Crown Counsel

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ELIGIBILITY FOR THIS COMPETITION IS RESTRICTED TO STEP 1 CANDIDATES INCLUDING OPS ALOC AND OCAA LAWYERS living or working within 125 km of this location. Note: Eligible lawyers from outside the Area of Search may apply but will not be entitled to relocation or travel expenses for the transfer as set out below.

Step 1: All regular/fixed-term OCAA and ALOC lawyers on staff, current Redeployment List Members and current Articling Student Hireback Pool Members.

Step 2: In the absence of qualified applicants at Step 1 the competition may be reposted so that external applicants or non-members of the above-mentioned groups would then be eligible to apply.

The Ministry of the Attorney General has an exciting and challenging opportunity to join the Legal Services Branch as Counsel for the Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade ("MEDJCT") and the Ministry of Red Tape Reduction ("MRTR").

For MEDJCT, this position will have an emphasis on complex corporate commercial work including grants, secured lending, procurements, venture capital transactions and related intellectual property matters, as well as program and policy development advice. Counsel in this position will also advise on agency matters, boards governance, Orders in Council, Conflict of Interest and Freedom of Information requests.

Work on MRTR includes providing strategic legal advice and support in relation to program, legislative, and policy development initiatives relating to the government's red tape and burden reduction commitments.

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OPS Commitment to Diversity, Inclusion, Accessibility, and Anti-Racism:

We are committed to build a workforce that reflects the communities we serve and to promote a diverse, anti-racist, inclusive, accessible, merit-based, respectful and equitable workplace.

We invite all interested individuals to apply and encourage applications from people with disabilities, Indigenous, Black, and racialized individuals, as well as people from a diversity of ethnic and cultural origins, sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions.

Visit the OPS Anti-Racism Policy and the OPS Diversity and Inclusion Blueprint pages to learn more about the OPS commitment to advance racial equity, accessibility, diversity, and inclusion in the public service.

We offer employment accommodation across the recruitment process and all aspects of employment consistent with the requirements of Ontario's Human Rights Code. Refer to the "How to apply" section if you require a disability-related accommodation.

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What can I expect to do in this role?

You will work in a collegial, fast-paced, and demanding environment. You are expected to work both independently on a broad range of legal issues that are relevant to the ministries and collaboratively and effectively with others on team projects. Duties will include:

• Negotiating, drafting and reviewing term sheets, grant agreements, secured loan agreements, memorandums of understanding, procurement agreements, and other complex commercial legal documents
• Advising on agency matters, board governance and appointments, including Orders in Council and Conflict of Interest matters
• Advising ministry program areas on Freedom of Information ("FOI") access requests and protection of privacy, including representing MEDJCT on FOI access appeals made to the Information and Privacy Commissioner ("IPC")
• Providing legal advice on the development of policies and operationalization processes related to funding and other support programs
• Providing advice on business-related regulatory reduction initiatives.
• Drafting and interpreting legislation and regulations
• Conducting legal research
• Preparing legal opinions and briefing senior ministry officials

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How do I qualify?

Mandatory

• Membership in good standing as a lawyer with the Law Society of Ontario

Knowledge and Skills

• Demonstrated experience in negotiating, drafting and reviewing corporate and commercial documents including secured lending documents, procurement documents, grant agreements, and other commercial legal documents with varying levels of complexity.
• Familiarity and experience with corporate law, lending, and bankruptcy and insolvency.
• Experience with agency establishment and governance.
• Ability to recognize and assess legal implications in proposed and existing programs and initiatives and able to provide innovative, strategic, risk-based and helpful and solutions-oriented legal advice on complex, time-sensitive and high-profile issues that arise.
• Experience and familiarity with drafting and interpretation of statutes, regulations and other legislative instruments.
• Ability to handle a high volume practice with short turnaround times while working proactively, professionally and cooperatively with sophisticated clients and with colleagues.
• Conversant with the law, government policies and practices relating to government grants, procurements, lending and corporate and commercial law.
• Well-organized oral and written communication skills.
• Demonstrated research and opinion writing skills.
• Skill and ability in developing documents using MS Office tools including Word, PowerPoint and Excel.
• Experience in using on-line legal research tools.
• Proven client service orientation and demonstrated ability to be proactive on files, responsive to client requests and inspire client confidence.
• Demonstrated experience with mentoring others and leading and contributing positively to teams on collaborative work projects.

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Additional information:

Note:

• In accordance with the Ontario Public Service (OPS), Employment Screening Checks Policy (ESCP), the top candidate(s) may be required to undergo a security screening check. Refer to the above to determine the screening checks that are required for this position.
  
  Required security screening checks along with your written consent, will be sent to the Transition and Security Office (TSO), Corporate Talent Programs Branch, Talent and Leadership Division to evaluate the results. If applicable, the TSO, with your written consent, will request and obtain any additional employment screening checks that were not obtained directly by you.
  
  A record under the Criminal Code and/or other federal offence record(s) does not automatically mean you will be ineligible for the position. The employment screening check(s) will only be reviewed and evaluated by the TSO for the purpose of making a security clearance decision. The details of an individual's employment screening check(s) will be considered in specific relation to the duties and responsibilities of the position being filled. Employment screening check records will be maintained by the TSO and kept strictly confidential.
• For issues with submitting applications, or questions, please contact CSMD.HR.LegalCompeti@ontario.ca

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How to apply:

1. You must apply online.
2. Your cover letter and resume combined should not exceed five (5) pages. For tips and tools on how to write a concise cover letter and resume, review the Writing a Cover Letter and Resume: Tips, Tools and Resources.
3. Customize your cover letter and resume to the qualifications listed on the job ad. Using concrete examples, you must show how you demonstrated the requirements for this job. We rely on the information you provide to us.
4. Read the to make sure you understand this job.
5. OPS employees are required to quote their WIN EMPLOYEE ID number when applying.
6. If you require a disability related accommodation in order to participate in the recruitment process, please Contact Us to provide your contact information. Recruitment services team will contact you within 48 hours.

All external applicants (including former employees of the Ontario Public Service) applying to a competition in a ministry or Commission public body must disclose (either in the cover letter or resume) previous employment with the Ontario Public Service. Disclosure must include positions held, dates of employment and any active restrictions as applicable from being rehired by the Ontario Public Service. Active restrictions can include time and/or ministry-specific restrictions currently in force, and may preclude a former employee from being offered a position with the Ontario Public Service for a specific time period (e.g. one year), or from being offered a position with a specific ministry (either for a pre-determined time period or indefinitely). The circumstances around an employee's exit will be considered prior to an offer of employment.

All Ontario Public Service external job advertisements are posted in English and French. To confirm the language requirements of a job, check the "language of position" information at the top of each job ad. For all positions, candidates will be assessed in English, the business language of the Ontario Public Service. For English/French designated bilingual positions, candidates will also be assessed through French-language proficiency testing.

Toutes les offres d'emploi externes de la fonction publique de l'Ontario sont affichées en anglais et en français. Pour connaître les exigences linguistiques, vérifiez les renseignements sur la " langue du poste " figurant dans le haut de chaque offre d'emploi. Pour tous les postes, l'évaluation des candidates et candidats se fera en anglais, la langue usuelle de la fonction publique de l'Ontario. En ce qui concerne les postes désignés bilingues, la maîtrise du français des candidates et candidats sera également évaluée.

The Ontario Public Service is an inclusive employer.
Accommodation is available under the Ontario's Human Rights Code .