Assistant Corporation Counsel – Tort, Brooklyn Assistant Borough Chief

City of New York•Brooklyn, NY

About The Position

The Tort Division seeks an Assistant Borough Chief in the Brooklyn Borough office. Duties include: - general supervision of unit staff; - supervision of the EBT desk, EBT clerk, and all EBT issues; - general supervision of the proper functioning of the borough office; - general supervision of the PC and Post-Note-Of-Issue projects and meet regularly with paralegals and claims specialists with respect to these projects; - the training, supervision, and evaluation of staff attorneys, clerical and support staff; - conducting regular meetings with management staff, attorneys, and support staff; - interfacing with senior court personnel and Comptroller’s representatives; - ensuring the efficient and timely operation of office procedures and programs, such as pre-trial and in-court settlement programs, the Intake Program, and RFA program; - helping to ensure proper handling of responsive and affirmative motions; - ensuring that note-of-issue reviews and summary judgment deadlines are met; - general supervision of the processing of settlements; - ensuring the proper handling of mail and efficient and current file room maintenance; - ensuring the accurate data entry of litigation events; - negotiating settlements; conducting settlement conferences; - helping to ensure that borough’s highest-exposure cases are being prepared or settled; - helping to supervise the pre-trial parts; - ensuring timely compliance with court-ordered deadlines; - regularly evaluating office processes and recommending and implementing changes to promote efficiency, productivity, and quality; - helping maintain library learning and applying electronic research and legal research tools; - learning and applying electronic calendaring and management programs; - helping to ensure that borough office caseload is flowing appropriately; and - ensuring that case backlogs are not accumulating. After the completion of orientation, attorneys hired by the Law Department will have the opportunity to elect to work from home under one of the following two programs. The first option allows attorneys to work remotely on a limited and irregular basis. The second option is a Citywide pilot program, which allows participants to select two set days to work from home each week. The two days will need to be approved by the attorney’s division and take into consideration the needs of the division, as the pilot program requires more than 50% staff coverage each day. In addition, if an attorney needs to appear in court, a client meeting or other in-person work related event on a set work from home day, they will need to attend to those in-person responsibilities and will not be able to work from home that day. Participants in the pilot program must set one work from home location where they will work remotely. This pilot program is currently being tested Citywide to determine its efficacy for City agencies and is not yet a permanent program.

Requirements

Attorneys admitted in New York with substantial legal experience
demonstrated exceptional organizational, managerial, and supervisory abilities
strong legal analytical skills
solid knowledge of municipal tort law, the CPLR, and evidentiary issues
solid knowledge of and experience in personal-injury-case evaluation and valuation of injuries
strong negotiation skills
excellent interpersonal skills
excellent judgment

Nice To Haves

trial experience a plus

Responsibilities

general supervision of unit staff
supervision of the EBT desk, EBT clerk, and all EBT issues
general supervision of the proper functioning of the borough office
general supervision of the PC and Post-Note-Of-Issue projects and meet regularly with paralegals and claims specialists with respect to these projects
the training, supervision, and evaluation of staff attorneys, clerical and support staff
conducting regular meetings with management staff, attorneys, and support staff
interfacing with senior court personnel and Comptroller’s representatives
ensuring the efficient and timely operation of office procedures and programs, such as pre-trial and in-court settlement programs, the Intake Program, and RFA program
helping to ensure proper handling of responsive and affirmative motions
ensuring that note-of-issue reviews and summary judgment deadlines are met
general supervision of the processing of settlements
ensuring the proper handling of mail and efficient and current file room maintenance
ensuring the accurate data entry of litigation events
negotiating settlements
conducting settlement conferences
helping to ensure that borough’s highest-exposure cases are being prepared or settled
helping to supervise the pre-trial parts
ensuring timely compliance with court-ordered deadlines
regularly evaluating office processes and recommending and implementing changes to promote efficiency, productivity, and quality
helping maintain library learning and applying electronic research and legal research tools
learning and applying electronic calendaring and management programs
helping to ensure that borough office caseload is flowing appropriately
ensuring that case backlogs are not accumulating