Chief Legal Counsel

Requisition No: 858490

Agency: Department of Corrections

Working Title: CHIEF LEGAL COUNSEL

Pay Plan: SES

Position Number: 70031098

Salary: $100,511.32 Annual Rate

Posting Closing Date: 09/02/2025

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FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS

We Never Walk Alone

ADVERTISING TITLE: Chief Legal Counsel

This open competitive advertisement is for a SES (Selected Exempt Service) position located at Central Office in Legal Services.

Our mission in the Office of General Counsel is to provide high-quality legal services and support to the department, ensuring compliance with laws and regulations, and to protect the department's interests through effective legal representation and advice.

This position is not a telework position and is required to report to the FDC office in the area it serves.

JOB DUTIES:

• Lead and Inspire: As a supervisor, you'll spend most of your time communicating with, motivating, training, and evaluating employees. You'll plan and direct their work, and have the authority to hire, transfer, promote, and discipline staff, ensuring a dynamic and efficient team.
• Direct Team: Identify areas of legal specialties to ensure attorneys are assigned appropriately to maximize efficiency. Direct unit resources to priority issues to ensure timely delivery of services on high-profile or time-sensitive matters.
• Oversee Legal Operations: Manage a team of legal professionals, providing accurate and effective legal advice on issues related to employees, inmates, probationers, parolees, and the public. Your guidance will help resolve complex legal matters efficiently.
• Engage in High-Level Coordination: Attend important meetings with department leadership, coordinate data reporting, and assist with office logistics. You'll be the main point of contact for work assignments, ensuring new hires are onboarded and trained, and managing remote work arrangements.
• Represent and Advocate: Represent the department in administrative tribunals and courts at both state and federal levels. Oversee attorneys in handling legal matters, from drafting pleadings to conducting trials, and advocate for staff retention and recruitment to build a strong legal team.

BENEFITS:

• Paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays.
• Comprehensive health insurance and life insurance with accidental death and dismemberment benefits.
• Supplemental Dental, Vision, Life, Disability and Hospitalization insurance.
• Tuition-Free college courses.
• Retirement Plans with the Florida Retirement System:

• • Pension Plan (Traditional Retirement Pension Plan)
  • Investment Plan (401(K)-Type Retirement Plan)
  • Deferred Retirement Option Program (Drop)
  • Deferred Compensation
  • Recently Retired? Beginning July 1, 2024, there is no longer a reemployment limitation; beginning with the 7th calendar month from the member's distribution date, there are no restrictions on working for an FRS employer. You will not be required to repay any prior distributions, and you may continue receiving distributions from the Investment Plan or Pension Plan without interruption.

REQUIREMENTS:

• Must be a member of the Florida Bar in good standing with at least two (2) years of prior experience as an attorney.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Experience with Employment Litigation.

Support of knowledge, skills, and abilities should be demonstrated on the application, in the education, in the work experience, in the work sample, in the interview and/or during reference checks.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

BACKGROUND SCREENING REQUIREMENT

The Florida Department of Corrections requires all job applicants and volunteers to pass a Level 2 background check as per Chapter 435, Florida Statutes. This check must be completed before they can start working or volunteering.

EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY

The Florida Department of Corrections (FDC) only hires U.S. citizens and those authorized to work in the U.S. FDC uses E-Verify to confirm an employee?s eligibility to work after completing the I-9 form. For online application issues, call the People First Service Center at 1-877-562-7287. Applications will be accepted until 11:59 PM EST on the closing date.

The State of Florida is an Equal Opportunity Employer/Affirmative Action Employer, and does not tolerate discrimination or violence in the workplace.

Candidates requiring a reasonable accommodation, as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act, must notify the agency hiring authority and/or People First Service Center (1-866-663-4735). Notification to the hiring authority must be made in advance to allow sufficient time to provide the accommodation.

The State of Florida supports a Drug-Free workplace. All employees are subject to reasonable suspicion drug testing in accordance with Section 112.0455, F.S., Drug-Free Workplace Act.