FOIL Attorney

Duties Description

The Executive Chamber is seeking a highly motivated and experienced attorney to serve as a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) Attorney in the Office of the Counsel to the Governor. The FOIL Attorney serves under the Chief Attorney for FOIL and Research, the Executive Chamber Records Access Officer, and under the general supervision of the Counsel to the Governor and Deputy Counsels, and acts as an advisor on FOIL issues.

To succeed in this role, you must be proactive, a strong writer and communicator, have good attention to detail, and be a facilitator of a collaborative environment. You must be able to identify legal issues and risks across various units and operations. You must possess excellent time management and organizational skills. You must be able to exercise impeccable judgment in a high-stress and fast-paced environment. Knowledge of New York State Public Officers Law and the Freedom of Information Law is preferred.

Specific Duties Include

• Serve as the legal subject matter expert for the Executive Chamber for all FOIL issues and Public Officers Law.
• Develop and maintain strong working relationships with Executive Chamber staff at all levels.
• Ability to identify Chamber personnel that may possess records responsive to incoming FOIL requests and gathering such records from those persons.
  
  

Review and analyze responses to FOIL requests from the public for the Executive Chamber.

• Evaluate, identify, and mitigate risk and ensure integrity.
• Must have good attention to detail to evaluate records in compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
• Must have good communication skills, ability to communicate with the public through written correspondence.
• Counsel and make recommendations to State agencies and authorities on FOIL issues.
• Conduct legal research and draft memoranda relating to FOIL issues.
• Advise, guide, and collaborate with agency counsels and the Office of the Attorney - General or outside counsel on litigation.
• Perform other related duties as assigned by the Counsel or Deputy Counsel.
  
  

Minimum Qualifications

• Must have a Juris Doctorate from an accredited law school and be a member in good standing with the New York State Bar.
• Candidates for FOIL Counsel should have a minimum of 3 years of relevant legal work experience, preferably with a background in legislation, litigation, administrative law, and compliance.
• Knowledge of applicable local, state, and federal statutes, rules, regulations, internal controls and processes.
• Familiarity with Microsoft software products including Word, Excel, OneDrive, SharePoint, Power Point and Outlook/Exchange. Strong proficiency in Excel is desired.
• Ability to make excellent judgments, and exercise critical, analytical, and problem-solving skills under pressure and at times with extreme time sensitivity.
• Ability to compile, evaluate and interpret information and data from a variety of information sources.
• Ability to independently act on priority projects.
• Ability to prioritize and complete work assignments in a timely manner.
• Ability to identify the most effective and efficient method to carry out duties.
• Excellent organizational skills to manage a varied and high-volume workload.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills with an attention to detail are required, including the ability to communicate complex information to a lay audience.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills including the ability to interact with colleagues and senior leadership inside and outside the Executive Chamber.
• Excellent case and record management skills with the ability to follow-up as necessary.