Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois

Unified trial court system for Cook County

Apd – Staff Attorney

Legal Counsel & Legal SupportConfirmed live in the last 24 hours

Full-timeChicago, IL, USA$126.8k /yr

About the Job

Requirements

A Bachelor's degree and Juris Doctor degree are required.
The candidate must be licensed and in good standing to practice law in Illinois.
A minimum of 5 years of legal experience in negotiation, litigation, arbitration, and other adversarial proceedings in public sector labor matters is strongly preferred.
The candidate must have excellent written and oral communication skills.
The candidate must have excellent interpersonal skills.
The candidate must have excellent computer skills, including Microsoft Word and Excel.
The candidate must be able to work as a team player and integrate with legal and non-legal personnel.
Experience applying federal statutes impacting employees, including the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act Titles I and II, the Fair Labor Standards Act, and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, is strongly preferred.
Experience administering public sector collective bargaining agreements is strongly preferred.
The candidate must be able to sit or stand at a desk while viewing a computer screen for long periods of time.
The candidate must be able to move around the office suite, courthouse, and elsewhere, and travel to various court locations as required.
The candidate must be able to intermittently twist to reach equipment and supplies.
The candidate must be able to perform simple grasping and fine manipulation.
The candidate must have the strength to lift objects weighing up to 25 pounds.
The candidate must be able to use a telephone and computer.
Successful completion of pre-employment drug screening and a criminal background check is required.

Responsibilities

Advise management in all departments under the administrative authority of the Adult Probation Department of the Circuit Court of Cook County on compliance with federal, state, and local labor and employment laws and collective bargaining agreements, including implementation of compliance protocols.
Conduct legal research on labor and employment law issues.
Represent management as counsel in administrative hearings for departments under the administrative authority of Adult Probation.
Participate in developing, reviewing, and updating employment policies and procedures.
Serve as liaison with outside counsel on matters involving Adult Probation, its departments, or employees acting in their employee capacity, including facilitating information gathering and coordinating discovery as needed.
Serve as hearing officer for grievances filed at the Adult Probation level by unions representing employees within departments under the administrative authority of the Chief Judge.
Investigate employee and other complaints alleging illegal discrimination, sexual harassment, or other wrongdoing that may violate federal, state, and local laws, and take appropriate action, including issuing discipline or referring matters to other agencies.
Coordinate collective bargaining strategy with directors of the court's administrative departments.
Represent management as directed in collective bargaining and labor-management meetings.
In conjunction with Human Resources staff, negotiate and draft settlement agreements, memoranda, position statements, grievance responses, and responses to agency complaints on behalf of management.
Advise the Court Disability Coordinator on accommodation requests made under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act within the court system.
Perform other duties as assigned.

Desired Qualifications

A minimum of 5 years of legal experience in negotiation, litigation, arbitration, and other adversarial proceedings in public sector labor matters.
Experience applying federal statutes impacting employees, including the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act Titles I and II, the Fair Labor Standards Act, and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.
Experience administering public sector collective bargaining agreements.

CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS

OFFICE OF THE CHIEF JUDGE

JOB DESCRIPTION

Job Title: Staff Attorney
Location: George W. Dunn County Building 69 W. Washington Chicago, IL 60602
Grade: 22
Salary: $126,803
Reports To: Chief Probation Officer

Job Summary and Duties: The Staff Attorney is employed by the Adult Probation (APD) and reports to the Chief Probation Officer. The Staff Attorney will also have a secondary reporting relationship to the office of the Chief Judge Human Resources Department (OCJ HR). The position requires superior legal skills, a high degree of integrity and discretion, interpersonal skills to interact cordially and professionally with court staff, union representatives, justice partners, and the public, and the ability to contribute as a member of the team.

