Deputy General Counsel

City of New York•New York, NY

4d•Hybrid

About The Position

The New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) regulates the safe and lawful use of buildings and properties by enforcing the New York City Construction Codes, New York City Zoning Resolution and the New York State Multiple Dwelling Law. The Department performs its mission by reviewing building construction plans, conducting safety and other inspections, licensing construction trades, responding to complaints of unsafe, unlicensed, and/or illegal construction work, and conducting industry outreach. The Office of the General Counsel (General Counsel’s Office) provides guidance to all units within the agency on all aspects of the agency’s functions. DOB seeks a Deputy General Counsel (DGC) to lead the Department’s Legal Advisory unit within the General Counsel’s Office on a broad range of matters involving all aspects of the Agency’s functions, including interpretation of the New York City Construction Codes, New York City Zoning Resolution, New York State Multiple Dwelling Law (MDL), and New York State General City Law (GCL), as well as jurisdictional, employment, and conflict of interest issues.

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.

Nice To Haves

Supervise and manage the team of attorneys in the Legal Advisory Unit (LAU) of the General Counsel’s Office.
Act as a senior legal advisor to the agency on statutory interpretations.
Work closely with the Technical Affairs and Code Development and Code and Zoning Interpretation (TA) divisions to promote consistent interpretations of the Zoning Resolution and to help educate and guide DOB technical staff in all boroughs on these interpretations.
Lead, support, and train a team of about 5 Assistant General Counsels with varying levels of seniority and experience.
Exercise excellent judgment from an organizational, strategic, and legal perspective while juggling multiple priorities.
Possess outstanding analytical skills.

Responsibilities

Provide legal advice and guidance to the Department’s TA divisions and Borough Offices’ technical staff in critically interpreting the NYC Zoning Resolution to provide DOB determinations that are legally consistent and not arbitrary or capricious.
Provide legal advice and guidance to the Commissioner, senior and executive staff, boroughs, and other agency units, as well as other City agencies, on various areas of law, including the NYC Charter, NYC Construction Codes, MDL and GCL.
Help TA divisions to issue well-organized and legally defensible final determinations in response to applicant requests for interpretation of the NYC Zoning Resolution (referred to as ZRD1s), variation or interpretations of Construction Codes requirements (referred to as CCD1s), and public zoning challenges (referred to as ZRD2s and ZRD3s).
Defend the Department in challenges before the NYC Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA), and where needed, initiate proceedings to revoke or modify a certificate of occupancy. This requires formulating arguments, preparing persuasive well-organized written submissions, presenting oral arguments at hearings, and reporting on decisions to educate DOB staff.
Respond to attorneys’ claims of erroneous Department actions and guide the Boroughs on actions to take in response to such claims.
Respond to employment discrimination challenges in Federal, State and City administrative tribunals such as US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), NYS Division of Human Rights (NYSDHR), and the NYC Commission on Human Rights (NYCHR).
Liaise with NYC Law Department on Federal and State court litigation, including Article 78 proceedings and appeals, particularly on matters involving zoning or Code interpretation.
Draft and/or review Buildings Bulletins to provide consistent statutory interpretation and advise on whether old Bulletins and memos should be rescinded or modified.
Advise on the sufficiency of DOB required easements and restrictive declarations that deviate from templates, and update DOB templates as needed.
Review and comment on proposed legislation and rules.
Other legal matters, including special initiatives and high-profile projects, as needed.