Office of the Attorney General now hiring

Acting attorney general Gregory Baka has called on young attorneys to apply for jobs with the Office of the Attorney General.

The OAG recently announced vacancies for four assistant attorneys general positions, in a bid to beef up the office after it was hit by resignations.

In a press conference last week, Baka said the AG’s office provides immense opportunities for young attorneys to learn more about the legal profession and serve the people.

“Working at the Office of the Attorney General gives so many challenges to help support the people in so many different ways. Of course, you learn so much working in our office, so people who worked at the OAG often move on to other experiences,” he said. He cited three examples of attorneys who worked at the OAG before taking jobs with other institutions: Eric O’Malley and Jim Benedetto, both of whom are now with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and Joseph Taijeron, now a legal counsel at the CNMI Legislature.

“I would encourage any young attorneys who really want to learn and help the people to come work for us for five years. It will be well worth it and it will really give some practice skills that you can put to your personal benefit when you go into private practice afterwards,” Baka said.

According to the OAG’s job announcement, the office needs a prosecuting attorney to handle felony cases; a civil litigation attorney who must also be able to advise government departments and agencies in the execution of the CNMI laws; an attorney with construction litigation experience to represent and advise the CNMI Department of Public Works with respect to infrastructure projects and litigation that has resulted from such projects; and an immigration attorney to handle all immigration related enforcement actions and litigation in federal and CNMI Courts and to advise the Secretary of Labor, Director of Immigration and the Attorney General on immigration enforcement issues.

Baka, in a public hearing last month, told the Legislature that the AG’s office lacks attorneys. From having 30 attorneys at the end of 2005, he said, the OAG was down to 17 attorneys as of Oct. 15, 2008. Budget problems and the existing government salary cap prevent the agency to hire the needed attorneys, he said.