Essential Duties:
The duties and responsibilities of the Staff Attorney include, but are not limited to:

Advise management in all departments under the administrative authority of the Adult Probation Department of the Circuit Court of Cook County (APD) with respect to compliance with federal, state and local labor and employment laws and collective bargaining agreements with the unions representing employees in all departments under the administrative authority of the APD, including implementation of compliance protocols;
Conduct legal research on labor and employment law issues;
Represent management as counsel in administrative hearings for departments under the administrative authority of the Adult Probation;
Participate in development, review and update employment policies and procedures;
Serve as liaison with outside counsel on matters in which the Adult Probation, departments, or employees in their capacity as employees are parties, including facilitating information gathering and coordinating discoveries as needed;
Serve as hearing officer for all grievances filed at the Adult Probation level by unions representing employees within the departments under the administrative authority of the Chief Judge;
Investigate employee or other complaints alleging illegal discrimination and/or sexual harassment and other wrongdoing alleged to violate federal, state and local laws, and take appropriate action including issuing discipline or referring to other agencies for further action;
Coordinate collective bargaining strategy with directors of the court's administrative departments;
Represent management as directed in collective bargaining and labor-management meetings;
In conjunction with other Human Resources staff, negotiate and draft documents such as settlement agreements, memoranda, position statements, grievance responses, and responses to agency complaints on behalf of management;
Advise the Court Disability Coordinator on accommodation requests made under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act within the court system;
Such other duties as may be assigned.

The duties listed are not set forth for the purpose of limiting the assignment of work. They are not to be construed as a complete list of the duties to be performed under the job title or those to be performed temporarily outside an employee's normal line of work.

Qualification Requirements:

Bachelor's degree and Juris Doctor degree;
Licensed and in good standing to practice law in Illinois;
Minimum of 5 years of legal experience in negotiation, litigation, arbitration, and other adversarial proceedings in public sector labor matters, strongly preferred
Excellent written and oral communication skills;
Excellent interpersonal skills;
Excellent computer skills including Microsoft Word and Excel;
Ability to work as a team player and integrate with legal and non-legal personnel;
Experience applying federal statutes impacting employees, including FMLA, Americans with Disabilities Act, Titles I and II, FLSA, and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act strongly preferred;
Experience administering public sector collective bargaining agreements strongly preferred.
Ability to sit or stand at a desk viewing a computer screen for long periods of time;
Ability to move around the office suite, courthouse, and elsewhere, and ability to travel to various court locations, as required;
Ability to intermittently twist to reach equipment and supplies;
Ability to perform simple grasping and fine manipulation;
Strength to lift objects weighing up to 25 pounds;
Ability to use a telephone and computer.

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS:
In addition to the application, qualified applicants should submit:

Cover Letter addressed to Chief Probation Officer Megan Volker, addressing work experience and the qualifications for this position.
Applicant’s current resume.

This position requires a pre-employment drug screening and criminal background check. Applicants are advised that as a Drug Free Workplace, use of medical or recreational marijuana is prohibited and will disqualify a candidate from employment. All offers of employment are contingent upon successful completion of all required screening criteria.

Information concerning the benefits for this position can be found at the Circuit Court of Cook County Employment Opportunities Page.

All offers of employment are contingent upon successful completion of all screenings. Application materials should be submitted by the close of business on Friday, August 14, 2026. Please apply by filling out the application at our Career Page.

THE OFFICE OF THE CHIEF JUDGE IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

It is the policy of the Office of the Chief Judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County to provide equal opportunity in employment to all employees and applicants for employment. No person is to be discriminated against in employment because of race, religion, color, sex, age, national origin, disability, or sexual orientation.

About the Company

Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois

Unified trial court system for Cook County

The Circuit Court of Cook County is Illinois' trial court system for residents, businesses and other parties in Chicago and its surrounding suburbs. Its judges hear civil, criminal, family and juvenile matters, with divisions organized around the kind of dispute or proceeding. The court combines countywide divisions with geographic districts so cases can be heard across the county under a unified administration. Beyond hearings and judgments, its administrative offices oversee probation, court reporting and language interpreting to support proceedings and carry out court orders. The unified court was established in 1964 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

Company size: 1,001-5,000
Company stage: Not listed
Total funding: Not listed
Headquarters: Chicago, IL
Founded: 1964

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