Attorney VI - General Counsel (Juvenile Probation Employees only)

Travis County•Austin, TX

21h•Onsite

About The Position

As General Counsel for Travis County Juvenile Probation Department, this position provides legal advice to the Chief Juvenile Probation Officer, Juvenile Board, managers, Juvenile Probation Officers, and line staff to ensure they operate within applicable local, state, and federal regulations and guidelines, and to protect the Department from potential risk/liability. This role routinely interprets County rules, state/national standards, state/federal laws, and regulations, and renders legal opinions on complex topics in memo, email, and brief form. The position assists with drafting policies and procedures, contracts, and proposed legislation, as needed. It responds to oral/written inquiries from TCJPD staff, as well as judges, prosecutors, attorneys, state agency officials, legislative staff, law enforcement, school administrators, and other juvenile justice professionals. The General Counsel serves as the TCJPD Public Information Officer and interacts with the news media and general public, and provides legal and legislative trainings, as needed. This position manages and oversees the Court Administration Division, the Accreditation and Compliance Unit, and supervises two staff attorneys. It oversees TCJPD internal investigations that are mandated by state/federal law. During years when the Texas Legislature is in session, the role assumes legislative related duties and responsibilities. The General Counsel participates on the TCJPD management and leadership teams, and attends stakeholder meetings, as needed. This is the sixth in a series of seven attorney-related job classifications within the Attorneys job family. This classification handles cases and matters that are the most complex and that may result in moderately severe consequences without supervision and handles cases and matters that may result in the most severe consequences with supervision.

Requirements

J.D./LL.B. from an accredited law school
Eight (8) years licensed attorney work experience.
Licensed to practice law in the State of Texas.
Knowledge of jurisprudence, criminal and civil law and procedures, including constitutional and statutory law.
Knowledge of Federal, State, Local and County applicable laws, rules, regulations and guidelines.
Knowledge of methods and practices of pleading cases and of effective techniques for presentation of cases in court or to effectively present facts and precedents verbally and in writing in law related matters.
Knowledge of policies, practices, procedures and legal terminology related to court system.
Knowledge of computer equipment to include word processing, spreadsheets, databases and a variety of software packages.
Knowledge of business letter writing, grammar and punctuation, and report preparation.
May be required to develop knowledge of and adhere to federal and state laws requiring the confidential handling of certain health information.
Skill in problem-solving and decision-making.
Skill in analyzing and appraising facts, policies, procedures and legal precedents in area of specialty.
Skill in both verbal and written communication, including presentations.
Ability to conduct legal research and analysis, both manually and electronically.
Ability to present facts, precedents and arguments verbally and in writing and apply negotiation skills.
Ability to communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.
Ability to work independently.
Ability to manage time well and perform multiple tasks, and organize diverse activities.
Ability to work well under pressure and exercise tact in trying situations.
Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with departmental clientele, representatives of outside agencies, other County employees and officials, and the general public.
Criminal, Driving, Education, Drug Test, Alcohol Test, and Employment Background Checks Required.

Responsibilities

Performs legal research.
Searches resources and studies legal records and documents to obtain information applicable to case or issue under consideration.
Drafts briefs, motions, orders, subpoenas, contracts and other legal documents, as well as correspondence and reports.
Takes depositions and responds to discovery requests.
Oversees the creation and issuance of legal documents, including subpoenas, motions, orders, writs, warrants, contracts, official policies and other related documents.
Represents the State at docket calls.
Prepares cases for trial.
Collects, organizes and prepares evidence, information and other legal materials.
Performs other job-related duties as assigned.
Provides legal advice to the Chief Juvenile Probation Officer, Juvenile Board, managers, Juvenile Probation Officers and line staff.
Interprets County rules, state/national standards, state/federal laws, and regulations.
Renders legal opinions on complex topics.
Assists with drafting policies and procedures, contracts, and proposed legislation.
Responds to oral/written inquiries from TCJPD staff, judges, prosecutors, attorneys, state agency officials, legislative staff, law enforcement, school administrators, and other juvenile justice professionals.
Serves as the TCJPD Public Information Officer and interacts with the news media and general public.
Provides legal and legislative trainings.
Manages and oversees the Court Administration Division, the Accreditation and Compliance Unit.
Supervises two staff attorneys.
Oversees TCJPD internal investigations that are mandated by state/federal law.
Assumes legislative related duties and responsibilities during Texas legislative sessions.
Participates on the TCJPD management and leadership teams.
Attends stakeholder meetings.