Divisional Deputy City Solicitor, Public Safety...

Description:

Position Summary:
The Divisional Deputy City Solicitor, Compliance Counsel for Public Safety provides direct advice to the Public Safety Departments of the City of Philadelphia, including the Managing Director's Office, the Public Safety Director's Office, the Department of Prisons and the Police Department. The Divisional works directly with senior leadership on providing guidance and input on a wide array of legal issues confronting these Departments, including reform efforts, personnel management and discipline, and civil rights issues, including compliance with extant settlement agreements/Consent Orders. The position will also advise leadership on legal risks and liabilities while working closely and collaboratively with the Law Department's other Groups and Units, especially the Litigation Group's Civil Rights and Labor & Employment Units. Although the Divisional Deputy City Solicitor, Compliance Counsel for Public Safety advises Departmental and Executive leadership, the Divisional Deputy City Solicitor will remain a direct report to and answer to the Law Department and the Law Department's leadership in compliance with the Home Rule Charter.
In addition to the Position Summary, responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Supports Division goals and output, acts as a stopgap where workforce/workflow realities threaten providing timely or effective work product to the client.
• Consistently demonstrates ability to manage matters from start to finish with limited/little oversight.
• Supervises and manages work of outside counsel. Makes informed recommendations about use of outside counsel.
• Responsible for ensuring Departments comply timely and fully with court orders, settlement agreements, and other matters negotiated by the Law Department's Litigation Group.
• Ensures Department responses to investigations, including but not limited to investigations by independent City investigatory bodies (e.g. CPOC, Inspector General, and/or Controller) are responded to timely and completely while ensuring that information provided and/or withheld complies with all laws, regulations, and/or privileges.
• Advising on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion goals of the Departments to ensure that DEI principles meet best practices in accordance with all federal, state, local rules, regulations, and executive orders. Must have demonstrated ability to leverage diversity concepts to solve issues with social impact.
• Responsible for facilitating contracts and other legal documents, including memorandums of understanding and mutual aid agreements, to facilitate Department operations with Law Department's Corporate Group.
• Responsible for conducting in-service training for Department employees in areas of liability; provides legal review of tactics and training for legal sufficiency and to ensure that the City's interests are protected in civil rights, labor and employment, and other claims.
• Advising on policies, procedures, memoranda, and other written materials related to law enforcement strategies and initiatives, directives, and other matters impacting the legal liability of the City.
• Provides legal guidance to Department leadership staff on legal impact of administrative and operational issues, responding to questions and addressing issues during all shifts of the 24/7 operation, including days, nights, holidays, and weekends as needed.
• Drafting, preparing and/or reviewing legal bulletins on changes in law affecting law enforcement; responsible for ensuring staff are aware of their responsibilities due to changes in the law to ensure that City's interests are protected.
• Participating in external efforts to raise the profile of the Division, the Unit, and the Law Department;
• Providing opportunities for attorney training and mentoring;
• Fostering and maintaining a collegial, inclusive, and professional environment that recognizes and values all forms of diversity.
• Ability to synthesize case law, relevant federal and state statutes, and local ordinances and executive orders, to produce written analysis within quick and unpredictable deadlines.
• Performing other duties as assigned and/or required.

Competencies, Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, and agency rules and process;
• Ability to analyze large amounts of information, determine relevant facts, and propose viable solutions;
• Ability to find what applicable laws and regulations apply to a specific matter;
• Ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand. Must be able to clearly present and explain their case to arbitrators, mediators, opposing parties, judges, or juries and listen, answer questions, present to large groups and high-level officials and employ diplomacy in challenging situations.
• Ability to effectively communicate complex rules and procedures to the public and to businesses.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with a demonstrated ability to identify and analyze legal issues within complex fact patterns.
• Ability to foster and maintain a collegial, inclusive, and professional work environment.
• Excellent writing, case management, negotiating, transactional and trial skills.
• Ability to support and supervise a team of attorneys and professional staff.
• Ability to train professional legal staff as well as non-legal staff on applicable legal requirements.
• Ability to use computer programs such as PowerPoint, Teams or MS Office.
• Excellent judgment and critical thinking in high-pressure situations.
• Strong commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion;
• High degree of empathy and ability to resolve interpersonal conflict.
• Strong interpersonal skills, including the ability to work on teams and collaborate with colleagues and clients;
• Law enforcement experience preferred;
• Management and supervisory skills preferred;
• Must be able to prioritize workload and solve problems quickly.

Qualifications:

• This is a senior/supervisory level position, with seven (7) plus years of legal experience relevant to the subject matter and/or responsibilities of the position are required.???
• Prior law enforcement experience preferred.
• Federal and state court litigation experience preferred.
• Demonstrated supervisory and/or leadership experience preferred.
• Ability to handle significant and numerous administrative duties.
• Candidates must have a law degree from an ABA accredited law school, and must either be a member in good standing of the Pennsylvania Bar, or eligible to become a member of the Pennsylvania Bar within six (6) months.?
• Candidate must be able to obtain CJIS clearance.

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