteristic, including but not limited to an individual's sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, gender identity, or pregnancy.