TDI-Attorney I

Do you have a passion for public state service and enjoy making a difference? The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) is hiring! We regulate the insurance industry, administer the Texas workers’ compensation system, and educate and protect consumers. Apply now if you’re looking for a rewarding career in public service. The Texas Department of Insurance is in the Capitol Complex, in the Barbara Jordan Building at 1601 Congress Avenue in Austin, near the Texas Capitol.

Benefits of working at TDI:

• Flexible work schedules.
• Work-life-balance.
• 96 hours of accrued vacation a year.
• 96 hours of accrued sick leave a year.
• 20+ holidays every year.
• Career advancement opportunities.
• Free parking.
• 401(k) and 457 Programs.
• State of Texas retirement plan with a lifetime annuity through the Employee Retirement System of Texas (ERS).
• Free comprehensive medical insurance for full-time employees and 50% off premium costs for dependents (state pays other 50%).
• Optional benefits like dental, vision, life insurance, and many more.
• Qualified employer for the Federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.

Things you'll do in your first year on the job as a TDI attorney:

Get insurance and administrative law experience with a manageable workload. Solid training and plenty of experienced support to help you ease into learning insurance regulation, processing open records under the Public Information Act, and reviewing legislation.

• Develop administrative law skills—a varied practice area with public and private practitioners throughout the state.
• Learn the insurance industry. Every lawyer deals with insurance in their practice and in their daily life.
• Work with a collaborative, team-oriented group of professionals.

Before you apply:

TDI does not sponsor or assume sponsorship of an employment visa.

Learn about our selection process, our military employment preference, licensing, and credential requirements.

Attorney I (Open Records Attorney)

Develop your skills with a dynamic team of legal professionals at TDI. With $293 billion in premiums, Texas is the nation's second largest insurance market and the fifth largest in the world.

The Office of Chief Clerk and Open Records (OCCOR) in the General Counsel Division is hiring an attorney to support TDI's open records and chief clerk teams. This position will have the opportunity to learn about various legal areas in the General Counsel Division.

The General Counsel Division provides training and a positive, collaborative work culture. An ideal candidate will have a background in providing customer service to external stakeholders. The ideal candidate will be detail-oriented and an excellent communicator, with good collaboration skills. The candidate will be able to follow a variety of policies and procedures and manage time efficiently.

This position performs entry-level to routine (journey-level) legal work in a fast-paced environment. It requires significant attention to detail and the ability to educate internal staff on detailed internal processes for our document management system.

This position coordinates with internal staff across TDI's many divisions to respond to requests promptly and thoroughly under the Public Information Act. It involves communicating with the public to clarify requests and provide clear communications regarding TDI's records. Work includes interpreting laws, regulations, and opinions from the Office of the Attorney General and communicating legal advice to TDI staff orally and in writing. Work also includes preparing and editing legal documents and providing legal advice to agency staff on matters involving administrative law and insurance regulation.

The position works under moderate supervision within a collaborative team, with limited latitude for the use of initiative and independent judgment. Employees may occasionally assist others performing job duties of greater complexity. An ideal candidate will have excellent legal research and writing skills, the ability to interpret state and federal laws and apply them to novel legal problems, and the ability to draft thorough and plain language communications.

This position:

• Provides training, guidance, and legal advice to agency staff in matters related to the Public Information Act, Open Records Opinions from the Office of the Attorney General, and statutes and rules related to insurance regulation and administrative law.
• Assists with training staff on and updating detailed internal processes.
• Coordinates the drafting and review of legal documents such as requests for Attorney General rulings on Public Information Act requests.
• Communicates with clients and members of the public, including requestors of public information.
• Reviews documents related to contested case hearings conducted by the State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH) and drafts agency orders based on the administrative law judge’s proposal for decision and other relevant documents.
• Works with Chief Clerk staff to coordinate the review and submission of administrative rules to the Texas Register.
• Works with Chief Clerk staff to process, route, and maintain records for documents that are served on the commissioner of insurance or sent to the commissioner of insurance for forwarding to insurance companies in connection with legal proceedings.
• Receives legal documents such as subpoenas and other litigation-related documents and coordinates agency response to them.
• Participates in meetings and trainings on legal issues.
• Analyzes complex legal matters.
• Collaborates with management to ensure business continuity goals are met, including those for succession management.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

This position requires:

• Graduation from an accredited law school with a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree or comparable degree.
• Licensure as an attorney to practice law in Texas.
• Member in good standing with the State Bar of Texas.
• Regular work attendance.

Note | substitution language:

Law clerk experience can be counted toward the legal experience.

Preferences for this position include:

• Previous experience handling requests under the Public Information Act.
• Previous experience working in a document management system.
• Experience advising in-house staff and management on legal issues.
• Experience working for a federal, state, or local agency.
• A resume submitted with the application.

This position requires demonstrated knowledge of:

• State laws, rules, procedures and regulations, relevant to job requirements, with emphasis on the Insurance Code, the Government Code, the Public Information Act, and the Administrative Procedure Act.
• Workload management techniques, including prioritization, decision-making, and collaboration with internal clients and management.
• Legal principles, practices, and proceedings.

This position requires demonstrated skill in:

• Problem solving and critical thinking.
• Using Microsoft Office software applications, including Word, Excel, Outlook, and SharePoint.
• Using personal computers sufficient to enter and extract data from related systems and programs such as Centralized Accounting Payroll and Personnel (CAPPS) and other systems required to perform the job.
• Legal research, writing, and analysis, including plain English legal writing.
• Interpreting laws, regulations, and Open Records Opinions affecting the agency.
• Reasoning and logic to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
• Prioritizing workloads and time management.
• Using good judgment to analyze legal problems and identify courses of action.
• Attention to detail.

This position requires the demonstrated ability to:

• Communicate and work effectively with a wide range of people with varied skills, knowledge, and backgrounds.
• Maintain the confidentiality of sensitive information.
• Analyze and solve work-related problems and work independently on a variety of administrative work and technical assignments.
• Manage and coordinate multiple tasks and priorities to meet necessary deadlines.
• Work both independently and as a team player.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with both agency staff and the public.
• Use or learn to use technological resources, databases, and tracking systems.
• Identify and analyze legal problems, and prepare sound, clear opinions.
• Research complex legal issues efficiently.
• Summarize research findings clearly and effectively.
• Interpret laws and regulations affecting the agency.
• Apply critical thinking skills to novel and complex legal questions to identify solutions and evaluate risk. Research complex legal issues efficiently.
• Respond to dynamic situations on an as-needed and case-by-case basis.

Military Employment Preference

Get help translating your military work experience and training courses into civilian job terms, qualifications/requirements, and skill sets. Redact personal or sensitive information from all attachments.

To receive a military employment preference, you must submit the required documents, as applicable, with your application. See How to Apply – Military Employment Preference.

Applicable Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) codes are included, but not limited to one of the following:

27A, 250X, LGL10, 4402, 4405, 4406, 4407, 4408, 4409, 4410, 4411, 4417, 51JX, 92J0

Click or copy and paste the following link into your browser to access Military Crosswalk information:

How to apply:

You may apply through CAPPS Career Center or Work in Texas (WIT).

The following information is required with your submission. Your submission must include complete:

• Employment history (month and year).
• Duties and responsibilities.
• Education.
• Certifications.
• Licenses.
• Supplemental questions (if applicable)*.

We may reject submissions that do not include all the required information.

• If you are applying through WIT, log into CAPPS Career Center to access supplemental questions and review your submission.