RHODE ISLAND OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
SPECIAL ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL
CIVIL DIVISION
PAY GRADE 8731 ($86,612 – $98,107)
OR COMMENSURATE WITH EXPERIENCE
August 7, 2026 – January 1, 2027
The Rhode Island Office of the Attorney General is seeking an attorney with significant health care experience to help further the work of the Office’s Health Care Unit.
About the Office of the Attorney General: The Attorney General is the state’s top lawyer and law enforcement official, protecting and serving the people and interests of Rhode Island through a broad range of duties. Every day, the Office’s attorneys fight to ensure the public safety of the state’s communities, improve the economic security of its citizens, safeguard the state’s spectacular natural resources, and restore the public’s trust in government. Assistant and Special Assistant Attorneys General represent the people of Rhode Island in civil and criminal matters before trial courts, appellate courts, and the supreme courts of Rhode Island and the United States. The Office is unique among attorneys general offices across the country. Out of fifty states, only two other offices share the same broad criminal mission. In addition to other Attorney General functions, the Office’s attorneys prosecute complex and violent crimes but also functionally serve as one of the nation’s largest district attorney’s offices, prosecuting all felonies throughout the state.
The Civil Division leads affirmative and defensive litigation on behalf of the state, counsels the Attorney General and other government officials, and performs a range of regulatory duties.
The Public Protection Bureau within the Civil Division is comprised of four units – Health Care, Consumer and Economic Justice, Environmental and Energy, and Civil Rights.
Health Care Unit: The mission of the Health Care Unit within the Civil Division’s Public Protection Bureau is to contribute to improving individual and community health through a lens which recognizes the importance of the social determinants of health, our role as lawyers in ensuring equitable access to care, and the importance of maintaining an efficient marketplace among payors, providers, and people who require care. The Unit accomplishes its mission through targeted enforcement litigation, community outreach, and regulatory action. The Unit combines the authority vested in the Attorney General with powers under the Health Care Advocate and Insurance Advocate statutes.
Duties and Opportunities: The Office is seeking an attorney to collaborate with other members of the Health Care Unit to execute the health care work of the office. The Health Care Advocate is expected to fulfill the following roles:
- Support the identification and prioritization of potential Health Care Unit affirmative litigation and enforcement.
- Anticipate and understand current and emerging health care issues and look for opportunities to engage around those issues to protect Rhode Islanders and advance the mission of the Unit.
- Lead litigation or other health care investigations, rulemakings, regulatory actions and initiatives involving health insurers, health care providers, pharmaceutical/medical technology companies, pharmacy benefits managers, and other individuals and entities in the health care sector, in collaboration with others in the Unit or Civil Division.
- Engage with advocates and members of communities in Rhode Island to understand obstacles to health and health care.
- Identify policy thought-partners and resources to connect work being considered by the Health Care Unit with broader, policy-based research into drivers of consumer harm or inequity in health care.
- Work with the Public Information Officer and the Director of Community Engagement to engage with community members to identify needs and opportunities, and understand and communicate impact of ongoing work.
- Along with leadership in the RIAG, work with agency partners throughout State government.
Opportunities for Special Assistant Attorneys General in the Civil Division also include attending National Association of Attorney General trainings and conferences throughout the country, serving on boards, commissions, working groups, and/or task forces as a designee of the Attorney General, providing substantive expertise to legislative or policy initiatives, and supervising student interns as part of the Office’s legal internship program.
Eligibility: The successful applicant must have a law degree from an accredited law school and be an active member in good standing of the bar of any jurisdiction. If not a member of the Rhode Island Bar, the candidate must be eligible for admission to the Rhode Island bar and prepared to sit for the bar exam.
