Assistant General Counsel – Commonwealth of Massachusetts

 The primary purpose of the position of Assistant General Counsel is to assistthe General Counsel in managing all legal and policy matters affecting anagency of approximately 150 persons working in all Divisions of the Department: Administration, Consumer Affairs, Electric Power, Executive,External Affairs, Natural Gas, Pipeline Safety & Engineering, Rates andRevenue Requirements, Regional and Federal Affairs, Transportation Network, and Transportation. The technical staff includes engineers,economists, accountants, and analysts.

The Assistant General Counsel manages the regulatory proceedings affecting the electric, water,and natural gas industries including, but not limited to, rate cases, mergers, conservation cases,forecast and supply matters, and electric and gas supply contracts. In addition to these traditionalregulatory cases, the Green Communities Act has significantly increased the duties of theAssistant General Counsel to include matters related to renewables, energy efficiency, long-termcontracts, storms, net metering and smart grid. In managing legal and policy matters, theAssistant General Counsel must have a thorough technical understanding of the electric andnatural gas industries, including engineering aspects of distribution systems and networks, andfamiliarity with economic and financial principles. Specifically, the Assistant General Counselperforms the following duties:  

• • Assist in the formulation of major green energy policy initiatives affecting the electric andgas industries;
  • Assist in the formulation of policy in major restructuring initiatives in the electric and gasindustries;
  • Assist in setting case priorities for the agency;
  • Interview and recommend for hire, assign, train, manage, direct, and evaluate workperformed by approximately 18-22 staff attorneys, one to two paralegals and one to threelegal intern(s), including hearings, written decisions, settlements, and negotiations, toensure prompt and fair handling of all types of matters brought before the agency such asreview of long-term contracts for renewables, energy efficiency plans, smart grid pilots, netmetering implementation, municipal aggregation and competitive suppliers, affiliatetransaction issues; merger, financing, and rate cases;
  • Review cases and make legal and overall policy recommendations on matters decided bya three-member Commission appointed by the Governor, including adjudications,rulemakings and general legal matters;
  • Manage administrative matters concerning the processing of documents related to casematters and communications from legislators, cities and towns, and consumers;
  • Coordinate work with other internal divisions related to case-tracking procedures,docketing procedures and the content and management of the Department’s website;
  • Confer with the Attorney General’s Office on certain Department cases appealed to theSupreme Judicial Court and federal District Court;
  • Confer with other federal and state agencies and regulatory associations on issues ofinterest to the Department; and perform all of General Counsel’s duties as needed in his orher absence.    

 

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

 

Applicants should have at least six to eight years of experience, or the equivalent, in the practice of law with at least three years directly related to public utility regulation.

The successful candidate should have detailed knowledge of administrative and/or public utility law and familiarity with the Massachusetts utility industries and industry stakeholders.

Candidates should be knowledgeable about Department precedents and practice rules. They should be able to analyze complex legal, regulatory and technical concepts that draw from the fields of finance, economics, engineering and public policy.

Candidates should be able to organize, motivate, and supervise professional staff. Finally, effective communication, writing and editing skills are essential.

 

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS: At the time of employment, applicants must possess current licensureand/or registration requirements established for the performance of the duties of the position.

 

A cover letter and resume must be submitted as part of the application process and attached “as relevant” to the requisition. 

 

 MINIMUM ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS:

 

Applicants must have at least (A) six (6) years of full-time or, equivalent part-time, professional, administrative, supervisory, or managerial experience in a particular specialty (i.e. scientific, professional, legal, or technical) and must possess current license and/or registration requirements established for the performance of the position, of which (B) at least one (2) years must have been in a project management, supervisory or managerial capacity or (C) any equivalent combination of the required experience and substitutions below.

 

Substitutions:

I. A certificate in a relevant or related field may be substituted for one (1) year of the required (A) experience.

 

II. A Bachelor’s degree in a related field may be substituted for two (2) years of the required (A) experience.

   

III. A Graduate degree or higher in a related field may be substituted for three (3) years of the required (A) experience.

 

IV. A Doctorate degree in a related field may be substituted for four (4) years of the required (A) experience.

   

An Equal Opportunity / Affirmative Action Employer.  Females, minorities, veterans, and persons with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Primary Location

: United States-Massachusetts-Boston-1 South Station

Job

: Legal Services

Agency

: Department of Public Utilities

Schedule

: Full-time

Shift

: Day

Job Posting

: Feb 4, 2019, 2:24:10 PM

Number of Openings

: 1

Salary

: 44,590.00 – 123,363.14 Biweekly