Staff Attorney

The State of Connecticut, Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection (DESPP) has an exciting opportunity for a Staff Attorney 2 in the Connecticut Criminal Justice Information System (CJIS‑CT).

• Professional growth and development opportunities
• A healthy work/life balance to all employees
• The State of Connecticut is an eligible Public Service Loan Forgiveness employer, meaning you may be eligible to have qualifying student loans forgiven after 10 years of service.

In this role, the attorney will draft and negotiate Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) and Data Sharing Agreements (DSAs) with state agencies and municipal police departments to support secure data‑sharing initiatives. The position also provides expert guidance on legal and compliance matters—including FOIA responses using the Everlaw platform—while reviewing statutory proposals, supporting legislative engagement, and assisting CJIS‑CT subcommittees in analytics, security, and electronic workflow areas.

A key part of this work includes collaborating with legal counsel across state agencies and municipal police departments to harmonize data‑sharing frameworks and ensure consistent statewide adoption of criminal justice information sharing policies. The attorney will work closely with CJIS technologists and system architects to ensure that data‑sharing solutions, security controls, and workflow tools align with statutory, privacy, and compliance requirements.

These functions reflect the Governing Board’s identified need for dedicated legal expertise to drive transparency, efficiency, and public safety outcomes across Connecticut.

With a flexible hybrid work environment and the opportunity to contribute meaningfully to statewide criminal justice information systems, this position is ideal for an attorney with criminal justice experience with an interest in technology and data who seeks to make a measurable impact on Connecticut’s public safety infrastructure.

This is a full-time position, Monday-Friday. A Hybrid schedule may be available based on agency availability.

The Connecticut Criminal Justice Information System (CJIS‑CT) is seeking a dedicated attorney to support its mission of enabling secure, statewide criminal justice data sharing. This position plays a vital role in maintaining compliance with FBI CJIS Security Policy, strengthening Connecticut’s criminal justice data governance, and advancing collaboration across law enforcement, judicial partners, and public safety agencies.

DESPP is committed to protecting and improving the quality of life for all by providing a broad range of public safety services, training, regulatory guidance, and scientific services utilizing enforcement, prevention, education and state of the art science and technology. DESPP is structured on three key Strategic Pillars created by Commissioner Ronnell Higgins.

• 1. Operational Efficiency, Efficacy and Excellence
  • Making decisions through the thoughtful and informed use of data
  • Challenging the 'that's the way it's always been done' construct—i.e., thinking outside the box as to how we can improve
  • Constantly seeking better results
• 2. Shared Fiscal Responsibility
  • Recognizing our collective responsibility to steward the agency's resources
  • Realigning planned budgetary actions to ensure that they are in taxpayers' interests
  • Preparing together for potential budget stresses and fiscal challenges
• 3. Ethics and Accountability
  • Critically and constantly measuring our practices against our policies
  • Performing quarterly performance evaluations agency-wide to measure success and flag areas needing improvement
  • Regularly engaging external partners for feedback and assessments
  • Opening our doors…