Supreme Court Office of Professional Conduct Executive Director-Chief Disciplinary Counsel

The position of Executive Director-Chief Disciplinary Counsel (“Director”) of the Arkansas Supreme Court Office of Professional Conduct (“OPC”) is being advertised until filled. The final selection and appointment authority is the Arkansas Supreme Court. The position is “at will” and the Director will serve at the pleasure of the Court and conditioned upon good conduct. The employer is the Bar of Arkansas, a Supreme Court entity. The minimum requirements and criteria necessary for selection and appointment are as follows:

1. All applicants must be licensed, in good standing, and admitted to practice by the Arkansas Supreme Court. Alternatively, they may be a graduate of an ABA-accredited law school, licensed and in good standing by the bar of some state and be eligible to be licensed in Arkansas under the court rules of Arkansas, and they shall obtain an Arkansas law license within one year after appointment and employment.
2. An applicant shall have a minimum of 10 years active law practice experience, including at least 5 years of verifiable litigation experience in state or federal courts. Some appellate practice experience is strongly recommended.
3. The Director must be committed to the highest ethical and professional standards and be a person whose personal and professional integrity are above reproach.
4. The Director must have and shall enforce in others the ability to handle and maintain the confidentiality of highly sensitive information and documents. 
5. The Director must have effective written and oral communications skills, with experience in public speaking.
6. An applicant must have no pending disciplinary complaints in any jurisdiction, shall disclose any disciplinary history, even a conclusion of no misconduct or a declination to prosecute, and shall address any questions about personal disciplinary matters that may be put to the applicant.
7. An applicant shall sign all necessary documents and cooperate with the selection committee for personal, criminal, court, and financial background checks.
8. The Director, hires, supervises, and may terminate all OPC staff.
9. The Director should have good interpersonal skills, communication and listening skills, both oral and written, and the ability to handle situations where the other person is hostile, agitated, and even threatening.
10. The Director exercises independent prosecutorial discretion in charging decisions.
11. The Director is expected to direct OPC participation in developing and conducting training and continuing education programs for legal and other audiences.
12. The Director must have sufficient litigation experience to successfully work with and coordinate the efforts of OPC staff attorneys or outside counsel to represent and defend the Committee and OPC in litigation.
13. The Director may be required to take on and manage a substantial caseload of the OPC investigative and case files and carry them through to completion in the Committee or court system.
14. The Director should be an experienced team player with strong, demonstrated managerial and administrative skills. 
15. With the application, an applicant shall submit three letters of recommendation from persons who have known the applicant for at least the immediate past five years. One letter must be from a lawyer or a judge who is familiar with the legal work of the applicant. The selection entity may require additional letters of recommendation of the applicant.
16. The applicant must be experienced with relevant technology and IT applications such as email, Microsoft Office Suite, Outlook, MS Word, Excel, federal court PACER case search, and Arkansas Court Connect case search.
17. The Director position is a state grade SE03 classification.
18. The position provides comprehensive state health benefits and options through Health Advantage/AR Blue Cross-Blue Shield, a defined benefit retirement program through the Arkansas Public Employees Retirement System (APERS), and other benefit options.
19. The position accrues twelve (12) paid annual leave days and twelve (12) paid sick leave days per year. Annual merit bonuses are available when approved for state employees by the Governor and the Court. 
20. The OPC is located in Little Rock. The Director is expected to be in the office for the majority of the work week. The minimum work week is forty hours. The Director must possess the ability to effectively manage and work remotely if required to do so by circumstances or Court directive.
21. Travel outside central Arkansas will be required at times. Travel to other states will be required at times, to attend conferences related to the mission and work of OPC. The Director shall provide his/her own transportation, to be reimbursed by the Court at standard State of Arkansas rates.

A cover letter, resume and three letters of recommendation are required to be considered for this position and may be submitted by email to Melanie Fleming at melanie.fleming@arcourts.gov.   This position is open until filled with an expected report to work date around July 1, 2024.