State of Maryland

A Social Services Attorney Supervisor is the supervisory level work providing trial Attorney work, legal advice and other legal services to meet the programmatic needs of the Baltimore City Department of Social Services in the Maryland Department of Human Services.  Employees in this classification supervise lower-level Social Services Attorneys.

Employees in this classification receive general supervision from a higher level Attorney or a designated administrator.

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 Social Services Attorney Supervisor is differentiated from the Social Services Attorney III in that the Social Services Attorney Supervisor has supervisory responsibility for lower-level Social Services Attorneys while the Social Services Attorney III performs the full range of duties and responsibilities under general supervision.

Supervises lower-level Social Services Attorneys and organizes unit work flow and distribution;

Reviews regularly lower-level Social Services Attorneys' caseloads to ensure their proper and sound handling and timeliness;

Provides legal advice and opinions to departmental administrators regarding litigation, proposed legislation and judicial and administrative hearings that may impact the Department and its programs;

Represents the Baltimore Department of Social Services in courts of law and before the Office of Administrative Hearings and other administrative agencies in the most complex cases regarding issues such as Child and Adult Protective Services, Foster Care, Termination of Parental Rights, and Confidentiality of Agency Records;

Negotiates with opposing counsel as necessary in complex cases;

Provides legal advice and develops training for Department staff in matters such as Child and Adult Protective Services, Foster Care, Services to Families with Children, Termination of Parental Rights, and Confidentiality of Agency records;

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 for this classification must be members of the Maryland Bar at the time of appointment.

2. The above requirements are set by the Department of Human Services in accordance with an Opinion of the Attorney General dated June 13, 1988.

3. Candidates may substitute U.S. Armed Forces military service experience as a commissioned officer in General Attorney classifications or General Attorney specialty codes in the Legal and Kindred field of work on a year-for-year basis for the required education and experience.

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 from collective bargaining.  Additionally, certain executive branch agencies are exempt from collective bargaining and all positions in those agencies are excluded from collective bargaining