State of Maryland

A Staff Attorney III, Public Service Commission is the full performance level of work providing legal services to the technical staff of the Public Service Commission.  An employee in this classification provides advice and guidance to less experienced Staff Attorneys and may function as lead worker when working jointly with lower-level Staff Attorneys on assigned cases.  Employees in this classification do not supervise other Staff Attorneys.

Employees in this classification receive general supervision from the Chief Staff Attorney.  Employees in this classification may be required to travel throughout the State to attend evening and weekend hearings and may be required to work overtime to meet deadlines.

Positions in this classification are evaluated by using the classification job evaluation methodology.  The use of this method involves comparing the assigned duties and responsibilities of a position to the job criteria found in the Nature of Work and Examples of Work sections of the class specification.

The Staff Attorney I, Public Service Commission, Staff Attorney II, Public Service Commission and Staff Attorney III, Public Service Commission are differentiated on the basis of degree of supervisory control exercised by the supervisor over these employees and by the complexity of the work being performed.  The Staff Attorney I, Public Service Commission learns to perform duties under close supervision and is assigned selected cases of limited complexity only. The Staff Attorney II, Public Service Commission performs duties under close supervision at times and under general supervision at other times depending on the complexity of the specific duty being performed.  The Staff Attorney III, Public Service Commission performs the full range of duties and responsibilities under general supervision.   The Staff Attorney III, Public Service Commission is differentiated from the Chief Staff Attorney, Public Service Commission in that the Chief Staff Attorney, Public Service Commission has supervisory responsibility for lower-level Staff Attorneys, Public Service Commission.

Prepares and presents highly complex cases before the Public Service Commission;

Provides leadership, advice and guidance to lower-level Staff Attorneys, Public Service Commission;

Analyzes applications and documents filed by public service companies and others in order to identify issues and make recommendations regarding necessary staff and Commission actions;

Performs legal research to discover precedent;

Reviews and evaluates evidence in the record of Commission proceedings;

Prepares legal documents such as briefs, memoranda of law, reports, summaries and appeals, and drafts motions and arguments in order to convey the staff position on cases before the Commission;

Consults, reviews and edits staff testimony and coordinates the testimony of witnesses in order to convey the staff position on issues before the Commission;

Presents arguments regarding motions and evidentiary objections and conducts cross examinations and direct examinations of witnesses in order to convey the staff position on issues before the Commission;

Drafts and answers data requests in order to formally communicate with other parties in Public Service Commission cases;

Monitors special projects and provides reports to the Commission;

Initiates and negotiates settlement discussions in accordance with prior review by the Chief Staff Attorney;

May function as lead worker when teamed with lower-level Staff Attorneys, Public Service Commission on assigned cases;

Performs other related duties.

Knowledge of legal procedures and substantive legal rules;

Knowledge of complex engineering, finance and public administration concepts as they interact in regulated public service industries such as the natural gas, electricity and telecommunications industries;

Knowledge of current issues and proceedings in the field of public regulation of utilities;

Skill in presenting and documenting information;

Ability to become Bar-certified and duly admitted and enrolled to practice before the Court of Appeals in the State of Maryland;

Ability to learn and apply Public Service Commission procedures and regulations;

Ability to identify important issues regarding specific cases;

Ability to provide advice and guidance to lower-level Staff Attorneys, Public Service Commission.

Education:   A Juris Doctorate degree or equivalent degree from an accredited school of law.

Experience: Two years of experience in a government agency practicing law related to the regulation of public utilities.

Notes: 

1. Candidates may substitute three years of experience practicing law in a regulated public service industry for the required experience.

2. Candidates may substitute U.S. Armed Forces military service experience as a commissioned officer in general attorney classification or general attorney specialty codes in the legal and kindred group field of work on a year-for-year basis for the required experience and education. Mainly used for the entry level in class series. 

1. Candidates for a position in this classification must be a member of the Bar in any state or federal jurisdiction, at the time of appointment.

2. Employees in this classification must be Attorneys-at-law, who are duly admitted and enrolled to practice before the Court of Appeals of this State within 18 months of appointment.  Failure to obtain Court of Appeals admission and enrollment within this time period will constitute grounds for termination from the position. This requirement is set by the Public Service Commission in accordance with Code of Maryland Regulation 20.07.01.04.

3. Employees in this classification may be assigned duties which require the operation of a motor vehicle.  An employee assigned such duties will be required to possess a motor vehicle operator's license valid in the State of Maryland.

Class specifications are broad descriptions covering groups of positions used by various State departments and agencies. Position descriptions maintained by the using department or agency specifically address the essential job functions of each position.

This is a Professional Service classification in the State Personnel Management System.  All positions in this classification are Professional Service positions. Some positions in Professional Service classifications may be designated as Special Appointment in accordance with the State Personnel and Pensions Article, Section 6-405, Annotated Code of Maryland.

This classification is not assigned to a bargaining unit, as indicated by the designation of S (Supervisor), M (Manager), T (Agency Head), U (Board or Commission Member), W (Student), X (Used by Agency or Excluded by Executive Order), or Z (Confidential).  As provided by State Personnel and Pensions Article, Section 3-102, special appointment, temporary, contractual, supervisory, managerial and confidential employees are excluded collective bargaining.  Additionally, certain executive branch agencies are exempt from collective bargaining and all positions in those agencies are excluded from collective bargaining.

This classification is one level in a Non-Competitive Promotion (NCP) series.  NCP promotions are promotions by which employees may advance in grade and class level from trainee to full performance levels in a classification series.  In order to be non-competitively promoted to the next level in a NCP series an employee must: 1) perform the main purpose of the class as defined in the Nature of Work section of the class specification; 2) receive the type of supervision defined in the class specification, and 3) meet the minimum qualifications of the classification.