Deputy General Counsel

Who We Are: 

The Department of Public Utilities (DPU) is the state agency responsible for overseeing investor-owned electric power, natural gas, and water companies in Massachusetts, regulating the safety of bus companies, moving companies, and transportation network companies and overseeing the safety of natural gas pipelines.  

Who We Serve:

Massachusetts was the first state in the nation to combine energy and environmental agencies under one Cabinet secretary. The Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EOEEA) serves Commonwealth residents interested in outdoor recreational activities, clean energy solutions and those who work with animals and livestock. Equally, EOEEA works with energy consumers, power companies, clean energy providers and farmers to delicately balance the interaction with environmental protection laws and regulations while being a cornerstone for our economic prosperity.

Job Opening: 

The Department of Public Utilities seeks applicants for a Deputy General Counsel to perform the following duties:

Position Overview:

The primary purpose of the position of Deputy General Counsel is to assist the General Counsel in managing all legal and policy matters affecting an agency of over 200 persons.  The Deputy General Counsel will work closely with the following Divisions of the Department: Electric Power, Legal, Natural Gas, Rates and Revenue Requirements, Regional and Federal Affairs, and Siting. The technical staff includes attorneys, engineers, inspectors, economists, accountants, and analysts. The Deputy General Counsel assists the General Counsel in developing policy, assisting in the review of cases, and managing the Legal Division. As assigned by the General Counsel, the Deputy General Counsel conducts final legal review of cases prior to Commission review, and the Deputy General Counsel assists the Chief Deputy General Counsel in supervising the Assistant General Counsels.  As assigned, the Deputy General Counsel may be the primary personnel supervisor of Assistant General Counsels and Hearing Officers.

Duties and Responsibilities:

In managing legal and policy matters, the Deputy General Counsel must have a thorough technical understanding of the electric, natural gas, water and steam industries, including engineering aspects of distribution systems and networks, and familiarity with economic and financial principles. Specifically, the Deputy General Counsel performs the following duties:

• Assist in the formulation of policy for the electric, gas, water, and steam industries in order to provide safe, reliable, secure, equitable, and affordable service to consumers in the Commonwealth, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions;
• Assist in setting case priorities for the agency;
• Interview and recommend for hire, assign, train, manage, direct, and evaluate work performed by approximately 20-25 staff attorneys, one to two paralegals and one to three legal intern(s), including hearings, written decisions, settlements, and negotiations, to ensure prompt and fair handling of all types of matters brought before the agency such as gas and electric ratemaking, including divestiture and other compliance proceedings, review of municipal aggregation and competitive suppliers, affiliate transaction issues; performance-based incentive regulation, merger, financing, and rate cases;
• Review cases and make final legal and overall policy recommendations on matters decided by a three-member Commission appointed by the Governor, including adjudications, rulemakings and general legal matters;
• Manage administrative matters concerning the processing of documents related to case matters and communicati