General Counsel

The New York City Employees’ Retirement System (NYCERS) was founded by the New York State Legislature in 1920 with 13,331 members. Today, NYCERS has grown into one of the largest municipal public employee retirement systems in the United States with nearly 375,000 active/vested members, retirees and beneficiaries. NYCERS is a defined benefit retirement plan and a cost-sharing, multiple employer public employee retirement system. We are looking for individuals with passion, dedication and commitment to excellence and innovation who are interested in adding to our dynamic and collaborative work environment. Working for the City of New York, you will receive excellent benefits, including healthcare, vision benefits, dental benefits, as well as the opportunity to participate in the City’s retirement plan. NYCERS offers a hybrid work environment with partial onsite work and partial telework.
Job Description:
The New York City Employees’ Retirement System seeks a General Counsel. Under the direction of the Executive Director, with wide latitude to exercise independent judgment, the General Counsel will serve as the key advisor on legal, policy, operational and administrative issues impacting the System, formulating policy on many complex and sensitive legal issues and procedures. The General Counsel reviews proposed and enacted legislation, providing advice on the impact of legislation on the System and provides legislative updates to NYCERS Board of Trustees. They will also serve as a liaison to other Federal, State, and local government agencies, including the New York City Law Department, NYC Department of Investigation, Office of the Actuary and other pension system General Counsels.
The successful candidate for this position will lead and oversee a dynamic team of nine attorneys and four support staff. Their direct responsibilities will be to independently and efficiently run the day-to-day operations of the Legal Division and set performance goals, objectives, and priorities for Division staff. Other responsibilities of the position include researching and utilizing applicable laws including, but not limited to, New York City Administrative Code, New York State Retirement and Social Security Law, New York State Civil Service Law, New York State Open Meetings Law, and New York State General Municipal Law. The position will also be responsible for planning, directing and supervising disciplinary investigations utilizing agency standards of conduct, and other agency and city policies related to discipline. This position requires collaboration with NYCERS’ business units to analyze questions and problem solve. The General Counsel must develop a sense for when issues are escalated to the Executive Director and when they can independently resolve them based on existing law, policies or procedures.
The General Counsel and Deputy General Counsel provide comprehensive management and leadership guidance for their staff on a variety of general administrative, legal, management, programmatic, procurement and contractual issues. The follow-up of delegated work must be very thorough. The General Counsel may represent the interests of the Agency in the most complex and significant cases, and/or draft important policy statements. They will oversee contracting and negotiations for the agency and the Legacy Replacement Project (modernization of NYCERS’ pension administration system), ensuring that the design incorporates legal requirements. They will also oversee the analysis and processing of legal documents, including domestic relations orders, powers of attorney, guardianship papers, letters of administration, letters testamentary, FOIL and data requests. They will write memoranda and correspondence relating to complex questions of law, and prepare and represent NYCERS in complex administrative actions. They will also attend monthly Board of Trustee meetings representing the System and advising the Executive Director.
The General Counsel must be a collaborator and able to facilitate collaboration within the Legal Division and with other internal and external stakeholders. The position requires excellent legal analysis, confidence, independent action, a sense of urgency, the ability to make decisions and take responsibility for them, and attention to detail. A well-suited candidate adapts quickly to changing conditions and works with the team to surface innovative solutions for issues.
Salary Range: $175k-$235K

Minimum Qualifications

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.

Preferred Skills

- A minimum of ten years of experience as a practicing attorney. - A minimum of 5 years of experience in supervision of other attorneys, preferably in a government setting. - Knowledge of City government, pension laws, and Procurement Policy Board rules. - Experience in reviewing legal documents for accuracy. - Previous experience with cyber, privacy, and/or technology law. - Excellent legal analysis and writing skills. - Proficiency in contract writing. - Ability to recognize and adjust to change. - Task-focus, with action-oriented collaboration. - Excellent attention to detail. - An attuned ability to troubleshoot and problem solve. - Compassion, patience and strong interpersonal skills. - Strong ability to work under pressure. - Flexibility to take on new tasks. - Strong delegations skills

Public Service Loan Forgiveness

As a prospective employee of the City of New York, you may be eligible for federal loan forgiveness programs and state repayment assistance programs. For more information, please visit the U.S. Department of Education’s website at https://studentaid.gov/pslf/

Residency Requirement

New York City Residency is not required for this position

Additional Information

The City of New York is an inclusive equal opportunity employer committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce and providing a work environment that is free from discrimination and harassment based upon any legally protected status or protected characteristic, including but not limited to an individual's sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, gender identity, or pregnancy.