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Civil Rights
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Civil Rights Government lawyers practice all facets of civil rights law, promoting or defending rights and responsibilities relating to fair treatment and equal opportunity in housing, education, employment, and public accommodations. Government lawyers may advise local, state or federal "human relations" or "equal opportunity" agencies in promulgating or interpreting civil rights laws and regulations. They may coordinate investigations, review complaints, and serve as liaisons with the public and with other lawyers in civil rights matters. They may litigate to enforce civil rights laws and regulations in administrative hearings as well as in state and federal courts, or they may serve as the hearing officers, judges, or adjudicators in such civil rights actions. In addition, legal advice is needed by all government agencies regarding compliance with civil rights laws in personnel matters, contracts, and other aspects of a government client's business. Government lawyers also assist their government clients in responding to civil rights complaints, and defend their clients in individual and class action litigation in administrative hearings as well as in state and federal courts. Consumer Protection Consumer protection law is the practice of providing legal services to the various government agencies whose function it is to enforce the consumer protection laws relevant to each agency. Government attorneys assist in the consumer protection role in a variety of capacities in many government agencies, particularly on the state level. Attorneys serve the Commonwealth as prosecutors in the Office of Attorney General, Bureau of Consumer Protection, and the Department of State, Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs. In addition, other Commonwealth agencies, such as Aging, Agriculture, Banking and Insurance, employ attorneys who initiate actions to enforce that particular agency's consumer protection laws. Government attorneys are also employed as legal and regulatory counsel in a variety of Commonwealth agencies. Criminal Justice Government attorneys play a critical role in the criminal justice system. On the front lines, government attorneys serve as prosecutors and defense attorneys. Prosecutors in the state criminal justice system are employed by county District Attorneys and the state Attorney General, while prosecutors in the federal criminal justice system are employed by the U.S. Attorney's Office. Defense attorneys working as government attorneys are employed by county Public Defenders in the state criminal justice system and the federal Public Defender in the federal criminal justice system. Government attorneys are also employed as legal counsel for numerous criminal justice agencies, such as the U.S. Bureau of Prisons and the state Department of Corrections, State Police, Board of Probation and Parole, Inspector General, and Commission on Crime and Delinquency. Environmental Environmental law is the practice of providing legal services to the various government agencies whose function it is to enforce the environmental laws relevant to each agency. Government attorneys at the state and federal levels assist in the enforcement of various environmental protection laws. Relevant state agencies include the Office of Attorney General, the Department of Environmental Protection, Environmental Hearing Board, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, and the Game Commission and Fish and Boat Commission. Federal agencies include the U.S. Attorney's Office and the Environmental Protection Agency. In addition, government attorneys for the various environmental related departments and commissions are employed as legal and regulatory counsel. Health/Education/Welfare The practice of law in the areas of health, education and welfare covers a wide range of matters. Health, education and welfare practice for government attorneys involves working with agency officials in planning and coordinating health and education resources. Lawyers are involved with the regulation of hospitals, nursing homes, laboratories, managed care organizations, surgical facilities, mental health facilities, mental retardation facilities, child day care facilities, adult day care facilities, other inpatient and outpatient facilities, charter schools, cyber schools, public schools and private schools. Lawyers are called upon to deal with issues relating to the interpretation and implementation of federal and state laws governing health care, epidemiological investigations relating to chronic diseases and outbreaks, Medicare, Medicaid, public assistance, the elderly, particularly in terms of abuse exploitation and defrauding of senior citizens, Equal Protection Clause, federal civil rights and labor relations. Knowledge of contract law and state and federal grant application and disbursement procedures is necessary. Lawyers practicing in these areas are litigation attorneys, representing plaintiffs and defendants, regulatory attorneys, drafting and enforcing, and contract attorneys, drafting and implementing. All must also be able to analyze and interpret statutes and regulations to properly counsel and advise the respective agencies regarding various legal and policy decisions. Labor/Employment Government lawyers practice all facets of labor and employment law. They often serve as management consultants to their government clients, providing advice in employee relations, personnel matters, workers compensation and unemployment benefits. They analyze, and often negotiate, the terms and conditions of labor contracts. They litigate labor and employment issues on behalf of their clients in administrative hearings as well as in state and federal courts. Government lawyers who represent agencies that regulate labor and industry often investigate and enforce labor standards, wage and hour requirements, and labor safety laws. Some government lawyers serve as mediators and arbitrators in labor and employment disputes, while others assist appellate courts in reviewing administrative decisions in such disputes. Legislative Legislative law is the practice of providing legal services to the members of the General Assembly, including drafting of bills and amendments and advising members and committees of the Legislature on the drafting of such measures. In addition, attorneys represent members of the Legislature on issues that have arisen in their official capacity, as well as serving as liaison to outside counsel on major lawsuits. Attorneys review state agency rules and regulations for form and legality, prepare legal memoranda, serve as counsel on special matters coming before the General Assembly and assist members in the implementation of policy. Legislative attorneys are employed by the General Assembly and by legislative service committees such as the Joint State Government Commission, Local Government Commission, Joint Legislative Air and Water Pollution Control and Conservation Committee, Legislative Budget and Finance Committee, Legislative Office for Research Liaison, Legislative Reference Bureau, and Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing. Attorneys employed by the General Assembly may be assigned to committees such as Aging and Youth, Appropriations, Commerce