Qualifications: At least five years of litigation or health care regulatory experience is preferred but not mandatory. Strong candidates will have a demonstrated commitment to public interest law and legal or policy experience in health care, and a working knowledge of state and federal health laws and regulations and health care payment and financing systems (e.g., Medicaid, Medicare, commercial insurance). The position will require an interest in creative legal thinking and a demonstrated ability to both envision and build on an organizational level. Candidates must have strong written, oral advocacy and negotiating skills and enjoy a fast-paced environment. Applicant must work well independently and as part of a team, including with other attorneys and support staff. Ability to work with other state government employees and communicate with members of the public is a must. The applicant should bring innovative thinking to the ways in which the Office of the Attorney General can consistently and increasingly meet the needs of Rhode Island residents.
Application Process:
If applying for position via mail or email, there is no need to also apply through online system.
Applicants should submit (1) a cover letter summarizing why you are interested and describing the skills and abilities you possess that will enable you to succeed in this position, (2) resume, (3) list of three references, and (4) a writing sample to:
Aida Gomez
Director of Administration
Office of the Attorney General
150 South Main Street, Providence, RI 02903
Lee Staley
Chief, Health Care Unit
Equal Opportunity Employer: The Attorney General’s Office is stronger, more credible, and more capable when its employees bring diverse backgrounds, cultures, and perspectives to their work. The Office encourages all qualified applicants from all ethnic and racial backgrounds, veterans, LGBTQ individuals, and persons with disabilities to apply.
All qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, color, sex, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, disability, or covered veteran status.
Other Information: Finalists will be subject to a full background investigation including reference checks. All offers of employment are contingent upon successful completion of the background investigation, receipt of letters of good standing from each Bar in which the applicant is a member, and membership in good standing with, or admission into, the Rhode Island Bar. In certain limited circumstances, applicants may be hired pending temporary or full admission.
Regular, reliable, and punctual in-person attendance at the employee's assigned worksite is an essential function of this position. The duties and responsibilities of this role require physical presence to ensure effective collaboration, supervision, access to secure or confidential materials, and operational continuity. While the Office may, in its discretion, permit hybrid telework arrangements in certain circumstances and pursuant to the Office's Telework Policy, such arrangements are granted at the sole discretion of the Office based on operational needs. The grant of hybrid telework does not diminish the in-person attendance requirement as an essential function of the position.
The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to do this job. The above is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities and duties required.
This job description is not intended to be all-inclusive. The employee may be required to perform other related duties as assigned to meet the organization’s ongoing needs. Performs other duties, as assigned.
Normal office working conditions including frequent sitting, standing, walking, and computer monitor use.
Supplemental InformationSpecial Assistant Attorney General/Healthcare UnitBenefitsFor information regarding the benefits available to State of Rhode Island employees, please visit the Office of Employee Benefits' website at http://www.employeebenefits.ri.gov/.
Also, be advised that a new provision in RI General Law 35-6-1 was enacted requiring direct deposit for all employees. Specific to new hires, the law requires that all employees hired after September 30, 2014 participate in direct deposit. Accordingly, any employee hired after this date will be required to participate in the direct deposit system. At the time the employee is hired, the employee shall identify a financial institution that will serve as a personal depository agency for the employee.
Skills Required
- Law degree from an accredited law school
- Active member in good standing of any jurisdiction's bar, or eligibility to sit for the Rhode Island bar
- Provide letters of good standing from each bar of which applicant is a member and obtain Rhode Island bar admission or temporary admission as required
- Successful completion of background investigation and reference checks
- Strong written, oral advocacy, and negotiating skills
- Ability to work independently and collaboratively with attorneys, support staff, state employees, and the public
- Regular, reliable, and punctual in-person attendance at assigned worksite (in-person presence is essential)
- Working knowledge of state and federal health laws and regulations and health care payment and financing systems (e.g., Medicaid, Medicare, commercial insurance)
- At least five years of litigation or health care regulatory experience
- Demonstrated commitment to public interest law and health care legal or policy experience
What We Do
The State of Rhode Island is the official government entity responsible for the administration, governance, and delivery of public services to the citizens and residents of the state of Rhode Island.
