Description:

Summary: Works proactively under general guidance of the State's Attorney or Chief of the Civil Division Assistant State's Attorney within the State's Attorney Office. The primary function of this position includes, but is not limited to, handling civil legal matters for the County of Rock Island, its officials and employees.

Essential Job Functions:

Duties as defined in 55 ILCS 5/3-9006 and 55 ILCS 5/3-9008
Performs responsible functions in the areas of court case litigation and/or legal research
May specialize in worker's compensation, labor grievances, labor arbitration, tax
Works with the County Board, County Board committees and county departments to ensure adherence to laws and thereby reduce the potential for litigation and liability against the County government
Defends the County in lawsuits filed against the County government and its representatives and serves as the County's representative with outside legal counsel in litigation
Represent the County and its officials and employees in state and federal court as well as administrative tribunals
Communicates information on case status to all involved parties such as County government and its representatives
Researches, drafts and forms legal opinions, and presents written and oral legal information to the County Board, county administration and county department heads on legal aspects of departmental operations, performance of mandated functions and adherence to State and Federal laws
Aids in the drafting of ordinances and resolutions to be adopted by the County Board
Represents the State's Attorney's Office and County of Rock Island government
Researches and advises on matters such as elections, tax assessments, Open Meetings Act, the Freedom of Information Act, conflict of interest law, discrimination laws and labor relations
Prosecutes violations of zoning, animal control and public health nuisances
Prepares complaints, answers and motions, litigates at trials and prepares motions, and briefs as required
Performs other responsible tasks such as negotiating settlements with insurance carriers, filing and prosecuting mental health commitment petitions, and as the County's representative on a wide variety of civil matters
Meets regularly and works with a wide variety of staff including defense attorneys, witnesses, judges, law enforcement officers, county department heads and others
Must be capable of regular and predictable attendance at a specified location in order to perform assigned tasks
Upon request of the State's Attorney provides analyses and documentation regarding risk management
Each Rock Island County employee is responsible to engage in periodic activities that include, but are not limited to: (a) County-wide risk management/safety training session, and (b) departmental educational training, and/or (c) evaluation/physical improvement of departmental physical assets that prevents, reduces, or corrects safety hazards
Other duties as assigned

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
Ability to read, analyze and interpret legal documents and interpretations. Ability to respond to common inquiries or complaints from the general public, County department heads, government agencies, judges and other attorneys. Ability to write effective arguments on controversial or complex topics to internal clients, judges, and other attorneys.

Ability to deal with difficult clients exposed to stressful situations.
Ability to deal with fast-paced highly stressful situations with evolving facts.
Ability to calculate figures and amounts such as discounts, interest, percentages, area, circumference, and volume.
Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions. Ability to interpret an extensive variety of technical instructions in mathematical or diagram form and deal with several abstract and concrete variables.
While performing the duties of this job, the employee is occasionally required to stand, walk, sit, use hands to finger, handle or feel; reach with hands and arms; and talk or hear. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 lbs. Specific vision abilities required by this job must include close vision, distance vision and color vision.
Ability to work in an environment that is usually quiet to moderate in noise.
Candidate must have knowledge of laws, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, and agency rules. Must have legal research experience and exposure to jury trial preparation and litigation work.

Minimum Qualification Requirements:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential job function satisfactorily. The requirements listed above are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.
Licensed to practice law in the State of Illinois and be in Good Standing, or be licensed in the State of Illinois within 6 months of hiring.
Minimum 1-10 years' experience; Salary Range starts at $76,785.32, commensurate with experience
Education: Juris Doctorate from an accredited ABA Law School