Description:
General Description: The Civil Actions Bureau of the Cook County State's Attorney's Office is seeking an experienced civil litigation attorney to join our Bureau as an Assistant State's Attorney (ASA). We represent Cook County officials and employees in a wide array of litigation matters. Practice areas include advice and counsel, civil rights and torts defense, constitutional claims, labor & employment, medical malpractice defense, real estate tax matters, revenue recovery efforts, statutory litigation (including FOIA and FOID litigation and defense of County ordinances), transactions, and workers' compensation litigation. All of our practice groups are highly collegial and collaborative. ASAs handle their own matters, but never without the training and support they need to be successful. The Civil Actions Bureau is a great place both for experts in their substantive area of practice and those who are just beginning to develop a specific litigation skillset.Duties/Responsibilities:
- Will be assigned to defend Cook County officials and employees in any civil action filed against them in their official capacity.
- May be assigned to initiate civil litigation or intervene on behalf of the SAO, or any other Cook County elected official.
- Will litigate motions, petitions, bench and jury trials in federal and state court, as well as in front of administrative bodies.
- Expected to work closely with multiple county agencies and officials to represent the office and the interests of Cook County.
- Able to work well with people from diverse communities, work independently, have excellent time management skills and be self-initiating.
- Other duties as assigned.
Minimum Qualifications:
All sections require:
- Applicants must possess a law degree (J.D.) from an accredited law school.
- Be either a member in good standing with the Illinois bar, or eligible for admission to Illinois bar on Motion (reciprocity).
- Must have at least 6 years of litigation experience.
- Must have at least 3 years of civil litigation experience.
- Must have excellent organizational skills and meet all deadlines.
- Must have excellent legal research and writing abilities.
- Must demonstrate the ability to articulate sound legal arguments both orally and in writing, as well as articulate the rationale for decisions made.
- Must manage discovery effectively and efficiently, including filing appropriate objections including motions to quash.
- Must have a solid work ethic and show attention to detail and accountability.
- Must have the ability to work independently as well as be part of a team, including support staff and non-attorney clients.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Significant litigation experience in the areas of law and forums in which we practice.
- Institutional knowledge of one or more parts of Cook County government.
- Experience representing government clients.
- Experience with evidentiary hearings and preliminary injunctions.
- Experience working on appeals.
- Achievements demonstrating creative thinking and legal analysis.
- Working Environment: In this role, the Assistant State's Attorney will be assigned to the Daley Center in Chicago, Illinois and will be expected to attend court virtually and in person as required by individual federal and state court judges and ALJs. An Assistant State's Attorney in the Civil Actions Bureau typically handles their case load independently, but with plentiful training and support, and a wealth of opportunities for collaboration.
Physical Requirements:
Light work. Light work involves lifting no more than 20 pounds at a time with frequent lifting or carrying of objects weighing up to 10 pounds. Even though the weight lifted may be very little, a job is in this category when it requires a good deal of walking or standing, or when it involves sitting most of the time with some pushing and pulling of arm or leg controls. To be considered capable of performing a full or wide range of light work, you must have the ability to do substantially all these activities. If someone can do light work, we determine that he or she can also do sedentary work, unless there are additional limiting factors such as loss of fine dexterity or inability to sit for long periods of time.