Assistant General Counsel

SEIU JOB DESCRIPTION

JOB TITLE:  Assistant General Counsel

Grade:  ATTY 7+ years (Salary scale based on years out of law school; starts at $138,666)

LOCATION: Washington, D.C. is preferred, but we will consider other locations.

PURPOSE:

This attorney position is responsible for serving as counsel to SEIU with particular emphasis on campaign finance and internal union governance.  This includes counseling in connection with political campaigns, including campaign finance and voting rights, and internal union governance, lobbying compliance, contract review, relations with strategic employers, policy work, and supervision of junior attorneys.  This position is designated for attorneys with at least seven years of post-law-school experience.  Knowledge of campaign finance laws and/or internal union governance is required for this position.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES: (At any given time, depending on assignments, this position may not include all of the specific duties and responsibilities listed.  Examples provide a general summary of the work required and should not be treated as a total and complete list of expected duties to be performed by attorneys in the classification.)

• Assist with advising the union’s political and government relations departments on federal and state campaign finance laws and lobbying reporting requirements, including PAC registration rules, independent expenditure reporting, and reviewing political communications;
• Assist with advising on internal union governance issues and give general advice on governance issues; attend hearings and governance meetings.
• Engage in voting rights and election protection work, including analysis of current laws, supervising litigation, working with partner organizations, and deploying legal staff during elections.
• Draft and review contracts and agreements with vendors, consultants, and partner organizations.
• Draft legislation, executive orders, and rules; draft formal comments to proposed federal, state, and local legislation and administrative proposals as assigned by the General Counsel;
• Initiate, pursue, and supervise both proactive and defensive litigation in state and federal courts and before administrative agencies, including negotiating legal settlements as assigned by the General Counsel.
• Monitor legal developments in wide range of legal areas, including campaign finance, voting rights, internal union governance; promote and defend SEIU interests advancing electoral rights before courts, administrative agencies, federal, state, and local policymakers; and regularly report on legal developments to the appropriate parties as assigned by the General Counsel;
• Advise SEIU officers, division heads, other managers and employees, and union leaders on the range of legal issues affecting their areas of responsibility;
• Develop training materials and lead training sessions on a variety of legal issues as assigned by the General Counsel;
• Serve as liaison, where assigned, for SEIU with outside allies, advocacy groups, and legal professional committees as assigned by the General Counsel;
• Approve memoranda and correspondence in area of responsibility for review and execution by the International President or International Secretary-Treasurer and other full-time officers, where applicable, as assigned by the General Counsel;
• Perform other duties as assigned by the General Counsel in support of the work of the SEIU Legal Department.
  
  

Supervisory Duties:

• Supervise and direct work of outside counsel in assigned areas; review and approve all outside counsel bills in areas of assignment, before transmittal to General Counsel;
• Direct supervision of lawyers, law fellows, law clerks, and administrative staff in the incumbent’s area of responsibility.

Budget Responsibility:

• Where applicable, responsible for recommending project budgets for legal work done by outside counsel.  Responsible for approving counsel bills and managing work within an operational budget.

Contacts: 

• Job duties for this position require contact with SEIU officers, staff, local leaders, members, outside counsel, governmental agencies, courts and/or other outside institutions on a regular basis. 

Direction and Decision-Making:

• Incumbents report to the General Counsel and Deputy General Counsels and are expected to perform duties with little or no direct supervision.  Incumbents are held responsible for legal accuracy and adequacy of work performed. 

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:

Juris Doctor degree or equivalent from accredited law school and active membership in the bar association of at least one state or jurisdiction and willingness to admit into the Washington, DC bar.  A minimum of seven years’ experience as a practicing attorney (with clerkships counting toward that minimum).  Experience working with unions or campaign finance law is required.

Qualified candidates must demonstrate a strong commitment to racial, economic, and social justice.  Experience working in the labor movement, labor and employment law practice, political campaigns, and/or related fields is highly preferred. 

The following general knowledge, skills, and abilities:

• Demonstrated ability to strategically use the law to further workers’ interests, including developing and employing cutting-edge legal arguments;
• Ability to independently conduct, analyze, and synthesize complex legal research; develop and implement comprehensive and sophisticated legal strategies for SEIU campaigns and programs; prepare quality legal pleadings, memoranda, and reports and recommendations; and present persuasive oral advocacy;
• Sound legal judgment and ability to effectively interact with, communicate with, and advise a wide variety of staff, officers, outside counsel, and outside agencies;
• Skill in using computerized legal research tools such as Westlaw and internet-based legal databases;
• Knowledge of word processing programs such as MSWord and Google suite.

 

WORK REQUIREMENTS:

Work is currently performed in a hybrid office/telework setting, but incumbents may be required to work in other settings conducive to performing the tasks required to complete assignments.  Travel and extended hours may be required.

Physical Requirements:

Work is currently performed in a hybrid office/telework setting in Washington, DC, but employees may be required to work in other settings conducive to performing the tasks required to complete assignments.  Some travel and extended hours will be required.