Assistant Corporation Counsel – Tort, State Law Enforcement Defense Unit

City of New York•New York City, NY

22d•Hybrid

About The Position

State Law Enforcement Defense Unit (“SLED”) Intake Attorneys are responsible for reviewing, analyzing, preparing, and updating incoming alleged-police-misconduct cases assigned to the SLED Unit and supervising the SLED Intake support professionals. The Intake team is responsible for sending out initial requests for records and following up as needed. This process is essential to the team’s efforts to refer cases for early settlement and to provide court-ordered discovery once a CSO/PC is issued. The attorneys also engage in motion practice, including but not limited to, motions to change venue, motions to dismiss on procedural grounds, and defending default motions. Lastly, they prepare CSO responses, as per the unique requirements in alleged-police-misconduct CSOs that travel on an expedited path. 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

Applicants must be graduates of an ABA approved law school
admitted and in good standing with the NYS bar
have at least two years of experience handling police cases or other relevant experience
The ideal candidate will be able to work independently and have strong organizational skills

Responsibilities

reviewing and developing litigation strategies for new SLED cases
participating in and/or conducting case reviews
meeting with support professionals and supervisors to discuss case-preparation strategies
drafting and serving amended pleadings and impleaders in select cases
requesting document discovery and securing relevant evidence
assembling and redacting discovery responsive to case scheduling orders
analyzing agency documents and on-line data
drafting affirmative and defensive motions
conducting factual and legal research
conducting interviews of police officers
maintaining an updated spreadsheet of assigned Intake cases
referring cases to the Special Litigation Unit and Early Intervention Unit, as well as directly negotiating matters to resolution
determining whether a case should be removed to federal court
updating Law Manager and the on-line Intake database
performing other litigation tasks as required