Title: Assistant Attorney General, Environmental Section
State Role Title: Assistant Attorney General
Hiring Range: Commensurate with Experience
Pay Band: UG
Agency: Attorney General & Dept of Law
Location: Office of the Attorney General
Agency Website: https://www.oag.state.va.us/
Recruitment Type: General Public - G
Job Duties
Chief Objective:
• Provide high quality legal service, both advice and litigation, to the Commonwealth’s natural resources agencies.
Work Tasks and Duties:
• Ensure the Commonwealth’s natural resources agencies are operating within the confines of the laws of the Commonwealth, while also enforcing environmental laws broadly.
• Serve as lead counsel in environmental matters before administrative and judicial forums. This includes all aspects of litigation, including identifying issues, analyzing positions, conducting discovery, working with retained experts/consultants, witness examination and opening and closing statements at hearings, and preparation of briefs and other written legal pleadings.
• Serve as primary legal adviser to the Commonwealth’s natural resources agencies, boards, and authorities; analyze and advise on statutory and regulatory authority.
• Monitor, identify, and analyze state and federal developments in environmental regulatory areas. This includes staying informed on industry and regulatory developments and trends, through news reports, trade press, attendance at meetings and conferences of state, regional, and national groups and associations, and review of environmental regulatory issuances.
• Perform bill reviews during sessions of the General Assembly.
Minimum Qualifications
• Ability to quickly and effectively gain an understanding of complex legal matters and factual scenarios applicable to the Commonwealth’s natural resources agencies including the agencies’ substantive law and regulations; the Virginia Administrative Process Act, Virginia Freedom of Information Act, and Conflicts of Interest Act;
• Knowledge of state and federal court rules for civil litigation, state and federal rules of evidence, and state administrative law rules and procedures;
• Ability to represent complex legal and political interests while simultaneously building consensus and seeking favorable resolution of conflict;
• Knowledge of legal research procedures;
• Knowledge of the preparation of briefs and presentation of arguments for cases before state and federal courts;
• Ability to communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing;
• Ability to quickly assimilate oral and written data, to analyze facts, and draw logical conclusions;
• Ability to express legal interpretations or conclusions of law clearly and logically in oral and written form;
• Ability to maintain organized records;
• Ability to coordinate and function as a lead attorney or counsel in highly complex cases and transactions;
• Ability to organize work, establish priorities, and maintain good interpersonal relations and communications with other attorneys and support staff as well as effective working relationships with government officials, opposing counsel, and the general public;
• Computer literacy to include proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite, NetDocuments, LawBase, Adobe Acrobat DC, Google Earth, and Google Maps.
Special Instructions
This position requires being a member in good standing of the Virginia State Bar.
This position is greatly aided in admission to the bars for the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern and Western Districts of Virginia, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
Contact Information
Name: OAG Recruitment
Phone: 804-786-2071
Email: recruitment@oag.state.va.us
In support of the Commonwealth’s commitment to inclusion, we are encouraging individuals with disabilities to apply through the Commonwealth Alternative Hiring Process. To be considered for this opportunity, applicants will need to provide their AHP Letter (formerly COD) provided by the Department for Aging & Rehabilitative Services (DARS), or the Department for the Blind & Vision Impaired (DBVI). Service-Connected Veterans are encouraged to answer Veteran status questions and submit their disability documentation, if applicable, to DARS/DBVI to get their AHP Letter. Requesting an AHP Letter can be found at AHP Letter or by calling DARS at 800-552-5019.
Note Applicants who received a Certificate of Disability from DARS or DBVI dated between April 1, 2022- February 29, 2024, can still use that COD as applicable documentation for the Alternative Hiring Process.
The Commonwealth of Virginia is located in the South Atlantic region of the United States. It was the 10th state to be admitted to the Union on June 25, 1788. Home to approximately 8 million residents, Virginia is the 12th most populous state in the United States. The capital is Richmond, and its most populous city is Virginia Beach.
The narrative history of the Commonwealth of Virginia often begins with the founding of Jamestown in 1607, near what is now modern day Williamsburg, Virginia. Jamestown became the first permanent English settlement in the New World, and the Virginia General Assembly, established on July 30, 1619, is now recognized as the oldest legislative body in the western hemisphere. When Virginia became a royal colony in 1624, the robust tobacco trade that had been developing in Virginia helped establish the American colonies as a powerful economic force. During the American Revolution, Virginia witnessed the final surrender of British forces at Yorktown and later became known as the birthplace of many revolution-era figures and future American presidents, including George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. To date, 8 United States presidents have been born in Virginia, more than in any other state.
The modern government of Virginia is nearly identical in structure to the federal government, and is divided into 3 branches, these being the executive, legislative, and judiciary branches. The Virginia General Assembly is comprised of the 100-member House of Delegates and the 40-member Senate. A governor and lieutenant governor are elected every 4 years. Governors cannot be elected to or serve consecutive terms. Virginia’s judicial system consists of the Supreme Court of Virginia and the Court of Appeals of Virginia, the Circuit Courts, and the lower General District Courts and the Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Courts. Virginia has 13 electoral votes in presidential elections, and possesses 11 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.
