Under limited supervision, performs professional legal work for the Department of Financial Institutions under the laws regulating financial institutions and financial services companies or issuers.

This is the professional working level. Incumbents are assigned moderately complex matters and assist in the handling of more complex matters and use established standards to make recommendations for action. 

Complex work, for the purpose of this class series, generally means:

1.             Work having a high degree of political sensitivity;

2.             Work in which a mistake could have a high cost to the agency and to the public; or

3.             Work involving novel issues requiring the exercise of a high degree of judgment or the development of regulatory policy and practice or of new legal theories; or

4.             Work relating to problem institutions.

Work is complex when it includes:

a.     Setting significant regulatory policy or creating legal precedent in evolving areas of the law;

b.    Handling matters requiring a comprehensive knowledge of the financial services industry, the various state and federal laws and rules of self-regulatory organizations that regulate it and their interrelationship, the law of related areas such as real estate or insurance, and administrative law and practice or state and federal criminal law and procedure;

c.     Performing legal analysis and case preparation, developing of case strategy, negotiating settlements or conditions, or engaging in trial or hearing practice in matters involving multiple parties or the application of multiple regulatory schemes;

d.    Achieving resolutions to situations with troubled institutions or issuers, including those complex capital structures, balancing the competing claims of different interested persons or groups of persons; or

e.      Directing or coordinating joint regulatory or investigative efforts with one or more state or federal agency.

General

Communications: Concise and effective interactions between other individuals as well as internal and external organizations. A basic level of competency is required in media relations; intermediate levels of competency in presentation and facilitation; and, accomplished levels of competency in listening, oral, and written skills, specifically report writing.

Self or life management: Intermediate levels of competency are required in assertiveness, stress management, and time management; and, accomplished levels of competency in ethics and personal presentation. 

Interpersonal Skills: Individual and group dealings require a basic level of competency for networking; intermediate levels of competency in conflict management, diplomacy, diversity, negotiating/influencing, and partnering; and, an accomplished level of competency in teamwork.

Leadership: Basic levels of competency are required for internal change management and political savvy; and intermediate levels of competency in teambuilding, decisiveness, and coaching.

Organizational: Planning, evaluation, and understanding the parameters in which the organization operates as well as the factors which impact the organization. Basic levels of competency are required for vision and performance measurement and improvement; and, intermediate levels of competency are required for organizational awareness, external awareness, and customer focus.

Management: Basic levels of competency are required for technology and process management; and, intermediate level of competency in analytical thinking, creative thinking and problem solving.

Stakeholder communication and development: A basic level of competency is required for outreach; and, intermediate levels of competency are required for needs analysis, service delivery, message development, and product knowledge. 

Technical

Legal Analysis/Drafting.  An intermediate level of competency is required for the following: 

Performs legal analysis and interpretation; Drafts legal pleadings, interpretive letters, agreements, memoranda and briefs; Analyzes the suitability of available remedies for a particular case, selects and recommends an appropriate form of action or combination of actions (administrative, civil, or criminal), and drafts remedy provisions; Applies factors to be considered in determining whether to refer a case to state or federal prosecutors; Applies disclosure standards in registration and enforcement contexts; Conduct legal research including computerized legal research; Keeps current on state and federal legislation, case law, and administrative pronouncements.

Case and File Management.  An intermediate level of competency is required for the following:

Develops an effective investigative plan; May lead a team on a complex case; Responsible for a large file load or case load and maintains progress on a number of matters simultaneously; Conducts and manages investigations of investment fraud and registration violations; Conducts interviews with witnesses and targets; Coordinates licensing and registration activities with enforcement activities effectively; Manages litigation involving a substantial volume of documentary evidence; Selects appropriate technology for case management, litigation support, and visual aids and uses it effectively; Works with internal and external databases and databases of other state agencies to which DFI has access. 

Representation and Negotiation.  An intermediate level of competency is required for the following: 

Knowledge of:  division specific statutes and related regulations; the case law relating to our statutes as well as the relationship of those statutes and related regulations to uniform legislation or model rules and to federal statutes and regulations and the statutes and regulations of other states; state and federal laws relating to investments and the financial services industry; understand of the roles of state and federal regulators and of self-regulatory organizations in enforcing the laws governing the financial services industry; administrative law and procedure  (including adjudicative proceedings, rulemaking, and regulatory fairness); the law of evidence, including knowledge of the state and federal rules of evidence, law and procedure relating to obtaining and authenticating foreign records, procedural requirements relating to use of certain evidence, effectively make and meet objections at hearing or trial; criminal law and procedure, state and federal and state and federal sentencing schemes as well as the mechanics of the sentencing process; civil procedure; appellate practice and procedure especially with regard to amicus practice; understanding of business structures, laws relating to the formation and governance of various business structures, and business practices; constitutional law, including the law relating to due process, search and seizure, and the relationship of the states to the federal government; public disclosure law; understanding of the securities industry, its structure and practices.

There may be instances where individual positions must have additional licenses or certification. It is the employer’s responsibility to ensure the appropriate licenses/certifications are obtained for each position. 

Persons legally authorized to work in the U.S. under federal law, including Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients, are eligible for employment unless prohibited by other state or federal law.

Graduation from an accredited law school and membership in the Washington State Bar Association.

AND

One year of experience as a deputy or prosecuting attorney, an assistant attorney general or in public or private practice involving banking law, consumer finance law or consumer protection law, securities, corporate law or trial procedures.