Team Leader - Children, Youth, and Families Division, Olympia
: Job Details :

Children, Youth, and Families Division of the Washington State Attorney General's Office has an immediate opening for a Team Leader position in the Juvenile Litigation Section.

Please double check you have the right level of experience and qualifications by reading the full overview of this opportunity below.

The CYF Division is made up of two sections, the Juvenile Litigation (JUV) Section and the Program Advice and Litigation (PAL) Section. The JUV Section has an exciting opportunity for a managing AAG to lead a team of four attorneys who represent the Department of Children, Youth, and Families in juvenile litigation cases in Lewis and Mason Counties.

The Team Leader will work in the dynamic legal field of child welfare which involves litigating fast-paced dependency, guardianship, and termination of parent rights cases. The work and responsibilities of this division have a significant impact on the families and children of our state. The satisfaction that comes from doing this work and supporting the professional development of other attorneys and staff is profoundly rewarding.

About the Section's Work

The JUV Section provides legal representation to the Washington State's Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) to protect abused and neglected children in dependency, guardianship, and termination of parental rights cases. This position involves a fast-paced litigation workload, with weekly court appearances on the juvenile court calendar, and frequent trials.

The subject matter can be difficult, but the work is remarkably rewarding. These cases directly influence the lives of children in our state in a very meaningful way.

The JUV section represents DCYF in child welfare cases in Grays Harbor, Lewis, Mason, Thurston, and Pacific counties' juvenile and superior courts and in appellate courts. The section also handles foster care and child care licensing cases before the Office of Administrative Hearings.

Leading a Team

The Team Leader will join the sixteen-attorney JUV section and will serve as a member of the CYF Division Management Team. In addition to maintaining their own caseload, the Team Leader will supervise four attorneys who represent DCYF in Lewis and Mason Counties, who all work together in the challenging and rewarding work of protecting vulnerable children.

In addition to meeting the requirements to serve as an Assistant Attorney General, the ideal candidate will have a passion for training attorneys and staff on child welfare legal requirements and litigation skills, have knowledge of these areas, and is a confident communicator and collaborator who also enjoys working independently.

Desirable qualifications for legal work and management include:

• Demonstrated ability to foster teamwork and collaboration and promote a positive work environment that recognizes and respects all employees;
• Litigation experience in state court;
• The ability to oversee all components of litigation including motion practice;
• Experience providing client advice;
• Relevant experience in the legal work performed by the section;
• Comprehensive knowledge of rules and procedures related to assigned practice areas;
• Experience reviewing client advice for others (not necessarily as a supervisor);
• The ability to juggle competing priorities;
• The ability to work well with a variety of people;
• A passion for child welfare, and
• Due to the challenging subject matter, flexibility and empathy are also desirable qualities.

Applicants must have graduated from a law school accredited by the ABA or completed the WSBA's Rule 6 Law Clerk Program; and be licensed to practice law in Washington state. (Applicants who meet the other stated qualifications and are actively pursuing admission by motion will also be considered.)

This Managing Assistant Attorney General position is represented by the Association of Washington Assistant Attorneys General (AWAAG) / Washington Federation of State Employees (WFSE) AFSCME Council 28, AFL-CIO. AAG salaries are set between $80,592 and $156,996. The exact amount is set in accordance with Appendix B of the AWAAG CBA.

Interested applicants must apply by hitting the apply button above. In addition to the online application, one must upload, via the system, preferably as PDFs:

• A letter of interest;
• Resume;
• Law school transcript (unofficial copy is acceptable); and
• Writing sample.

If you have questions about this position and/or want to learn more about it before applying, you are welcome and encouraged to contact Section Chief Margaret MacRae at (360) ###-#### or by email at ...@atg.wa.gov or Division Chief Carrie Wayno at (360) ###-#### or by email at ...@atg.wa.gov.

Honoring diversity, equity and inclusion means that as an agency, and as individuals, we are committed to ensuring that all employees and volunteers enjoy a respectful, safe and supportive working environment.

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