Title: Section Chief, Health Professions

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

This attorney serves as Section Chief of the Health Professions Section and will take on the duties of managing and supervising Section attorneys and staff, aid in advising the Virginia Department of Health Professions (DHP), and supervise and engage in administrative prosecutions involving misconduct before Virginia health professions boards.
The Section conducts the administrative prosecution of cases involving health care practitioners licensed, certified, or registered to practice in Virginia and certain health care establishments permitted to operate in Virginia before the 13 thirteen health regulatory boards within the Virginia Department of Health Professions (DHP). The Section’s attorneys provide advice and representation of a prosecutorial nature to the boards within DHP, including Virginia’s Boards of Audiology & Speech-Language Pathology, Counseling, Dentistry, Funeral Directors & Embalmers, Long-Term Care Administrators, Medicine, Nursing, Optometry, Pharmacy, Physical Therapy, Psychology, Social Work, and Veterinary Medicine. This attorney manages the three attorneys in the Health Professions Section to ensure that high quality legal services are provided in a timely manner. In addition, this attorney manages their own caseload as necessary.
The Attorney General’s Office has a three-day in-office policy, with two days of telework per week after an initial probationary period for new hires.

Work Tasks and Duties:
• Manage and supervise Section attorneys and staff.
• Review legal advice provided by Section attorneys.
• Review pleadings and memoranda on legal issues arising in DHP cases.
• Assist Section attorneys in providing legal advice as necessary.
• Represent the Commonwealth at formal hearings.
• Draft and review memoranda of agreement between OAG and DHP.
• Serve as liaison between DHP and OAG on disciplinary matters.
• Draft and finalize weekly reports for senior OAG management.
• Draft and finalize annual report of the Section’s accomplishments.

Minimum Qualifications

• Active license in good standing to practice law in Virginia.
• Knowledge of Virginia law.
• Knowledge of Virginia administrative law.
• Knowledge of statutory and regulatory law pertaining to professions regulated by the Health Professions Boards within DHP.
• Knowledge of legal research procedures and the ability to perform thorough legal research.
• Knowledge of the preparation of Notices of Formal Hearings, Statements of Allegations, Formal Hearing Orders, Summary Suspension Orders, and Consent Orders for disciplinary cases before the DHP Boards.
• Knowledge of the preparation and presentation of arguments for cases before the DHP Boards.
• Knowledge of the practices and procedures of the OAG.
• Knowledge of the applicable rules and procedures in administrative proceedings before the DHP Boards.
• Ability to manage attorneys and administrative staff.
• Ability to communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.
• Ability to use good 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 provide direction to other attorneys and to adjudication specialists and consultants within DHP.
• Ability to maintain records, and prepare reports and correspondence related to work,
• Ability to coordinate and function as a lead attorney in highly complex cases.
• Ability to identify and analyze issues and problems in human relations and to recommend and implement solutions.
• Ability to organize work, establish priorities, and maintain good interpersonal relationships and communications with other attorneys and support staff, as well as effective working relationships with other government officials and the general public.
• Ability to maintain favorable public relationships and good interpersonal relationships with DHP staff.
• Ability to supervise and lead.
• Ability to persuade and build consensus.
• Computer literacy to include proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite, Net Documents, and LawBase.
• Ability to manage time effectively and to record time for billing purposes.

Special Instructions

Please use the Virginia Jobs website (https://www.jobs.virginia.gov) to submit your application. Applications sent to the Recruitment email address below will not be reviewed for the hiring process. We do not entertain phone calls or email messages inquiring about application status; instead, please log in 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.