Counsel

Legal Services is looking to grow its in house compensation, labor, and employment practice. Over the course of several years this position is expected to take over all of the agency’s labor and employment needs from outside counsel.

GENERAL SUMMARY

The Senior Counsel reports directly to the Legal Services Supervisor. This position provides legal advice, counsel and services to all organizations within Energy Northwest regarding a wide range of activities without significant oversight. In addition to providing legal services to the company, primary responsibilities include ensuring procedural and legal compliance in a number of regulatory areas such as environmental, nuclear, ethics, industrial safety, procurement, Washington State Public Records Act (PRA), employment and managing major contractual transactions and litigation without significant day-to-day supervision.

PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTABILITIES

NOTE: Percentages allotted to job functions vary depending on workload and current assignments.

- Provide legal support and advice with respect to nuclear licensing and nuclear regulatory compliance issues, including but not limited to Nuclear Regulatory Commission investigations and enforcement matters.

- Negotiate, draft and review a wide variety of diverse contracts, leases, waivers, and other agreements on behalf of Energy Northwest with limited oversight or supervision.

- Provide legal support in a number of regulatory areas such as environmental, ethics, industrial safety, and employment, including but not limited to attending meetings and interfacing with all levels of staff at Energy Northwest.

- Establish and maintain programmatic and procedural guidance for implementation of the PRA including oversight of the Paralegal in analyzing and evaluating PRA requests, determining responsive records, establishing search criteria. Oversee the Paralegal’s work to ensure timely communication with requesters to establish commitments. Oversee the Paralegal’s work with office(s) of records to obtain responsive records within commitment timeframes. Provide legal review and support of PRA responses.

- Protect Energy Northwest’s financial and legal interests by initiating and/or defending Energy Northwest in contract claims, contract requests for equitable adjustments, lawsuits, administrative hearings, administrative investigations, and/or directing the conduct of such litigation by outside counsel.

- Provide legal advice to Energy Northwest staff and governing boards on both policy and operation level matters on an ongoing basis.

- Prepare budgets for significant transactional matters and litigation and assure that, to the extent practicable, those matters are conducted within budget.

- Team participant in strategic development of energy transactions.

- Must participate on the Emergency Response team (ERO) when designated.

- Must support the biennial refueling outage.

DESIRED EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

- Strong technical knowledge and ability to apply applicable statutes to render knowledgeable legal opinions in those areas of corporate law, contract law, administrative law, municipal law, employment law, labor law, civil procedure, property law, finance, accounting, business practices that affect Energy Northwest activities.

- Demonstrated ability to assess and balance commercial/legal risks against business objectives to ensure timely and appropriate results and outcomes.

- Areas of substantive law: Contracts (reviewing and drafting), transactions, collective bargaining, labor and employment.

- Excellent written and verbal communication skills to effectively communicate with all levels of staff and external stakeholders.

- Ability to interpret and analyze legal requirements.

- Displays personal integrity.

- Ability to complete a high volume of work with a consistently high standard of quality.

- Ability to work independently with the ability to set priorities and respond to changing demands from multiple sources.

- Strong interpersonal and teamwork skills and ability to interface with all levels of the organization.

REQUIRED EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

Senior Counsel

- Requires a Juris Doctorate (JD) degree from an accredited law school and seven years of aggregate experience practicing as an attorney. A record of continual learning and training and the ability to obtain license through the Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) by Motion within one year.

- Must meet and maintain nuclear requirements for Unescorted Plant Access.

- At least two or more years previous legal experience at a law firm, municipality, or public utility district doing legal work related to one or more of the following areas: employment, contracts, litigation, environmental, and energy transactions.

Staff Counsel II

- Requires a Juris Doctorate (JD) degree from an accredited law school and five years of aggregate experience practicing as an attorney. A record of continual learning and training and the ability to obtain license through the Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) by Motion within one year.

- Must meet and maintain nuclear requirements for Unescorted Plant Access.

- At least two or more years previous legal experience at a law firm, municipality, or public utility district doing legal work related to one or more of the following areas: employment, contracts, litigation, environmental, and energy transactions.

Staff Counsel I

- Requires a Juris Doctorate (JD) degree from an accredited law school and two years of aggregate experience practicing as an attorney. A record of continual learning and training and the ability to obtain license through the Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) by Motion within one year.

- Must meet and maintain nuclear requirements for Unescorted Plant Access.

- At least two or more years of previous legal experience at a law firm, municipality, or the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, doing legal work related to one or more of the following areas: employment, nuclear, contracts, litigation, environmental, energy transactions.

PAY RANGE

Senior Counsel Salary: $162,274 - $243,412

Midpoint: $202,843

Staff Counsel II Salary: $141,070 - $211,604

Midpoint: $176,337

Staff Counsel I Salary: $122,681 - $184,021

Midpoint: $153,351

Typically, selected candidates are hired between the minimum and midpoint of the range, based on applicable experience and qualifications, market rate, internal equity, and budgetary allowances.

Offers will be negotiated based on each candidate's qualifications.

INCENTIVE COMPENSATION

This role is eligible to participate in our annual incentive plan. Incentives are earned based on employee performance against defined metrics and company goals.

BENEFITS

Energy Northwest (EN) provides a phenomenal benefits package. Washington State also has no state income tax, and the Tri-Cities provides a cost-of-living lower than the national average.

EN offers substantial retirement benefits through three retirement programs including the Washington State Public Employees' Retirement System pension plan (PERS), a 401(k) savings plan with an employer match component, and a 457(b) savings plan. EN also offers multiple options for medical, dental, vision, disability and life insurance coverage. Other voluntary benefits may include flexible spending accounts (FSAs), tuition reimbursement, student loan repayment, childcare subsides, health reimbursement arrangement (HRA VEBA), health savings account (HSA), supplemental life insurances, credit monitoring/identity theft insurance, and more! Qualifying employees will typically start a personal time accrual rate of 160 hours per year and EN provides nine paid holidays throughout the Calander year; personal time accruals grow significantly at various service intervals.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and do not discriminate due to race, color, age, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion, national origin, veteran status or on the basis of disability.

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