Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Office · 4 days ago
General Counsel (West Palm Beach)
West Palm Beach, FL
Full-time
Onsite
Lead/Staff, Director/Executive
5+ years expThe Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Office is seeking a General Counsel to provide legal counsel and representation on matters affecting the office and the elections process. This role involves overseeing the Legal Department, managing litigation, and ensuring compliance with election laws and regulations.
Government Administration
Responsibilities
Proactively advise and provide technical expertise, information, and assistance to the Supervisor and staff with legal implications, and in formulating and developing policies, procedures, and programs to support responsible legal management controls or corrective action
Direct the day-to-day operations and work processes of the Legal Department, including the preparation and rendering of legal opinions upon request, reviewing existing and pending legislation related to election administration, interpreting, applying and explaining rules, regulations policies and procedures to a variety of stakeholders, and maintaining accurate reports and documentation related to office legal matters
Lead the preparation of litigation and administrative law hearings, including the preparation of pleadings, trial, and appellate briefs, negotiations between parties, the conduct of trials and hearings at the level of original jurisdiction or on appeal, and other court appearances to effectively represent the interests of the office as directed by the Supervisor of Elections. When utilizing outside counsel/of-counsel, determine which professional(s) to engage, provide documents, identify necessary witnesses and establish factual evidence applicable, assist in preparing strategy of the case, assist in drafting reviewing and revising pleadings and other court documents, assist in providing discovery responses, assist with depositions and witness preparation, and attend court hearings
Spearhead the drafting of state legislation proposed by the Supervisor for presentation to the Florida State Legislature, and review, interpret and provide guidance on the impact of proposed legislation and agency rules
Provide Canvassing Board representation including attending all Canvassing Board meetings, researching and providing opinions on legality of ballots/envelopes, signatures and voter intent determinations, and researching and providing opinions on statutory and regulatory procedures and timelines
Provide contract drafting, review and revision including responding to requests from the Supervisor and staff, drafting revisions, communicating with third parties to resolve disagreements, determining existence of defaults, and initiating litigation as directed by the Supervisor
Answer Writs of Garnishment including determining employment status and drafting and filing Answers in the appropriate courts
Maintaining the office’s voter address confidentiality program (ACP) including corresponding and meeting with ACP program participants/enrollees, ensuring documentation is complete and providing the State with appropriately redacted documents, keeping participant information secure in a locked filing cabinet, ensuring that ACP participants are not listed in electronic voter databases, providing outreach to participants whose status is set to expire, and providing timely and up-to-date information to the vote-by-mail department to ensure that ACP voters receive their ballots in time to vote in each election
Provide advice on personnel issues including review and revision of the Personnel Manual, advising HR on individual personnel issues, reviewing laws and rules to ensure compliance, and working with outside counsel and vendors
Provide guidance on records retention requirements, review and approve or deny document destruction requests, and respond to document preservation requests
Provide Florida Sunshine Law and Public Records Law guidance including primary responsibility for reviewing public records requests (PRR) and proposed responses, assisting with determination of time and cost estimates, determination of exempt and/or confidential information and providing proper citations to legal authority for redactions, and assisting with determining how best to narrow the scope of overly-broad requests
Act as liaison between the Supervisor of Elections’ office and law enforcement and other investigators in the investigation and prosecution of potential election crimes including meeting and corresponding with the Sheriff’s office, FBI, State Attorney’s office, Office of Election Crimes, and the office of the Statewide Prosecutor, and adding potential criminal activities (including appropriate documentation) to the Fraud and Felon’s Smartsheet
Develop and implement a strong talent strategy for the Legal Department, including attracting, developing, evaluating, and motivating staff
Lead direct reports and other staff members in setting goals, facilitating cross-functional cooperation, and maintaining current knowledge of provisions of applicable federal, state and local laws, rules, regulations, case law, Directives, Advisory Opinions and Attorney General Opinions
Strategically build a strong, cohesive, and collaborative Legal Department through strategic team development and regular one-to-one meetings with direct reports to ensure shared decision-making, commitment, and implementation of priorities
Qualification
Required
Must be eligible to practice law in Florida and be an active member in good standing with the Florida Bar
Juris Doctor degree from an American Bar Association accredited institution
5+ years of experience in the practice of law, including substantial responsible experience as Counsel for a public entity
Knowledge of applicable federal, state, and local legislation, statutes, rules, and procedures, specifically including the Florida Election Code, Florida Sunshine Laws, Florida Public Records Law, Address Confidentiality Program, National Voter Registration Act, Uniform and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, and Help America Vote Act, as well as applicable case law, Directives, Advisory Opinions and Attorney General Opinions
Legal experience in election law, and in support of public officials including in the areas of the Florida Sunshine Law and the Florida Public Records Law
A proven record of effectively planning, organizing, and using resources and systems to provide top-notch legal services to an administration and governing body in a public agency
Success leading effective teams and individuals, managing organizational change, and initiating key innovations
Experience with electronic legal research, legal matter management both in-house and utilizing outside counsel/of-counsel, and document management
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to convey complex information to a variety of audiences (e.g., judges, elected officials, voters, candidates, large groups, staff meetings, executive briefings, public board meetings, memos)
Strong analytic and systems thinking necessary to form strategies and adopt or recommend effective courses of action
Ability to maintain an apolitical mindset and outward presentation, and to provide politically neutral legal representation to ensure fair and lawful voting opportunities for all Palm Beach County voters and candidates
Preferred
Five or more years of experience in the practice of law, including experience as Counsel for a public entity (including specifically election law and public record request administration)
Experience in leading a legal department, division, or team
Ability to work effectively in difficult situations that involve confidential and sensitive matters
Experience and success with effective written and verbal communication, facilitation, and presentations to large groups and a variety of audiences (e.g., staff meetings, executive briefings, public board meetings, memos)
Strong analytical and systems thinking are necessary to interpret data to inform goals and strategy
Ability to work effectively across multiple functions and roles within a complex organization
A strong record of managing organizational change and initiating key innovations
Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to build effective working relationships with staff and colleagues
Strong computer skills including Microsoft Office Suite (Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint)
Success leading effective teams and individuals
Possession of a valid Florida driver's license and be able to provide own transportation in the conduct of work assignments; willingness to travel as needed
Benefits
Dental and vision
Retirement
Disability insurance
Life insurance
Flexible spending account options
Sick time
Vacation
Tuition reimbursement
Employee assistance program to aid employees with personal problems
Deferred compensation options
Company
Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Office
Welcome to the Official LinkedIn Page of the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections (SOE) office! Please register and vote! Your vote is your voice! PLEASE NOTE: Florida has a very broad Public Records Law.
1001-5000 employees
Funding
Current Stage
Late StageCompany data provided by crunchbase