Attorney IV

Commerce • Wake County, NC

5d • Onsite

About The Position

The NC Public Staff is currently accepting applications for a Staff Attorney IV in 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, or an electronic form via email prior to the interview with original formatting and content intact, and should be no more than 15 pages.

Requirements

• Licensed to practice law by the North Carolina State Bar
• Four years of progressively responsible professional legal experience.
• Ability to gather and synthesize relevant information, recognize legal and policy implications, and recommend appropriate solutions and courses of action.
• Ability to identify legal and 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.
• Ability to prepare persuasive briefs, and present effective oral argument in novel and complex cases.
• Ability to express legal concepts and related facts in a clear, concise, and persuasive manner both orally and in writing.
• Ability to draft statutes and rules dealing with utility regulation and utility issues.
• Ability to make public presentations.

Nice To Haves

• 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.
• Knowledge or experience that will enable rapid development of litigation skills.
• Knowledge or experience that will enable rapid development of appellate advocacy skills.

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.
• Petition the Commission to initiate proceedings when in the public interest.
• Participate in all certificate applications and assist the Commission in analysis.
• Make recommendations to the Commission with respect to standards, regulations, or practices.
• Investigate formal and informal complaints affecting the using and consuming public.
• Participate in all proceedings for franchise transfers, mergers, and consolidations of public utilities.
• Review, investigate, and recommend action to the Commission regarding affiliate contracts.

Benefits

• State Benefits
• health insurance
• retirement pursuant to State Policy
• 12 Annual Paid Holidays
• monthly accrual of vacation and sick leave
• 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: Senior