General Counsel

City of New York•New York City, NY

8d•$260,000 - $278,000

About The Position

THE SELECTED CANDIDATE WILL BE OFFERED A SALARY BETWEEN $260,000 - $278,000. The Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) protects and promotes the safety and well-being of New York City’s children and families by providing child welfare, juvenile justice, and early care services. In child welfare, ACS contracts with private nonprofit organizations to support and stabilize families at risk of a crisis through preventive services and provides foster care services for children not able to safely remain at home. Each year, the agency’s Division of Child Protection responds to more than 50,000 reports of suspected child abuse or neglect. In juvenile justice, ACS manages and funds services including detention and placement, intensive community-based alternatives for youth and support services for families. ACS is also a key part of NYC’s early childhood and education continuum, providing childcare assistance to thousands of child welfare involved and low-income children so they can access safe, affordable, quality care. ACS operates in a highly regulated environment shaped by federal, state, and local law; intensive family court involvement; strict confidentiality requirements; and frequent oversight and public scrutiny. Decisions made by ACS and its partners have real-time implications for child safety, family integrity, due process, and the City’s legal exposure. ACS is a large public agency with approximately 7,000 employees. The Office of the General Counsel (OGC) is a multidisciplinary operation with over 122 staff, providing legal representation and advice to the Commissioner and agency leadership; identifying areas of legal vulnerability; and coordinating agencywide compliance with court orders, consent decrees, and other legal/regulatory mandates. OGC works closely with the NYC Law Department to minimize risk, avoid litigation where possible, and defend ACS in class action and individual lawsuits. OGC is led by the General Counsel, who serves as ACS’s highest legal authority and principal legal advisor to the Commissioner. Reporting directly to the General Counsel are eight units: Business Law, Employment Law, Fair Hearings & Compliance, Legal Counsel, Records & Compliance, Special Projects, ACS Office of Labor Relations, and ACS Office of Procurement. Under the executive direction of the Commissioner and with very wide latitude for independent judgment, the General Counsel leads OGC and sets ACS’s legal strategy across program, policy, operational, and compliance matters. The General Counsel advises senior leadership on legal risk and defensibility, ensures the agency meets its obligations in a court-driven and oversight-intensive environment, and provides executive management over legal, labor relations, procurement, and records/privacy functions that are essential to ACS operations and mission delivery.

Requirements

Admission to the New York State Bar; and 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

Executive Legal Leadership & Strategy - Serve as ACS’s chief legal officer and advisor to the Commissioner and executive leadership on all questions of law impacting ACS operations, policy, and program delivery, and agency governance.
Establish and lead ACS’s legal risk management approach, including escalation protocols, decision frameworks, and standards for legal review across the agency.
In consultation with the Commissioner and NYC Law Department, develop and coordinate ACS’s strategic approach to litigation to minimize legal challenges to agency programs and initiatives.
Oversee high-stakes litigation with significant legal, policy, operational, and reputational consequences, including class actions and complex matters involving agency-wide practices.
Direct the agency’s legal response to subpoenas, court orders, discovery obligations, and emergency legal matters requiring time-sensitive action.
Provide executive oversight of legal strategy supporting crisis response, incident review, and other mission-critical events that implicate child safety, confidentiality, or due process.
Child Welfare Legal and Policy Guidance - Provide senior legal guidance on laws, regulations, and mandates governing child protection, foster care, preventive services, juvenile justice, and related ACS operations.
Advise leadership on how legal requirements and case law affect program practice, operational decision-making, and policy implementation in a family court-involved environment.
Oversee legal review and drafting of agency policies, directives, forms and procedures to ensure legal sufficiency, operational clarity, and defensibility.
Translate complex statutory and regulatory requirements into practical guidance that supports frontline and administrative implementation while reducing legal exposure.
Support leadership in strengthening institutional practice by identifying recuring legal issues and recommending systemic corrective actions.
Compliance, Oversight, and Institutional Accountability - Lead and coordinate agencywide compliance strategy related to court orders, consent decrees, settlement obligations, and other legally binding mandates.
Provide senior legal counsel on matters involving external oversight agencies, audits, investigations, and regulatory compliance requirements affecting ACS operations.
Establish processes to ensure timely, accurate, and legally sound responses to oversight requests, including preservation/production obligations and required reporting.
Identify and address legal vulnerabilities through corrective action planning, policy revisions, operational changes, and executive-level risk mitigation strategies.
Advise on privacy/confidentiality requirements and legal standards governing sensitive child welfare records and protected information.
Stakeholder Management & Intergovernmental Coordination - Maintain relationship with NYC Law Department and other governmental and legislative entities; represent ACS in high-level interagency and external matters involving legal risk or policy impact.
Coordinate with entities including the Department of Investigation, and other oversight bodies on compliance, integrity, and risk-related matters.
Engage, where appropriate, with external stakeholders (including advocates and community partners) to facilitate dispute resolution, reduce legal exposure, and promote defensible agency action.
Serve as a senior representative of ACS in sensitive matters that require diplomacy, sound judgment, and clear executive communication.
Leadership, Operations, and Fiscal Management - Lead a large, multi-unit organization through direct supervision of senior OGC leaders and oversight of attorneys, labor relations staff, procurement professionals, records/privacy staff, and administrative staff.
Sets performance standards and expectations across unity, ensuring responsiveness, quality, consistency, and accountability.
Oversee budgeting and resource planning for the Office of General Counsel, ensuring appropriate allocation of staff and operational resources across high-demand functions.
Strengthen internal service delivery by implementing measurable service standards, quality controls, and continuous improvement practices.