and Economic Development, Consumer Affairs, Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure, Environmental Resources and Energy, Finance, Health and Human Services, Intergovernmental Affairs, Judiciary, Policy, Public Health and Welfare, Transportation and Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness. Municipal Government lawyers specializing in municipal law represent Pennsylvania municipalities in the administration of virtually all aspects of municipal government. The practice of municipal law often includes matters involving land use regulation (including zoning, building codes, fire codes, etc.), environmental law, labor relations, pensions, government procurement, real estate, and taxation. Government lawyers specializing in municipal law provide legal counsel to municipal clients, and represent municipalities in a variety of litigation before administrative tribunals and courts at the state and federal level. Smaller municipalities generally retain privately-employed attorneys as solicitors to the municipality. However, large municipalities, particularly medium to large cities, employ numerous full-time attorneys in city solicitor's offices throughout Pennsylvania. Procurement/Contracts Procurement law involves assisting the agency or government unit in making sure that purchases of supplies, services and construction are done in accordance with the law. Practitioners of procurement law must have a superior grasp of the laws, regulations and procedures that control their client's activity in this field. They must be able to readily differentiate between the different types of procurement and source selection criteria keyed to type, amount and special circumstances such as might arise in an emergency. At the state level procurement is primarily governed by the Commonwealth Procurement Code. Local purchasing is subject to the various municipal codes and ordinances and federal procurement is driven by a number of statutes and regulations including the Federal Acquisition Regulations. Virtually all government bodies utilize legal resources in their procurement operations. Procurement lawyers may also become involved in the negotiation of complex transactions. The also may handle the role of defending their client agencies in litigation brought by vendors seeking to challenge the award of a particular contract or claims by contractors for money damages allegedly attributable to a contractual breach by the agency. Public Finance Governmental public finance attorneys are typically negotiators, their functions varying based upon the needs of the client, the source of the financing and the structure of the transaction. The governmental public finance attorney often creates documents to evidence and secure multimillion-dollar transactions in public and private markets financing or investing in public initiatives, including those relating to environmental conservation, economic development, community preservation, infrastructure investment, education, housing, and public health and welfare. As a transactional attorney, the governmental public finance lawyer not only must be an expert in contracts, but also must tailor the needs of the multiple partners, be versed in real estate matters, advise on federal and state tax and securities matters and, above all, "get the deal done". Public finance offers an alternative to the traditional courtroom experience. It offers a face pace and is both exciting and challenging, requiring a keen attention to detail. Real Estate/Property Government lawyers with a real estate/property practice work on issues relating to the acquisition of private and public property for capital projects, including eminent domain, and the disposition of government property and its leasing. They prepare collateral documents related to leasing, such as lease amendments and lease assignments. When problems arise, as in a landlord-tenant dispute, the real estate attorney will participate in litigation. Several Commonwealth agencies, including the Department of General Services, Department of Transportation and the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, provide an attorney with the opportunity to practice real estate law. DGS acts as an agent and leases offices and other property on behalf of other state agencies under the Governor's jurisdiction. Regulatory Regulatory law involves drafting regulations in clear and concise terms and analyzing regulations to determine statutory authority and consistency with other applicable laws, precedent and regulations. Good research and writing skills are essential for both tasks. Drafting regulations requires a working knowledge of drafting conventions and grammatical correctness. Analyzing regulations requires a comprehensive examination of the promulgating agency's enabling statute to determine whether the regulation is within the confines of the agency's statutory authority and is not ultra vires. It also entails research into other state and federal law, regulations, and precedent to determine whether there are any inconsistencies in the regulation's treatment of the subject matter. Taxation The practice of governmental taxation law is varied. It includes all aspects of the administration, enforcement and collection of federal, state and local taxes. In some agencies, a lawyer may perform each of these functions. In others, the work performed by each lawyer is highly specialized. Government tax lawyers serve as in-house counsel to their agencies, providing advice on the proper interpretation of tax statutes. These lawyers also assist in the development of tax policy and its publication through regulations and policy statements. In the appellate process, government lawyers prosecute tax appeals, including the evidentiary hearing stages required to create a record, while other government lawyers serve as counsel or brief writers for the appellate boards. In the collection process, government lawyers enforce tax liens and preserve tax claims in bankruptcy proceedings. Government tax lawyers may practice before all local, state and federal courts. Tort Tort law is the practice of providing legal representation to public agencies, and in some cases officials and employees, involving damages attributable to acts of alleged negligence. Tort attorneys are employed by the Office of Attorney General which, pursuant to the Commonwealth Attorney's Act, assumes the primary role of representing Commonwealth agencies in tort matters. Larger executive, independent and local agencies also employee litigators who handle tort matters and, at the federal level, actions under the Tort Claims Act are handled by U. S. Attorneys. At both the state and local levels tort lawyers have to be particularly knowledgeable of the nuances of Pennsylvania's immunity statutes. These laws limit both the types of matters for which government can be sued for negligence and the damages recoverable. Similar concepts apply under federal law. Tort lawyers are primarily litigators and often have a heavy case load. They must also, however, be skilled in counseling their clients on risk management activities that can help minimize the likelihood of a negligent act in the first instance. On occasion, tort lawyers may also prosecute on actions for damages to their client agency's property. |
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