Chief Assistant Corporation Counsel - Employment Litigation Division

About the role

The Chief Assistant Corporation Counsel ("Chief ACC") position in the Employment Litigation Division of the City of Chicago Law Department is seeking an experienced attorney with a minimum of eight (8) years of experience in federal and/or state court employment litigation, of which three (3) years are in a supervisory role or case management capacity.

Responsibilities

• Work under the general supervision of the Deputy Corporation Counsel of the Employment Litigation Division and handle all phases of complex employment litigation in state and federal court.
• Maintain a case load and directly supervise attorneys assigned to their cases.
• Identify and execute opportunities for training clients and attorneys through live-training or webinar.
• Have significant responsibility on other matters, including client counseling, risk prevention and risk assessment, interaction and coordination with other Law Department divisions, other City departments, and outside counsel, and attorney and staff training, development, and evaluation.

Requirements

• A minimum of eight (8) years of experience in federal and/or state court employment litigation, of which three (3) years are in a supervisory role or case management capacity related to the responsibilities of the position.
• Previous high level of responsibility for handling complex employment litigation in one or more of the following areas: adverse impact claims, class and/or collective actions, and wage and hour claims.
• Experience conducting jury trials as lead or co-lead counsel, preferably in employment litigation.
• Experience advising senior management on personnel policies and best practices regarding hiring, promotions, benefits, performance management, compensation, leaves of absence, reasonable accommodations, workplace investigations, anti-discrimination and harassment, discipline, terminations, and workplace safety issues.
• In depth knowledge and experience advising clients on compliance with federal, state and local employment laws and best practices, including but not limited to Title VII, ADA, FMLA, FLSA, ADEA and OSHA.
• Admission to the Federal Trial Bar (or eligible for admission to the Federal Trial Bar pursuant to LR83.11).
• Experience drafting and updating employment policies and procedures.
• Experience drafting answers/motions, presenting oral arguments, conducting discovery, and attending settlement conferences and mediation.
• Experience taking and defending depositions, including expert witnesses.
• Experience supervising outside counsel and managing outside counsel spend.
• The ability to train, supervise, and evaluate subordinate attorneys working on employment litigation cases.
• Significant negotiation and settlement experience.

Skills and Abilities

• Exceptional communication, writing, research, and editing skills.
• The ability to work well with others.
• The ability to manage teams.