The Tennessee Attorney General’s Office is a full-service law firm, representing the State in litigation, transactional matters, and investigations and providing day-to-day legal advice to a wide variety of state entities and officials. The Office’s Civil Rights Enforcement Division enforces the Tennessee Human Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on certain protected characteristics in employment, education, housing and places of public accommodation. The Division investigates discrimination complaints, resolves complaints through both mediation and informal negotiations, and when necessary, files lawsuits on behalf of complainants and the State of Tennessee. Its office is in Nashville, but the Division has statewide enforcement authority.
Job Overview:
Assistant attorneys general in the Civil Rights Enforcement Division enforce the State’s anti-discrimination laws. AAGs are actively involved in pre-litigation activities, including investigations and complaint-resolution efforts, and they litigate on behalf of both victims of discrimination and the State of Tennessee.
Responsibilities
Primary Job Duties:
- Lead investigations into complaints of civil-rights discrimination by utilizing pre-suit investigative tools like requests for information, civil investigative demands, and requests for sworn testimony; interviewing potential witnesses; and providing legal direction to the Division’s investigators;
- File lawsuits pursuant to the State’s anti-discrimination laws, and handle all aspects of civil litigation, including motion practice, discovery, mediation, trial, and in some cases, appellate practice;
- Monitor compliance with settlement agreements and court orders;
- Advise the Division Director and executive leadership on how to proceed with complaints, investigations, settlements, and litigation;
- Collaborate with other attorneys, investigators, support staff, and senior leadership within the Office and with the Division’s federal partners; and
- Perform in compliance with the law, office policies, legal ethics rules and in furtherance of the Office’s mission to provide principled, independent, and excellent counsel
Qualifications
Preferred Qualifications:
- Four or more years of civil litigation experience, with a strong preference for eperience in litigation involving state and federal civil rights laws (e.g., Ttile VII, Fair Housing Act, Tennessee Human Rights Act) or other public-protection laws (e.g., state consumer protection laws, state or federal false claim acts;
- Experience conducting investigations using a variety of investigative tools and methods, including interviewing witnesses, taking sworn testimony, and gathering and analyzing documentary evidence;
- Experience presenting legal arguments and evidence in state or federal court;
- Experience drafting memoranda, investigative inquiries, pleadings, motions, briefs, and discovery requests;
- Experience negotiating settlement terms through mediation or informal communications;
- Strong written and oral communications skills (all applicants must submit a recent writing sample); and
- Licensed to practice law in Tennessee or pursuing admission to practice law in Tennessee.
Application Process
Please submit a cover letter, résumé, writing sample, law school transcript, and contact information for three professional references to pete.sullivan@ag.tn.gov.