General Counsel

Position Summary

The General Counsel is responsible for providing professional, accurate, objective and timely legal advice and counsel to the Commission and District management and staff, including advice on local, state, and federal laws, contract issues, regulations and litigation, and policy management, all consistent with the professional obligations of public attorneys. The position is also responsible for legal oversite of matters relating to FERC license compliance and NERC reliability compliance.

This includes negotiation of all permits, licenses and agreements necessary for the District ongoing and future operations.

• Faithfully perform all duties and functions of a general legal counsel for a Public Utility District organized under the laws of the State of Washington to assist and facilitate the activities and lawful purposes of the District.
• Represent and direct the District's legal matters and services consistent with District goals, objectives, policies and budgets. Ensure compliance with local, state and federal laws. Advise on legal matters as necessary/upon request.
• Attend Board of Commissioners meetings and provide clear, accurate and direct advice regarding legal matters. Help the Board to be successful in discharging their duties. Provide advice to Board of Commissioners as appropriate.
• Institute legal proceedings whenever requested to do so by the Board of Commissioners or the General Manager, and accepting services of process for and entering the appearance of the PUD in the legal proceeding instituted against it, and representing the PUD, the Board of Commissioners, and the officers and employees of the PUD for acts performed in their official capacity.
• Arrange for outside legal counsel and specialty legal services as may be required and appropriate. Direct, supervise and review the work of outside legal specialists to ensure the best interests of the District are being met in a cost-effective manner.
• Responsible for District contracts, legal documents and resolutions. Oversee the preparation of and review all contracts and agreements on all District matters. Ensure proper formation and execution of contracts and other legal documents in accordance with state and federal requirements. Educate and train District staff; ensure statutes and governmental rules and regulations pertaining to or affecting District operations are known by employees and properly observed.
• Review and evaluate District policies to ensure compliance with legal requirements.
• Provide communication and reporting of activities to the General Manager.
• Oversee all Public Records Requests to ensure compliance and timely, accurate responses. Provide guidance to the Public Records Officer.
• Participate in the CBA negotiations and any grievance processes.
• Cooperate with other counsel retained by the PUD, and as appropriate, make joint or independent recommendations and reports to the Board of Commissioners and the General Manager.

Compliance

• Implementation of Standards:
  Oversees the coordination for the implementation of the District's reliability compliance standards as set forth by regulatory requirements from NERC, FERC, WECC and other regulatory agencies; standard practices, procedures and guidelines for reliability compliance; identifies and resolves complex reliability and implementation problems; provides standards, procedures and training to ensure that reliability compliance operations are completed and are in compliance with all applicable regulations;
  
  suggests procedures to improve effectiveness.
• Manage Regulatory Compliance by ensuring the development, completion and timely submittal of forms and reports required by FERC, NERC, WECC and other regulatory agencies.
• Review and ensure that information received meets regulatory standards.
• Manages the District's reliability activities in accordance with compliance monitoring enforcement program methods.
• Oversee comprehensive audits of registered District functions and operational activities to evaluate District compliance with NERC reliability standards and WECC regional reliability standards; reports to management any adverse conditions/activities that may compromise system reliability, safety, or the District's ability to comply with regulatory codes and procedures; reviews previous audit findings; identifies trends, weaknesses, and/or problem areas that may have negative impact on District operations or reliability standards;
  
  conduct investigations into potential…