Attorney IV

State of North Carolina

1d

About The Position

Start your journey towards success and unleash your potential to make an impact! The NC Public Staff is currently accepting applications for the Staff Attorney IV - Wake County. This position will be in the Legal Division of the Public Staff. The primary purpose of the Staff Attorney position is to provide legal advice and representation to the Executive Director, members of the Public Staff, and the using and consuming public in matters involving the rates and service of electric utilities, natural gas utilities, water and sewer utilities, communications service providers, ferry operators, and movers of household goods. Cases range in significance and complexity from rate increases for small water and sewer utilities serving as few as 15 residences to major electric and natural gas utility rate cases and corporate mergers involving millions of customers and hundreds of millions and sometimes billions of dollars. The job opening is for an attorney to work on matters involving the provision of natural gas, water, sewer, telecommunications, ferry, and intrastate household moving utility service in the Gas/Water/Sewer/Telecom/Transportation Section of the Legal Division. However, the attorney may be assigned to matters involving other types of utility service. Within the Public Staff, the primary purpose of the Legal Division is: (1) to provide legal representation of the Public Staff and the using and consuming public in formal proceedings before the Utilities Commission, appellate courts, and federal regulatory agencies, (2) to provide legal and policy advice on issues related to public utility regulation to the Executive Director and other members of the Public Staff and, upon request, members of the General Assembly, other governmental bodies, the general public, and entities that provide public utility service in North Carolina. This is a full-time position (40 hours per week) with State Benefits, including health insurance, as well as retirement pursuant to State Policy. Applicants invited to interview will be required to provide a writing sample. The writing sample must be the applicant’s original work and should demonstrate legal analysis, clarity of written communication, and the ability to present complex information in an organized and persuasive manner. Acceptable samples include judicial decisions, administrative law decisions, legal memoranda, briefs, motions, or other comparable legal documents authored solely by the applicant. Samples should be submitted in hard copy at the interview, should have original formatting and content intact, and should be no more than 15 pages. Incentives of NC State Employment We value our employees and offer a wide variety of competitive and family-friendly benefits. Benefits to include: • 12 Annual Paid Holidays and monthly accrual of vacation and sick leave. • North Carolina State Health Plan currently administered by Aetna. • Supplemental Benefits including Flexible Spending Accounts, Accident Insurance, Cancer & Specified Disease, Critical Illness, Dental, and Vision. • NC State Retirement (TSERS), 401(k), and 457 savings plans. • WeSave Employee Discounts. • Eligibility for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program. Learn more about new hire resources, safety, health, and wellness information, leave options, employee discounts and more by selecting the link below: https://oshr.nc.gov/state-employee-resources/benefits Note to Current State Employees The salary grade for this position is LG09. State employees are encouraged to apply for positions of interest even if the salary grade is the same as, or lower than, their current position. If selected for this position, a new salary will be recalculated taking into consideration the quantity of relevant education and experience, funding availability, and internal equity. Based upon those factors, a pay increase MAY result.

Requirements

• APPLICANTS MUST MEET THE EDUCATIONAL AND EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENT IN ORDER TO QUALIFY FOR THIS POSITION.
• Licensed to practice law by the North Carolina State Bar and four years of progressively responsible professional legal experience.

Nice To Haves

• Utility Regulation Knowledge or experience that will enable a rapid understanding of case, statutory, regulatory, and common law and policy governing the regulation of public utilities in North Carolina and the role of the Public Staff in the regulatory process.
• Research and Analytical Skills The ability to gather and synthesize relevant information, recognize legal and policy implications, and recommend appropriate solutions and courses of action.
• Litigation skills Knowledge or experience that will enable rapid development of litigation skills, including the ability to identify legaland factual issues, develop legal positions and strategies, deliver oral arguments, conduct discovery, and present and cross-examine expert witnesses in cases before the Utilities Commission.
• Knowledge or experience that will enable rapid development of appellate advocacy skills, including the ability to prepare persuasive briefs, and present effective oral argument in novel and complex cases.
• Communication skills The ability to express legal concepts and related facts in a clear, concise, and persuasive manner both orally and inwriting to draft statutes and rules dealing with utility regulation and energy related issues, and to make public presentations.

Responsibilities

• provide legal advice and representation to the Executive Director, members of the Public Staff, and the using and consuming public in matters involving the rates and service of electric utilities, natural gas utilities, water and sewer utilities, communications service providers, ferry operators, and movers of household goods
• provide legal representation of the Public Staff and the using and consuming public in formal proceedings before the Utilities Commission, appellate courts, and federal regulatory agencies
• provide legal and policy advice on issues related to public utility regulation to the Executive Director and other members of the Public Staff and, upon request, members of the General Assembly, other governmental bodies, the general public, and entities that provide public utility service in North Carolina

Benefits

• 12 Annual Paid Holidays and monthly accrual of vacation and sick leave.
• North Carolina State Health Plan currently administered by Aetna.
• Supplemental Benefits including Flexible Spending Accounts, Accident Insurance, Cancer & Specified Disease, Critical Illness, Dental, and Vision.
• NC State Retirement (TSERS), 401(k), and 457 savings plans.
• WeSave Employee Discounts.
• Eligibility for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed