Senior Staff Counsel - Governor’s Office of Planning & Research (Sacramento)

The Governor’s Office of Planning & Research (OPR) seeks a Senior Staff Counsel within its Legal Affairs team. Under the general direction of OPR’s Chief Counsel, the Senior Staff Counsel will be responsible for providing research and analytical legal services needed to advise OPR and the Office of Community Partnerships and Strategic Communications (OCPSC) leadership in the legal implications of OPR’s and OCPSC’s activities.

The Senior Staff Counsel will support, review, and coordinate OCPSC’s contracting and grantmaking activities with agency partners and contractors, and, as needed, engage in litigation in coordination with the Attorney General’s Office and OPR’s Chief Counsel. The Senior Staff Counsel may also provide general legal support to OPR on issues related to CEQA, Planning and Zoning Law, Bagley-Keene, and the Public Records Act, amongst other laws.

OPR serves the Governor and his Cabinet as staff for long-range planning and research and constitutes the comprehensive state planning agency. OPR assists the Governor and the Administration in planning, research, policy development, and legislative analysis. OCPSC, operating within OPR, manages the State’s highest priority community engagement and public awareness efforts including COVID-19 vaccines, climate justice, water conservation and extreme heat.