Senior Attorney, SG-25 (Insurance Division)

Duties

The New York State Department of Financial Services seeks to build an equitable, transparent, and resilient financial system that benefits individuals and supports business. Through engagement, data-driven regulation and policy, and operational excellence, the Department and its employees are responsible for empowering consumers and protecting them from financial harm; ensuring the health of the entities we regulate; driving economic growth in New York through responsible innovation; and preserving the stability of the global financial system.

The Department of Financial Services is seeking candidates for the position of Senior Attorney in multiple business units. Duties include, but are not limited to, the following:

Health Bureau: Oversees the regulation of health insurance and the implementation of health care initiatives in New York; assists with investigations, implements new legislation, drafts regulations, develops reports, participates in inter-agency workgroups, and works on special projects including mental health parity; reviews innovative health insurance products and works with their teams to ensure consumer protections and compliance requirements are met.

Life Bureau: Senior attorneys will have the opportunity to develop an expertise in financial services products and will have a direct impact on the lives of consumers and their families through: review and approval of insurance products; drafting legislation, regulations and other compliance standards; conducting legal research pertinent to the life insurance industry; responding to consumer complaints; and advising the Department’s market conduct examiners, consumer assistance unit, and Office of General Counsel on matters related to the life insurance industry.

Producers Bureau: Senior Attorneys will negotiate and draft Stipulations of Settlement and impose fines on licensees and applicants; draft consents for waivers pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 1033, which allow convicted felons to work in the insurance industry; assist examiners with analyzing legal issues related to their investigations; prepare examiners to testify and conduct disciplinary hearings; and conduct legal research.

Property Bureau: Senior Attorneys will serve as a legal advisor to administrators and managers of the Property and Casualty Division; they confer with staff on legal issues directly related to property and casualty insurance. Duties also include legal documentation drafting, including a high volume of Consent Orders for the Property Market and Excess Lines units; legal research on assigned topics for Property Casualty as well as assignments from Executive Management. Candidates must be admitted to the New York State Bar and have a minimum of two years legal experience; strong written, analytical and oral communication skills.

Salary

• $65,001 - $117,875/year

Qualifications

Appointment Method:

Minimum Qualifications:

Senior Attorney SG-25: One year as an Assistant Attorney 3 or admission to the NYS Bar and two years of subsequent professional legal experience.

Assistant Attorney 3 SG-22: One year as Assistant Attorney 2 or admission to the NYS Bar and one year of subsequent professional legal experience.

Assistant Attorney 2 SG-20: Admission to NYS Bar.

Assistant Attorney 1 SG-18: Law School Graduation (or other eligibility to take the NYS Bar Examination). Note: If you are appointed as an Assistant Attorney 1, you will be automatically advanced to Assistant Attorney 2 upon admission to the New York State Bar. If you are not admitted to the New York State Bar within two years of appointment, your appointment will be terminated.

The Traineeship: If you are appointed to one of the entry levels of the Attorney Traineeship, you will normally be advanced after each twelve months of satisfactory service to the next higher title (with salary based on performance) until you reach the full performance level of a Senior Attorney. If your final performance evaluation as an Assistant Attorney 2, and your six-month performance evaluation as an Assistant Attorney 3 are rated outstanding, you may be eligible for early advancement to Senior Attorney, reducing your traineeship by six months. All service during the traineeship will be in probationary status. Performance will be evaluated every six months against established standards set by the individual agencies which reflect a timetable for gaining the knowledge and skills necessary so that appointees are able to function at the Senior Attorney level at the completion of the traineeship.

NY HELPS: This title is part of the New York Hiring for Emergency Limited Placement Statewide Program (NY HELPS). The NY HELPS Program allows agencies to fill certain positions via permanent non-competitive appointments. At a future date (within one year of your permanent appointment), it is expected employees hired under NY HELPS will have their non-competitive employment status converted to competitive status, without having to compete in an examination. Employees will then be afforded with all of the same rights and privileges of competitive class employees of New York State. While serving permanently in a NY HELPS title, employees may take part in any promotion examination for which they are qualified.

List Appointment: Candidates must be reachable on the Civil Service eligible list for 20-620.

55 b/c Appointment: Candidates must meet the eligibility requirements of the Governor's Program to Hire Individuals and Veterans with Disabilities as described in Civil Service Law § 55b/c. Information about this program can be found here: https://www.cs.ny.gov/rp55/

Transfer: Candidates must have one year of permanent competitive service in a title eligible for transfer via Sections 70.1 or 52.6 of the Civil Service Law. Information regarding transfer eligibility may be available on the Civil Service Career Mobility Office website at http://careermobilityoffice.cs.ny.gov/cmo/. Please Note that under Civil Service Law, an employee cannot have two consecutive upward 70.1 or 52.6 transfers without an intervening eligible list appointment if such transfers would exceed two salary grades.

Other Information

Please note that a change in negotiating unit may affect your salary, insurance and other benefits.

Salary: $93,530-$117,875 (Grade-25 Level)
$79,928 (Grade NS-22)
$72,032 (Grade NS-20)
$65,001 (Grade NS-18)

Positions located within the New York City metropolitan area, as well as Suffolk, Nassau, Rockland, and Westchester Counties, are also eligible to receive an additional $3,400 annual downstate adjustment.

Appointment Status: Permanent or Contingent-Permanent

How to Apply

To Apply: Vacancies exist in Albany and NYC. Interested qualified candidates must submit a resume and letter of interest no later than December 31, 2024, to the email address listed below. Please include the Vacancy ID and the preferred location (ALB/NYC) in the subject line of your email to ensure receipt of your application. Email submissions are preferred.

Christopher Barr
New York State Department of Financial Services
Office of Human Resources Management
One Commerce Plaza, Suite 301
Albany, NY 12257
Email: Christopher.Barr@dfs.ny.gov
Fax: (518) 402-5071

All candidates that apply may not be scheduled for an interview.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness
Employment with New York State qualifies an individual for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF). This program forgives the remaining balance on any Direct Student Loans after you have made 120 qualifying monthly payments while working full-time for a U.S. federal, state, local, or tribal government or not-for-profit organization. To learn more about the program and whether you would qualify, please visit: https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/public-service

AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT: REASONABLE ACCOMMODATIONS
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Department of Financial Services is required to provide reasonable accommodation for known physical or mental limitations of an otherwise qualified applicant with a disability if an accommodation would enable the applicant to perform the essential functions of the job. If the accommodation would constitute an undue hardship on the operations of the agency, the agency is not required to provide it.

All people with disabilities are encouraged to apply to all jobs for which they meet the minimum qualifications.

Pursuant to Executive Order 161, no State entity, as defined by the Executive Order, is permitted to ask, or mandate, in any form, that an applicant for employment provide his or her current compensation, or any prior compensation history, until such time as the applicant is extended a conditional offer of employment with compensation. If such information has been requested from you before such time, please contact the Office of Employee Relations at (518) 473-3130 or via email at response@oer.ny.gov.