Description

The Office of the Attorney General is seeking qualified candidates for the Appeals Section Chief position in the Litigation Division.  The Appeals Section represents and defends the interests of the State of Louisiana, its agencies, departments, and employees in appellate matters before federal and state courts within Louisiana. This section handles appeals from final judgments, as well as supervisory writs of review for interlocutory judgments and applications for writ of certiorari.  The ideal candidate would have significant experience in defending tort litigation, with a preference of at least five (5) years of increasing responsibility and complexity in civil trial experience as well as appellate matters in state and federal court.  

Requirements

Minimum Qualifications: 

1.   Admitted to practice law in Louisiana and in good standing with the Louisiana Supreme Court;
2.   Has significant experience in defending tort litigation, with a preference of at least five (5) years of increasing        responsibility and complexity in civil trial experience; 
3.   Has significant experience handling appellate matters in state and federal court; 
4.   Exercises tact and good judgment;
5.   Possesses high professional and personal ethics and integrity;
6.   Possesses an effective command of the English language, both spoken and written; 
7.   Possesses excellent time management and critical thinking skills, and able to prioritize tasks and assignments; 
8.   Familiar with and able to use email, calendar, word processing, databases and other standard computer software and possesses the ability to learn new programs or software.

 Examples of Work:

The duties and requirements of an Assistant Attorney General/Section Chief of Appeals in the Litigation Division shall include, but are not limited to the following:

1.   Primarily responsible for the supervision of all appellate matters deriving from tort suits against the State, state agencies, state officials, and state employees, in federal and state courts, whether assigned to Assistant Attorneys General or contract defense counsel; 
2.  Primarily responsible for the supervision of all employees assigned to his/her designated section; 
3.  Acts as the subject matter expert for all cases in his/her designated section; 
4.  Executes directives from the Director or Deputy Director; 
5.  Responsible for monitoring caseloads of attorneys assigned to his/her designated section and for reviewing and assigning new cases to such attorneys; 
6.  Responsible for the coordination of any cases that fall within his/her designated section with the Office of Risk Management, any exempted institution, and any third party administrator; 
7.  Reviews, evaluates, and considers requests to seek or forgo appellate review; 
8.  Serves as mentor and training resource for employees assigned to section and for employees who serve as appellate counsel for cases that fall within his/her designated subject matter section; 
9.  Communicates with other divisions in the office, including the Solicitor General’s office, regarding cases;  
10.  Responsible for conducting regular visits to regional offices; 
11.  Responsible for submitting accurate and contemporaneous billing;
12.  Reports to assigned job location timely;
13.  Responsible for maintaining regular communication with contract appellate counsel; 
14.  Responsible for appropriately delegating non-lawyer duties to designated support staff;
15.  Remains current on developing and pertinent legislation and jurisprudence; 
16.  May be required to serve as assigned appellate counsel as necessary to ensure the efficient operation of the section; and
17.  Performs such other duties and responsibilities as assigned by the Deputy Director, Director, Chief Deputy, or Attorney General.