State of Maryland

An Assistant General Counsel I, Public Service Commission provides legal representation for the people of the State in utility related matters.  Employees in this classification do not supervise other positions but may provide guidance and advice to less experienced Attorneys.

Employees in this classification receive close supervision from a higher level Attorney of the Public Service Commission.  Employees in this classification may be required to travel throughout the State in order to present cases at hearings.

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 Assistant General Counsel I, Public Service Commission, Assistant General Counsel II, Public Service Commission and Assistant General Counsel, III Public Service Commission are differentiated on the basis of degree of supervisory control exercised by the supervisor over these employees.  The Assistant General Counsel, I Public Service Commission performs duties under close supervision. The Assistant General Counsel 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 Assistant General Counsel III, Public Service Commission performs the full range of duties and responsibilities under general supervision.

Prosecutes alleged violations of utility related matters;

Gathers and analyzes case evidence and plans and develops legal strategy and case presentations;

Counsels and advises complainants regarding legal issues, rights and procedures;

Prepares opinions, briefs and other legal documents;

Negotiates and drafts settlement agreements;

May draft bills and regulations;

May analyze legislative bills and prepare legislative testimony;

May act as senior attorney when paired with an attorney who is less experienced regarding the issues of an assigned case;

May provide training on legal issues to Public Service Commission staff and to the general public;

Performs other related duties.

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

Experience: Experience as a practicing Attorney.

Notes:

1. Candidates must be a member of the Maryland Bar at the time of appointment.

2. Candidates may substitute U.S. Armed Forces military service experience as a commissioned officer in judge advocate general classification or judge advocate general specialty codes in the general attorney field of work on a year-for-year basis for the required experience and education.

Class Descriptions 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.

Class Descriptions provide information about the Nature of Work, Examples of Work, General Requirements and Acknowledgements.  The Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities; Minimum Education and Experience Requirements; Special Requirements; and recruitment and testing procedures are set by the using agency.

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 level 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 by 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.