Workers' Compensation Legal Advisor

City of Boston

About The Position

Lead the City of Boston Law Department’s Workers’ Compensation Division, under the direction of the Law Department’s First Assistant for Litigation. Primary responsibilities include representing the City of Boston as a self-insurer in workers’ compensation litigation, providing legal advice to the City’s Workers’ Compensation team, and supervising workers’ compensation legal staff.

Requirements

At least nine (9) years of experience as a lawyer in a law firm or governmental law office.
At least five (5) years of full-time, or equivalent part-time, experience in the workers’ compensation field, preferably in a self-insured employer worker’s compensation program, of which two (2) years must have been in a supervisory or managerial capacity.
Admission to the Massachusetts Bar and current active registration status with the Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers.
Knowledge of the jurisdiction, functions, and procedures of the Department of Industrial Accidents and state courts.
Demonstrated knowledge of the Workers' Compensation law (MGL c. 152) and of applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations; of the financial instruments and best practices in self-insured workers’ compensation programs; of customer service best practices; of computer applications and systems utilized for workers' compensation claims management.
Demonstrated ability to represent the City in all phases of litigation; to establish and maintain effective working relationships with employees and managers throughout the organization; and to maintain confidentiality.
Demonstrated leadership skills to promote teamwork, encourage initiative, manage projects, and drive process improvement.
Strong conflict resolution skills and oral and written communication skills, including presentation skills, to all levels of the organization.
Strong organizational skills and the ability to multitask.
Ability to work independently as well as perform in a team environment.
Ability to exercise good judgment and focus on details as required by the job.
BOSTON RESIDENCY REQUIRED

Responsibilities

Reviews, interprets, and applies established law to the Workers' Compensation program.
Supervises, hires, and reviews the work of workers’ compensation legal staff.
Participates in review, as necessary, of incoming cases with case managers and other employees in the office to provide legal input as necessary.
Oversees legal activities and represents the City as a self-insurer for workers’ compensation at the Department of Industrial Accidents (DIA) as well as state and federal courts in all phases of litigation.
Provides legal support for the City’s ongoing compliance with the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Extension Act (MMSEA) Section 111 mandatory reporting requirements.
Coordinates the investigation and legal dispute of Medicare Secondary Payer conditional payment demands and U.S. Treasury debt offsets to mitigate liability for workers' compensation and accidental disability retirement claims.
Provides legal support for letters directing payment, modification, or termination of workers' compensation claims.
Advise on compliance, regulatory issues, contracts, transactional work generally, and letters in cases involving a third-party action.
Leads legal processes to allow the City to recover monies due.
Participates in discussions of the progress and outcome of active cases and the coordination of return to work efforts.
Participates in reviews of patterns and frequency of cases with departments to promote better work practices and reduce injuries where applicable.
Participates in the drafting of annual audit report and forwards to the Corporation Counsel.
Performs related duties as required.