Deputy Director & Assistant Chief of Tort

City of New York • New York, NY

2d

About The Position

The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) seeks an experienced attorney to serve as Deputy Director and Assistant Chief of the Tort Division. This senior leadership role is critical to advancing NYCHA’s evolving approach to claims resolution, with a particular focus on strengthening the Division’s settlement practices and outcomes. The Tort Division continues to strive to expand its efforts to resolve claims efficiently, fairly, and strategically. The Deputy Director and Assistant Chief will play a central role in overseeing settlement initiatives, supervising attorneys and support staff, and collaborating with NYCHA leadership, the Office of the General Counsel, investigators, and external stakeholders. This position offers a dynamic public-sector litigation environment, significant leadership responsibility, and the opportunity to influence agency-wide settlement strategy. The key responsibilities of the Deputy Director and Assistant Chief of the Tort Division will include, but not be limited to, the following:
- Collaborate with the Director/Chief in all aspects of Tort Division operations.
- Supervise and manage Tort Division attorneys and support staff independently and in coordination with the Director/Chief.
- Provide strategic guidance to Division members on legal, factual, and procedural issues.
- Directly oversee the Tort Division Settlement Unit.
- Supervise and manage Settlement Unit attorneys and support staff.
- Collaborate with the Office of the General Counsel and the Director/Chief on Settlement Unit initiatives.
- Serve as liaison between the Tort Division and the New York court system on settlement-related initiatives, including blockbuster conferences and individual settlement conferences.
- Serve as liaison with private mediation organizations, including NAM and JAMS.
- Review and select cases for mediations, settlement conferences, and blockbuster calendars.
- Review and prepare settlement authority and reserve change requests in accordance with delegated authority.
- Oversee mediation and settlement calendars and scheduling.
- Represent NYCHA, or assign appropriate staff, at mediations, settlement conferences, and court proceedings.
- Serve as lead negotiator on complex and high-exposure matters.
- Maintain a caseload of high-exposure tort matters.
- Supervise legal research, drafting of memoranda, legal submissions, and settlement documents.
- Oversee initiatives to enhance and modernize settlement practices and documentation.
- Develop, modify, and implement data-driven KPIs related to settlement performance.
- Lead efforts to monitor and improve settlement outcomes through regular reviews of metrics and performance data.
- Perform other related duties as assigned.
Note: The selected candidate will be required to maintain confidentiality regarding all NYCHA proceedings.

Requirements

• Admission to the New York State Bar
• Four years of recent full-time responsible, relevant, satisfactory legal experience subsequent to admission to any bar, eighteen months of which must have been in the supervision of other attorneys, in an administrative, managerial or executive capacity, or performing highly complex and significant legal work.
• Incumbents must remain Members of the New York State Bar in good standing for the duration of this employment.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with the Director/Chief in all aspects of Tort Division operations.
• Supervise and manage Tort Division attorneys and support staff independently and in coordination with the Director/Chief.
• Provide strategic guidance to Division members on legal, factual, and procedural issues.
• Directly oversee the Tort Division Settlement Unit.
• Supervise and manage Settlement Unit attorneys and support staff.
• Collaborate with the Office of the General Counsel and the Director/Chief on Settlement Unit initiatives.
• Serve as liaison between the Tort Division and the New York court system on settlement-related initiatives, including blockbuster conferences and individual settlement conferences.
• Serve as liaison with private mediation organizations, including NAM and JAMS.
• Review and select cases for mediations, settlement conferences, and blockbuster calendars.
• Review and prepare settlement authority and reserve change requests in accordance with delegated authority.
• Oversee mediation and settlement calendars and scheduling.
• Represent NYCHA, or assign appropriate staff, at mediations, settlement conferences, and court proceedings.
• Serve as lead negotiator on complex and high-exposure matters.
• Maintain a caseload of high-exposure tort matters.
• Supervise legal research, drafting of memoranda, legal submissions, and settlement documents.
• Oversee initiatives to enhance and modernize settlement practices and documentation.
• Develop, modify, and implement data-driven KPIs related to settlement performance.
• Lead efforts to monitor and improve settlement outcomes through regular reviews of metrics and performance data.
• Perform other related duties as assigned.

Benefits

• NYCHA provides benefits that include a choice of medical coverage plans, deferred compensation plans and a defined pension benefit plan as a member of the New York City Employees’ Retirement System (NYCERS).

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Education Level: No Education Listed
• Number of Employees: 101-250 employees