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Job Description

The NYC Law Department is establishing a new position of Special Counsel for Information Law in our Ethics and Compliance Division. The attorney in this role will be responsible for the Law Department’s compliance with the New York State Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) and the New York City Identifying Information Law and act as the agency’s Records Access Officer.

The Special Counsel will receive, track, and interpret requests for information made to the Law Department pursuant to FOIL; interact with staff throughout the Department to locate, retrieve, and review documents that may be responsive to the requests; analyze how much of the information must be disclosed to the requestor, and whether any may be withheld; and issue determinations granting or denying requests to requesters. They will assist the Law Department Records Appeals Officer with FOIL appeal determinations, and advise the Department’s General Litigation Division on FOIL-related Article 78 defenses. They will also advise and train City clients on the FOIL law, practice, and relevant legal updates.

The Special Counsel will also have the responsibilities of an “Agency Privacy Officer” under the Identifying Information Law. These include, among other things, overseeing day-to-day agency compliance by all divisions of the Department (advising staff on privacy issues, approving projects/contracts that involve collecting or disclosing identifying information); quarterly reporting to the City’s Chief Privacy Officer, drafting the agency’s biennial Agency Report on collections, disclosures, and retentions of identifying information, and investigating privacy incidents within the Department or by third-party contractors. The APO also serves as a member of the Citywide Privacy Protection Committee, organized and managed by the City’s Office of Information Privacy.

After the completion of orientation, attorneys hired by the Law Department will have the opportunity to elect to work from home under one of the following two programs. The first option allows attorneys to work remotely on a limited and irregular basis. The second option is a Citywide pilot program, which allows participants to select two set days to work from home each week. The two days will need to be approved by the attorney’s division and take into consideration the needs of the division, as the pilot program requires more than 50% staff coverage each day. In addition, if an attorney needs to appear in court, a client meeting or other in-person work related event on a set work from home day, they will need to attend to those in-person responsibilities and will not be able to work from home that day. Participants in the pilot program must set one work from home location where they will work remotely. This pilot program is currently being tested Citywide to determine its efficacy for City agencies and is not yet a permanent program.

To apply, please upload your cover letter, resume, writing sample, and a list of three references with contact information as one document under “resume.”

Qualifications

Applicants must be graduates of an ABA approved law school, admitted and in good standing with the New York State Bar with at least one year of legal experience after law school. Experience with litigation and/or compliance with FOIL requests is preferred, but not required. Applicants should possess excellent judgment, stellar organizational skills, strong research and legal analysis abilities, and be comfortable providing sound legal advice to senior level attorneys.

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.