General Counsel

Minimum Qualifications Required for Appointment:

Law degree from an accredited law school; admission to, and member in good standing of, the New York State Bar; and eight years of relevant post-bar experience.

Duties:
The Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control/State Liquor Authority’s (ABC/SLA) General Counsel is the chief legal officer of ABC/SLA, providing advice and direction to its senior management and all of its bureaus. Unlike other state agencies, ABC/SLA represents itself in state courts: in Article 78 proceedings challenging disciplinary and licensing decisions and other types of cases. Accordingly, the General Counsel must have significant experience handling and/or managing civil litigation.

Duties include but are not limited to:
• Reporting directly to the Chairman and the Counsel to the Governor.
• Serve as legal counsel to the Members of the SLA Board at Board Meetings and in other contexts.
• Lead a staff of approximately 20 employees, most of them attorneys.
• Represent ABC/SLA, through the prosecuting attorneys on its staff, in administrative hearings held at the SLA, most of them disciplinary cases handled in a quasi-trial format with adverse attorneys before an Administrative Law Judge.
• Provide advice to the agency and its Board on legislation, rules/regulations, and the informal guidance it issues and engaging (along with senior SLA management) with elected officials and industry groups on those and other matters.
• Routinely provide assistance to industry members and the public on industry matters, including from time to time issuing formal opinions of Counsel on particular legal issues.
Note:
• This position is temporary pending final approval from the Governor’s Office. Some positions may require additional credentials or a background check to verify your identity.
• Overtime will be required.

This position may require up to 20% travel.

Some positions may require additional credentials or a background check to verify your identity.

Note:
• This position is temporary pending final approval from the Governor’s Office. Some positions may require additional credentials or a background check to verify your identity.
• Biweekly travel will be required to NYC for Board meetings as well as additional travel as needed to NYC and Buffalo to fulfill supervisory responsibilities.
• Overtime will be required.