Assistant Corporation Counsel – Tort, Assistant Unit Chief, Toxic and Mass Tort Unit

City of New York•New York City, NY

About The Position

Under the direction of the TAMTU Chief and Deputy, the Assistant Unit Chief will be responsible for overseeing and supervising the defense of toxic and mass tort litigation against the City. More specifically, such litigation includes, but is not limited to, the following case types: exposure to asbestos, chemicals and other alleged cancer-causing agents; exposure to pathogens (i.e., Legionella); exposure to particulate matter; sexual assault pursuant to the Gender Motivated Violence Protection Act; and property damage from City water mains, sewers, gas explosions, crane collapses, building collapses, and construction projects.

Requirements

Applicants must be graduates of an ABA approved law school and admitted and in good standing with the NYS bar.
Applicants must also have: substantial legal experience in municipal tort law; experience with complex scientific, medical and engineering issues, including expert witness admissibility and causation standards in toxic tort cases; experience supervising multi-plaintiff and multi-party mass tort cases; demonstrated exceptional organizational, managerial, and supervisory abilities; strong legal analytical skills; solid knowledge of municipal tort law, the CPLR, and evidentiary issues; solid knowledge of and experience in personal injury and property-damage case evaluation and valuation of injuries and damages; strong negotiation skills; excellent interpersonal skills; excellent judgment; and admission to SDNY and EDNY and federal court experience.

Nice To Haves

Knowledge of current e-discovery requirements and trial experience are a plus.

Responsibilities

supervising attorneys and support professionals
training, supervision, and assignment of cases to attorneys
general oversight of development of litigation and trial strategies
oversight of training, supervision, and assignment of work to clerical and support staff
ensuring the proper preparation of the Unit’s caseload
tracking significant litigation events, including conference and motion appearances, note of issue and summary judgment deadlines, trial conferences and trial dates, discovery conferences, oral arguments, and settlement and TAP conferences
reviewing, assigning, and editing written work, including affirmative and responsive motions, pleadings, discovery responses, and notices to admit
reviewing court orders, including but not limited to, motion decisions and preliminary conference and compliance conference orders
oversight of the compliance with conditional orders
oversight of the identification and recommendation of matters for early settlement
training attorneys in settlement negotiations
participating in in-house and court-sponsored settlement initiatives
negotiating settlements
conducting settlement conferences
general oversight of settlements including in-house and court-sponsored settlement programs
ensuring the efficient and timely processing of settlements
general oversight of preliminary conference and case reviews
interfacing with senior court personnel
interfacing with agency liaisons
ensuring timely compliance with court-ordered deadlines
responding to media inquiries
responding to OMB budget inquires and setting projected case reserves for fiscal year plans
oversight of expert/vendor retention and budgets
maintaining Unit management performance statistics, including Themis
meeting regularly with Unit attorneys and support professionals
general oversight and supervision of Civil and Small Claims Courts
oversight and quality control of data entry on Law Department applications, including, but not limited to, Filesite, Law Manager/Legal Stratus, and Hotdocs – and their possible future replacements
interfacing with City agencies to obtain discovery and to schedule depositions of key witnesses
interfacing with State and Federal agencies or task forces
reviewing, referring, and following up with Risk Management issues
handling personnel and staffing issues
drafting, reviewing, and monitoring performance enhancement and action plans
reviewing and recommending appeal recommendations
writing, reviewing, and editing yearly performance evaluations for attorneys and support staff
oversight of mail and file-room procedures
maintaining Division legal resources
being facile with electronic research and legal research tools
being facile with electronic calendaring and management programs
overseeing large document collection projects including facility with electronic document review platforms