Counsel / Chief Administrative Law Judge - Vacancy ID# 182845
State of New York See More Job Openings by This Employer
The Chief Administrative Law Judge leads the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) and manages the conduct and supervision of fair and impartial quasi-judicial hearings in cases involving individuals and businesses applying for and holding occupational licenses issued by the Department of State, as well as those subject to regulatory administrative action by the DOS Division of Codes and the NYS Athletic Commission.
Specific Duties include, but are not limited to:
• Manage the overall Administrative Hearings program, ensuring integrity, efficiency, and effectiveness of the process, and that agency goals and objectives are successfully met.
• Ensure that staff are sufficiently trained, developed, and have the legal and programmatic knowledge and expertise to conduct effective administrative hearings, and to render appropriate decisions.
• Ensure OAH is resourced with comprehensive knowledge of case law and judgements and is able to apply such knowledge to support quality in decision making.
• Develop OAH policies and procedures to facilitate successful operation of the administrative hearings program.
• Set OAH mission, vision and goals; establish and implement staffing and budgetary plans.
• Work with DOS Executive staff to represent OAH in broader agency initiatives and goals; provide management reports and information.
• Directly supervise OAH supervisory and management staff, and indirectly manage work of Administrative Law Judges and support staff.
o Review work products to check for quality, accuracy, timeliness and completeness, and make edits or revisions, as necessary.
o Establish work procedures and keep track of daily work; review and approve time and attendance.
o Track progress and execution of assignments.
o Provide training, orientation, and duties and performance expectations.
o Monitor and evaluate performance.
• Perform second level review of hearing decisions to ensure legal sufficiency and adherence to OAH policy and procedures.
• Perform second level review of appellate decisions issued by the designee of the Secretary of State, as well as outside court rulings, to determine their effect on OAH’s policies, procedures, and future hearing decisions.
• Adjudicate complex cases, when necessary, including cases with less established precedent, hearings involving multiple witnesses and days of testimony, and complex legal & regulatory issues, draft written decisions from hearings.
• Perform other tasks and assignments, as needed.
Travel is expected mainly between the Albany and NYC office locations. Travel to other DOS office locations where hearings are conducted may be necessary.
Please include a legal writing sample of your own work, not to exceed 5 pages single or double spaced, in 11–12-point font. An excerpt of a larger document is acceptable.
- $137,457 - $173,664/year
Law degree from an accredited law school; admission to, and member in good standing of, the New York State Bar; and seven years of relevant post-bar experience. Three years must have been at a managerial level.
If a degree and/or credit hours are listed, please forward your transcripts with your resume and cover letter.
It is essential that candidates clearly and concisely indicate exactly how they meet the above minimum qualifications in their resume. Failure to show how you meet the minimum qualifications above may result in disqualification and removal from consideration.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:
• Significant experience with administrative law, administrative hearings or litigation
• Analyzing legal issues, and researching and interpreting complex areas of law
• Experience adjudicating administrative hearings in a governmental setting, and managing components of a hearing process
• Experience with review of legal work products for quality, accuracy and thoroughness
• Experience with research, review, and interpretation of case law and history, and application of such to the professional development of legal staff
• 5+ years of management experience, including supervision, training, and development of professional legal staff, employee performance evaluation, development of policies and procedures, and development of mission, goals, and operational plans.
The Department of State is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We encourage women, people of color, LGBTQ individuals, people with disabilities, members of ethnic minorities, foreign-born residents, and veterans to apply. We celebrate diversity and do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, age, veteran status, disability status, arrest record or criminal conviction history, or any other category protected by law.
We are happy to provide reasonable and religious accommodations during the hiring process for those in need. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please send a request to HRM.Recruitment@dos.ny.gov.
NOTE ON TELECOMMUTING: The Department of State employees may be approved for a maximum of 50% telecommuting, however, they are required to apply and obtain approval through management in accordance with The Department of State Telecommuting Program Guidelines.
If you are interested and meet the minimum qualifications above, email your cover letter, resume, degree/transcript, and New York State Part 1 Application (https://dos.ny.gov/employment-opportunities) to HRM.Recruitment@dos.ny.gov. Please include Title, Location and Vacancy ID # you are applying for in the subject line of your email.
