Assistant Corporation Counsel I - Collections, ...

Closing Date: 5th November, 2026

Description:

Description:
The City of Chicago Law Department is seeking an attorney for the position of Assistant Corporation Counsel (ACC I) in the Collections, Ownership and Administrative Litigation (COAL) Division.

COAL is responsible for enforcing a significant number of municipal laws and holding individuals and entities that violate those laws accountable. Its primary mandates are to (1) enforce fines, fees, and penalties, and to collect other amounts owed to the City; and (2) determine the owners and other parties responsible for municipal law violations. COAL is also responsible for representing the City and its departments in foreclosure and lien proceedings, bankruptcy matters (including appeals to the district court), tax deed petitions, debt due and owing and ownership disputes at the City's Department of Administrative Hearings, and in a host of other matters. The ACC I will work under the general supervision of the Deputy, Chief, and Supervising Attorney of the Division and assist in the counseling of various Client Departments.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
Ideal candidates will possess the following:

• Excellent analytical skills;
• The ability to organize, prioritize, monitor, and control workflow deadlines;
• The ability to work and communicate well with others;
• Experience working with short deadlines;
• The ability to exhibit leadership and initiative on assigned tasks;
• Superior writing, research and editing skills;
• Experience providing client counseling.

Preference may be given to candidates possessing the following:

• Experience in determining real property ownership;
• Experience in reviewing and analyzing property deeds, mortgages, liens and foreclosures;
• Experience in project management;
• Experience in collections matters;
• Experience in bankruptcy cases.

Qualifications:

• Graduation from an American Bar Association accredited law school with a Juris Doctor degree
• Admission to the Illinois Bar (or eligible for admission on motion to the Illinois Bar pursuant to Illinois Supreme Court Rule 705), good standing with your state Attorney Registration & Disciplinary Commission
• Or, if applicable, intent to take the bar exam to obtain required Illinois Licensure indicated in cover letter.

Disclaimer - "Accredited" means any American law school that has passed and maintains the requirements of accreditation by the American Bar Association (www.americanbar.org).

Mandatory Submission Terms
You must submit an on-line application by November 4, 2026 and the documents below:

• Cover letter that (1) includes the position title and job number as noted on the posting; and (2) specifically identifies how you meet the minimum qualifications and have the knowledge, skills, and abilities listed below;
• if applicable, intent to take the bar exam to obtain required Illinois Licensure indicated in cover letter.
• Resume;
• Law school transcript (official or unofficial);
• One writing sample; and
• Current printout of your attorney registration status from the Illinois ARDC website at www.iardc.org (or your admitted state bar's equivalent)
• or, if applicable, Illinois bar exam qualification material including date of upcoming exam registration.

Salary: $80,448 - 134,028 (salary is based on a variety of factors including experience and credentials)

Click to view our generous benefits package (https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/dol/supp_info/attorney_vacancies.html#:~:text=Salary%20and%20Benefits,Retirement%20Pension%20Fund)

For Information on our employees benefits please visit our benefits website at:
https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/fin/benefits-office.html

For Information on our salary and title structure visit our classifications website at:
https://www.chicago.gov/content/dam/city/depts/dhr/supp_info/JobClassification/2025_Classification_and_Pay_Plan.pdf

Note Regarding Public Service Loan Forgiveness: Working for the City of Chicago Department of Law may qualify you for loan forgiveness under the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program. For detailed information, visit www.StudentAid.gov/publicservice or contact your federal loan servicer.

Note: Application technical issues may be solved through the use of Google Chrome as a browser.

Note: Candidates experiencing trouble uploading the required documents to our system may e-mail the documents to: DOL.Application@cityofchicago.org. However, uploading documents directly to your CAREERS applicant profile is our preferred method of receipt.

Note: If you have questions, please contact the Department of Human Resources (312-744-4976) or DOL.Application@cityofchicago.org.

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