Assistant Town Counsel

Andover Public Schools; Andover (MA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Town of Andover seeks an Assistant Town Counsel to provide legal advice, representation, and advocacy for the Town and Andover Public Schools. The role supports coordination between Town and School operations, covering municipal, education, land use, employment, and governance matters.

The successful candidate will work under the Town Counsel, handling a broad range of matters and ensuring timely, practical legal guidance for Town and School officials.

Qualifications

• Juris Doctor degree from an accredited law school.
• Admission to and good standing with the Massachusetts Bar.
• Five to seven years of progressively responsible legal experience.
• Experience handling litigation and representing clients before courts or administrative agencies.
• Ability to advise clients across a broad range of legal and operational issues.
• Ability to attend evening meetings and proceedings as required.

Responsibilities

• Advise Town and School officials on municipal legal matters.
• Represent the Town in litigation and administrative proceedings.
• Assist with land use, zoning, contracts, and real estate matters.
• Provide counsel on public records, Open Meeting Law, and conflict‑of‑interest requirements.
• Coordinate with outside counsel for specialized needs.
• Support school governance and labor matters as needed.

Skills

Massachusetts municipal law

Public-sector legal practice

Legal research

Negotiation

Counseling

Time management

Education

Juris Doctor

Massachusetts Bar admission

5–7 years legal experience

Job description

The Assistant Town Counsel provides legal advice, representation, and advocacy on behalf of the Town of Andover and Andover Public Schools. Working under the direction of the Town Counsel, the position serves as a general municipal practitioner while providing dedicated legal support to the School Department.

A central purpose of the position is to strengthen coordination between Town and School operations by providing consistent, practical legal guidance across both organizations. The Assistant Town Counsel handles a broad range of municipal, litigation, land use, employment, education, governance, and administrative matters and helps ensure that Town and School officials have timely access to legal counsel.

Municipal Legal Services

• Advises Town officials, departments, boards, and commissions on a broad range of municipal legal matters.
• Provides practical legal advice regarding contracts, policies, regulatory requirements, municipal operations, and administrative decision‑making.
• Represents the Town in litigation and administrative proceedings, including zoning and special permit appeals, employment matters, and other municipal disputes.
• Appears before courts, administrative agencies, boards, commissions, and other governmental bodies on behalf of the Town.
• Assists with land use and real estate matters, including zoning, easements, property transactions, agreements, and related legal instruments.
• Drafts, reviews, and negotiates contracts, policies, legal opinions, settlement agreements, and other legal documents.
• Advises Town and School officials regarding the Massachusetts Open Meeting Law, Public Records Law, conflict‑of‑interest requirements, and other municipal governance obligations.
• Shares responsibility for the Town Counsel's Office workflow and provides legal coverage when multiple departments, boards, or proceedings require simultaneous representation.

School Department Legal Services

• Serves as a principal legal resource to the Superintendent, School Committee, School Department leadership, and Human Resources.
• Advises on public education law, including matters arising under Chapter 71 and other applicable state and federal laws.
• Provides counsel concerning school governance, policy development, employment and labor matters, student‑related issues, and special education.
• Attends School Committee meetings as needed and provides timely legal guidance regarding matters arising during public proceedings.
• Represents or assists in representing the School Department in litigation, administrative proceedings, unemployment matters, negotiations, and other disputes.
• Reviews and drafts School Department contracts, policies, agreements, legal notices, and other documents.
• Supports consistent and legally compliant practices for responding to public records requests and other regulatory obligations.
• Helps Town and School leaders evaluate not only what the law requires, but how legal requirements should be applied thoughtfully and practically and consistently within a public‑sector environment.

General Responsibilities

• Advises, represents, and advocates for the legal interests of the Town and School Department.
• Develops strong working relationships with Town and School officials while maintaining sound professional judgment and appropriate legal independence.
• Identifies legal risks and recommends practical, operationally workable solutions.
• Coordinates with outside counsel when specialized expertise or additional litigation support is required.
• Monitors changes in laws, regulations, and court decisions affecting municipal government and public education.
• Performs other related legal duties as assigned by the Town Counsel.

Minimum Qualifications

• Juris Doctor degree from an accredited law school.
• Admission to and good standing with the Massachusetts Bar.
• Five to seven years of progressively responsible legal experience.
• Experience handling litigation and representing clients before courts or administrative agencies.
• Demonstrated ability to advise clients across a broad range of legal and operational issues.
• Ability to attend evening meetings and proceedings as required.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience advising a municipality, public school district, school committee, superintendent, or comparable public‑sector client.
• Knowledge of Massachusetts municipal and public education law, including school governance, Chapter 71, the Open Meeting Law, and Public Records Law.
• Experience with land use, zoning, and municipal real estate matters, including drafting easements and real estate agreements.
• Experience drafting and reviewing municipal contracts, policies, and legal opinions.
• Public‑sector labor and employment experience.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Broad knowledge of Massachusetts municipal law and public‑sector legal practice.
• Ability to manage a varied caseload involving advisory work, litigation, contracts, land use, employment, and education law.
• Strong courtroom, administrative advocacy, legal research, writing, negotiation, and counseling skills.
• Sound judgment and the ability to translate complex legal requirements into clear, practical advice.
• Ability to provide responsive legal support in time‑sensitive and occasionally high‑pressure circumstances.
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work effectively with elected and appointed officials, department heads, school leaders, employees, outside counsel, and members of the public.
• Ability to balance competing priorities and shift effectively between Town and School Department matters.
• Commitment to collaboration, consistency, public service, and high professional and ethical standards.

Minimal physical effort is required to perform the essential duties of the position under typical office conditions. The employee is frequently required to sit, speak, hear, and use a computer and other office equipment. The position may occasionally require standing, walking, reaching, and carrying or moving light office materials. Vision requirements include the ability to read routine and complex documents, review detailed written materials, and work effectively with computer screens. The employee must be able to move throughout Town and School facilities as needed to attend meetings and perform job duties.