Corporation Counsel

Eau Claire County, Wisconsin; Eau Claire (WI); On-site; USD 120,000 - 165,000; Full time

Job summary

Eau Claire County seeks a Corporation Counsel to provide civil legal representation for the County, its Board, and departments. This role serves as chief legal advisor to the County Board and Administrator, directing operations of the Office of the Corporation Counsel and the Child Support Agency.

The position requires extensive experience in municipal/public law, strong supervisory skills, and licensure to practice law in Wisconsin. Occasional travel and driving are required.

Qualifications

• Graduation from an accredited law school.
• Five (5) years of professional legal practice experience.
• Three (3) years of experience in municipal and public law applicable to county government including public sector labor law.
• Three (3) years of experience in state and federal judicial procedures and rules of evidence.
• Three (3) years of experience in a governmental organization, legislative procedures, and judicial procedures.
• Three (3) years supervisory experience in a professional legal setting.
• Appointment conditional upon successful background check and license verification.
• Admission to the Wisconsin State Bar.
• Must possess and maintain licensure to practice law in Wisconsin.
• Must have valid driver’s license and private transportation access.

Responsibilities

• Advise County Board, standing committees, County Administrator, and department heads on legal matters.
• Draft and review ordinances, resolutions, and contracts; explain contents at Board meetings.
• Represent the County in civil actions and oversee pretrial, trial, and appeals.
• Serve as parliamentarian for the County Board and interpret rules (Robert's Rules of Order).
• Direct negotiations for WPAA contracts; maintain records and hear grievances.
• Supervise staff, approve leave/overtime, evaluate performance, and plan training.
• Oversee the Child Support Agency and supervise the child support manager.
• Act as County Administrator in absence and perform related duties.
• Perform other related duties as required.

Skills

Legal advisory

Parliamentary procedure

Contract negotiation

Litigation representation

Supervisory leadership

Education

Juris Doctor or equivalent

Wisconsin State Bar admission

Job description

POSITION SUMMARY

The Corporation Counsel provides civil legal representation for the Corporation of Eau Claire County, its County Board, agents, boards, committees, commissions, and departments. This position serves as chief legal advisor to the County Board, County Administrator, and County Departments. The Corporation Counsel directs the operations of the Office of the Corporation Counsel and the Child Support Agency.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Advises County Board, standing committees, County Administrator, and department heads on a variety of legal matters relying on expertise of local, state, and federal laws and regulations applicable to County government; maintains knowledge of current status and changes in local, state, and federal law; effectively recommends changes in the best interest of the county.
• Drafts or reviews ordinances, resolutions, reports, and fact sheets to ensure conformance to proper legal form; appears at County Board meetings and, on request, explains the contents of resolutions and ordinances.
• Answers questions and recommends solutions based on knowledge of county structure and operations, inter-departmental and intra-departmental factors, political factors of county board and any outside influences.
• Serves as parliamentarian for the County Board of Supervisors, which includes interpretation and explanation of County Board rules and Robert's Rules of Order.
• Recommends state legislative changes.
• Functions as liaison between the Judicial Branch of County government and the Legislative Branch of County government; acts as ethics code administrator.
• Represents the County, its officials, and employees in all civil actions under the jurisdiction of the office including pretrial preparation, conduct of trial, and appeals.
• Drafts, reviews, edits, interprets, and makes recommendations regarding contracts.
• Serves as the primary negotiator and spokesperson for the Committee on Human Resources in Wisconsin Professional Police Association (WPAA) contract negotiations; identifies current problems, gathers statistical information, projects potential demands and recommends proposals to the Committee on Human Resources; receives and adheres to negotiating parameters established by the Committee on Human Resources and the County Administrator; analyzes proposals regarding fiscal impact and implications for future management effectiveness and makes recommendations; ensures accurate records of negotiations are created and maintained; serves as primary hearing officer for grievances; prepares grievance settlement documentation
• Directs knowledge of the principles and practices of supervision to participate in decisions on hiring, retention, discipline, and other personnel matters; supervises and manages activities of staff that includes determining work procedures and schedules and developing methods for expediting workflow; approves employee requests for leave and overtime as required by operational necessity; evaluates employee performance; coaches and counsels staff to achieve improved performance and productivity; recommends corrective disciplinary action as needed; identifies individual training needs in order to achieve greater departmental performance and productivity.
• Responsible for the oversight of the Child Support Agency; directly supervises child support manager.
• Acts as County Administrator in the absence of the County Administrator as required by Section 2.06.150 of the County Code and performs all duties of such office, until such time as the County Administrator returns to his duties or the board appoints a successor.
• Performs other related duties as required or assigned.

TRAINING AND PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE QUALIFICATIONS

• Graduation from an accredited law school.
• Five (5) years of professional legal practice experience.
• Three (3) years of experience in municipal and public law applicable to county government including public sector labor law.
• Three (3) years of experience in state and federal judicial procedures and rules of evidence.
• Three (3) years of experience in a governmental organization, legislative procedures, and judicial procedures.
• Three (3) years supervisory experience in a professional legal setting.
• Appointment will be conditional upon successful completion of a credit and criminal background check and a verification of license to practice law in the State of Wisconsin.
• Admission to the Wisconsin State Bar.
• Must possess and maintain licensure to practice law in the State of Wisconsin as a condition of employment.
• Must have valid driver’s license, an acceptable driving record, and access to private transportation for work-related duties.

DESIRED TRAINING AND PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE QUALIFICATIONS

• Professional legal practice experience in municipal law and public sector labor law.
• Working knowledge of Chapters 19, 46, 48, 49, 51, 55, 59, 66, 111, 767, 880, and 938 of the Wisconsin Statutes.
• Experience or training in public relations, supervision, trial advocacy, and other relevant areas.
• Knowledge of the following federal statutes as they apply to County programs: ADA, The Adoption and Safe Families Act (AFSA), the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), Bankruptcy, FMLA, FLSA, HIPAA, 42 USC 1983.