Legal Counsel

About the role

The Legislative Services Agency (LSA) is a nonpartisan, central staff agency of around 100 employees serving members and committees of the Iowa General Assembly. The LSA’s workforce spans three divisions and multiple offices where individuals contribute their unique expertise and talents to advance a shared mission of serving the Iowa General Assembly in a nonpartisan manner. Effective immediately, the Legislative Services Agency is accepting applications for the position of Legal Counsel to begin in the fall of 2026. The LSA offers meaningful work with great benefits.

Responsibilities

• Bill drafting, which includes consulting with legislators and others in analyzing problems, identifying objectives, secondary effects, and underlying values and assumptions.
• Assessing information and research needs.
• Considering alternatives, and constructing statutory language, within the context of current statutes, court decisions, and administrative rules and procedures to accomplish the legislative objective.
• Conducting legal research.
• Preparing analyses, explanations, and summaries of legislation and court decisions.
• Staffing and advising legislative committees on legislation, law, administrative rules, and opinions of the courts and Attorney General.
• Performing administrative duties and preparing minutes, reports, and other work products for legislative committees.
• Contacting technical personnel for information.
• Providing information and assistance on the status of legislation and on specific areas of the law to other governmental agencies and to the public.
• Assisting in the editing, preparation, and publication of the Iowa Code and Iowa Acts.
• Progress toward and responsibility for more complex projects and independent work projects is dependent upon the Legal Counsel’s ability and performance.
• Overtime is required, including nights and weekends, primarily prior to and during the legislative session, both to accomplish the required workload in a timely manner and to be available as needed by the legislators and legislative committees, with partial compensatory time provided.

Qualifications

• Graduate of an approved law school and strong preference for licensure in Iowa as an attorney.
• Ability to develop skill in drafting legislative bills and legal research documents.
• Ability to develop expertise in assigned areas of the law.
• Knowledge of legal research sources and application of legal research methods.
• Ability to communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing, and to analyze, explain, and summarize legislation, court decisions, complex written material, detailed research documents, and administrative rules.
• Ability to work in a nonpartisan manner in a partisan environment and provide objective information regardless of the issue or personal opinions.
• Ability to work effectively when the work environment is demanding and fast‑paced involving competing responsibilities with unpredictable timelines, heavy workloads, unpredictable hours, and the exercise of professional judgment during bill and amendment drafting.
• Ability to work well with others, to manage time and prioritize work effectively with minimal supervision and meet tight deadlines with minimal supervision.
• Ability to maintain focused concentration on complex tasks for an extended period of time.
• Ability to manage multiple concurrent tasks and to move quickly between tasks while adjusting priorities in order to meet deadlines in a timely manner.

Benefits

• Participation in the Iowa Public Employees’ Retirement System (IPERS) pension plan.
• Qualifying employer for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program.
• Low‑cost, high‑quality health and dental insurance offered.

Pay

Beginning annual salary is $65,811.20.

Schedule

Overtime work during the legislative session (typically January through May), including nights and weekends required. Partial compensatory time during the legislative interim is available.