Title: Section Chief, Environment
State Role Title: Senior Assistant Attorney General
Hiring Range: Commensurate with Experience
Pay Band: UG
Agency: Attorney General & Dept of Law
Location: Office of the Attorney General
Agency Website: https://www.oag.state.va.us/
Recruitment Type: General Public - G
Job Duties
Chief Objective:
• The Chief of the Environmental Section supervises and directs the Office of the Attorney General’s mission to provide exceptional legal services to the Commonwealth natural resources agencies. The Chief combines high-level legal practice with administrative management. In addition to advising natural resources agencies, the Section ensures the enforcement of Virginia’s environmental laws, including animal law.
• In addition to supervising all work of the Section, the Section Chief also carries an active caseload in administrative, judicial, and legislative proceedings, and performs bill reviews during sessions of the General Assembly.
Work Tasks and Duties:
• Responsible for ensuring that the Section and Division are fulfilling their objective of aiding OAG in achieving its statutory duty to ensure Virginia’s natural resources agencies are operating within the confines of the laws of the Commonwealth, while also enforcing environmental laws and animal laws broadly.
• May aid in representing the Office before the General Assembly, community interest groups, concerned residents, sister agencies, and other state and federal administrative and judicial bodies. This involves monitoring regulatory filings to ensure timely intervention in new cases as warranted, and monitoring legislation; and recommending consumer advocacy positions on pertinent environmental matters to the senior leadership of the Office.
• Advise, assist, and supervise Section attorneys and support staff on assigned cases and matters. The degree varies with the experience of the employee and the complexity and type of individual matters. Includes assignment of cases and assistance in identifying issues, developing legal and policy positions and litigation strategy, and reviewing and editing pleadings.
• Serve as lead counsel in environmental matters before administrative and judicial forums. This includes all aspects of litigation, including identifying issues, analyzing positions, conducting discovery, working with retained experts/consultants, witness examination and opening and closing statements at hearings, and preparation of briefs and other written legal pleadings.
• Perform various Section administrative functions, including matters related to personnel, budgeting and planning, contracting, and various internal reporting.
• Serve as counsel in legislative matters. This involves a full range of activities related to legislation including: policy research; recommending, reviewing, and drafting legislation; appearing before legislative committees; coordination with the Office’s legislative team; contact and negotiation with representatives of stakeholders, including the Department of Energy, various boards, authorities, and commissions, and state agencies within the Natural and Historic Resources Secretariat, such as the Department of Environmental Quality, the Department of Wildlife Resources, and the Department of Conservation and Recreation, regulated industry participants, and other interested third parties; interaction with legislators and legislative staff; and supervision and review of Section staff on those matters. Also includes performing bill reviews and reviewing all bill reviews performed by attorneys in the Section.
• Serve as primary legal adviser to the above listed agency, board, authority, and commission stakeholders, advising on legislative activity and impacts, parliamentary procedure, statutory authority, human resource matters, and conflicts of interest, often in real-time.
• Advise and assist senior OAG staff, or attorneys in other sections, on environmental matters that may arise outside of formal proceedings in which the Section is involved.
• Monitor, identify, and analyze state and federal developments in environmental regulatory areas. This includes staying informed on industry and regulatory developments and trends, through news reports, trade press, attendance at meetings and conferences of state, regional, and national groups and associations, and review of environmental regulatory issuances.
• Participation in Section staff professional development by encouraging Section staff to take advantage of opportunities for professional growth through, participation in new matters, training programs, etc.
Minimum Qualifications
• Knowledge of the law in environmental, and natural and historic resource regulations developed through academic training, seminars, and legal work experience in these specialty areas.
• Knowledge of the preparation of briefs and presentation of arguments for cases before state, federal, and appellate courts, along with instances of other adjudicative bodies.
• Knowledge of SCC’s Rules of Practice and Procedure and Virginia Administrative Process Act, and Virginia Rules of Evidence.
• Knowledge of Federal Rules of Evidence, Administrative Record Review, and Burden of Proof.
• Ability to communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.
• Ability to use judgment, tact and discretion.
• Ability to quickly assimilate oral and written data, to analyze facts, and draw logical conclusions.
• Ability to express legal interpretations or conclusions of law clearly and logically in oral and written form.
• Ability to coordinate and function as a lead attorney or counsel in complex cases.
• Strong supervisory and leadership skills.
• Ability to provide clear direction to other attorneys.
• Ability to organize work, establish priorities, and maintain good interpersonal relations and communications with other attorneys and support staff as well as effective working relationships with government officials, outside consultants, and the general public.
• Ability to maintain case files, records, and prepare reports and correspondence related to the work.
• Computer literacy to include proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite, Worldox, LawBase, etc.
• Virginia Bar license
Special Instructions
Kindly utilize the Virginia Jobs website (https://www.jobs.virginia.gov) to submit your application. Applications sent to the Recruitment email address will not be reviewed for the hiring process. We do not entertain phone calls or emails inquiring about application status; instead, please login to the PageUp/RMS system for updates on your application's status.
Contact Information
Name: OAG Recruitment
Phone: 804-786-2071
Email: recruitment@oag.state.va.us
In support of the Commonwealth’s commitment to inclusion, we are encouraging individuals with disabilities to apply through the Commonwealth Alternative Hiring Process. To be considered for this opportunity, applicants will need to provide their AHP Letter (formerly COD) provided by the Department for Aging & Rehabilitative Services (DARS), or the Department for the Blind & Vision Impaired (DBVI). Service-Connected Veterans are encouraged to answer Veteran status questions and submit their disability documentation, if applicable, to DARS/DBVI to get their AHP Letter. Requesting an AHP Letter can be found at AHP Letter or by calling DARS at 800-552-5019.
Note: Applicants who received a Certificate of Disability from DARS or DBVI dated between April 1, 2022- February 29, 2024, can still use that COD as applicable documentation for the Alternative Hiring Process.