Assistant General Counsel

SEIU (Service Employees International Union)
Job Title: Assistant General Counsel
Location: Washington, D.C.
PURPOSE:
This attorney position is responsible for the provision of legal services, broadly defined, to SEIU. This position is designated for attorneys with at least three years of experience in the practice of law, or equivalent.
PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES: (At any given time, depending on assignments, this position may not include all of the specific duties and responsibilities listed. Examples provide a general summary of the work required and should not be treated as a total and complete list of expected duties to be performed by attorneys in the classification.)
Core Duties:
• Develop and implement comprehensive legal and litigation strategies to advance the Union's programs as assigned by the General Counsel;
• Direct, supervise, and carry out the responsibility for all of the assigned legal work, whether performed in-house or by outside counsel as assigned by the General Counsel;
• Initiate, pursue and supervise both proactive and defensive litigation in state and federal courts and before administrative agencies, including negotiating legal settlements as assigned by the General Counsel;
• Advise SEIU officers, division heads, other managers and employees, and union leaders on the range of legal issues affecting their areas of responsibility, including strategic organizing and campaigns as assigned by the General Counsel;
• Monitor legal developments in wide range of legal areas, including organizing, worker rights, voting rights and pre-emption; promote and defend SEIU interests advancing legal and organizing rights before courts, administrative agencies, federal, state and local policymakers, and regularly report on legal developments to the appropriate parties as assigned by the General Counsel;
• Draft legislation, executive orders, and rules; draft formal comments to proposed federal, state and local legislation and administrative proposals as assigned by the General Counsel;
• Develop training materials and lead training sessions on variety of legal issues as assigned by the General Counsel;
• Serve as liaison, where assigned, for SEIU with outside allies, advocacy groups, and legal professional committees as assigned by the General Counsel;
• Approve memoranda and correspondence in area of responsibility for review and execution by the International President or International Secretary-Treasurer and other full-time officers, where applicable, as assigned by the General Counsel;
• Perform other duties as assigned by the General Counsel in support of the work of the Department.

Supervision Given:
· Supervise and direct work of outside counsel in assigned areas; review and approve all outside counsel bills in areas of assignment, before transmittal to General Counsel;

· Direct supervision of Law Fellows, Law Clerks, and Secretaries in the incumbent's area of responsibility.
Budget Responsibility:
Where applicable, responsible for recommending divisional or regional legal budgets and/or project budgets for legal work done by outside counsel.
Contacts:
Job duties for this position require contact with SEIU officers, staff, local leaders, governmental agencies, courts and/or other outside institutions on a regular basis.
Direction and Decision Making:
Incumbents report to the General Counsel, and are expected to perform duties with little or no direct supervision. Incumbents are held responsible for legal accuracy and adequacy of work performed.
EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:
Juris Doctor degree or equivalent from accredited law school and active membership in the bar association of at least one state or jurisdiction. At least three years' experience as attorney in labor and employment area and/or related fields. Knowledge of substantive law important to the Union that would provide the following knowledge, skills and abilities:
Ability to independently conduct, analyze and synthesize complex legal research, develop and implement comprehensive and sophisticated legal strategies for SEIU campaigns and programs; prepare quality legal pleadings, present persuasive oral advocacy, write cogent reports and recommendations, provide quality legal judgment, and effectively interact and communicate with wide variety of staff, officers, local leaders and outside agencies;
Demonstrated ability to strategically use the law to further workers' interests, including developing and employing cutting-edge legal arguments;
Knowledge of SEIU structure, programs, policies and positions;
Skill in using computerized legal research tools such as Lexis-Nexis and internet-based legal databases;
Knowledge of word processing programs such as MSWord.