Counseling Attorney

City of Indianapolis; Indianapolis (IN); On-site; USD 75,000 - 115,000; Full time

Job summary

City of Indianapolis is seeking a Counseling Attorney to join the Office of Corporation Counsel. The successful candidate will represent City-County agencies in broad legal matters, draft and review contracts and ordinances, and provide frequent advisory opinions to ensure compliant, ethical, and efficient public service.

The role offers exposure to a wide range of legal areas, strong collaboration with senior attorneys, and opportunities to influence public policy and local governance.

Qualifications

• J.D. from ABA-accredited law school.
• Active Indiana law license.
• Westlaw proficiency and at least one year licensed practice.

Responsibilities

• Represent and advise City-County in general legal matters across contracts, real estate, employment, land use, tax, environmental law, public safety, legal drafting and regulatory matters.
• Prepare and review contracts, leases, and other transactional documents.
• Represent City-County clients at Board and Commission meetings and provide advisory opinions.
• Draft ordinances, review legislation and handle other legislative matters.
• Advise on litigation strategy and coordinate with the Litigation section.

Skills

Analytical ability

Oral communications

Time management

Ethics and professionalism

Education

Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D.)

Valid license to practice law in Indiana

Tools

Westlaw

Job description

Overview

The Office of Corporation Counsel (OCC) provides legal services to the City and County through its three main divisions. First, OCC represents the City, County agencies, and City-County employees in litigation, handling a diverse docket that ranges from tort and contract matters to constitutional law. Second, through its counseling division, OCC provides legal advice to City and County agencies, officials, and oversight bodies to ensure that public entities remain compliant with the law and standards of ethical conduct, to safeguard public funds, and to promote the efficient functioning of local government for Marion County taxpayers. OCC’s third division is the Office of the City Prosecutor, which is responsible for enforcing City-County ordinances. OCC also oversees the Office of Equal Opportunity, which administers the City’s human rights ordinance, protecting against discrimination in employment and other contexts. In exercising these crucial legal functions, OCC cultivates a productive, collaborative, and compliant work environment that prioritizes the needs of our clients and the residents of Indianapolis and Marion County.

Overview

The Office of Corporation Counsel (OCC) provides legal services to the City and County through its three main divisions. First, OCC represents the City, County agencies, and City-County employees in litigation, handling a diverse docket that ranges from tort and contract matters to constitutional law. Second, through its counseling division, OCC provides legal advice to City and County agencies, officials, and oversight bodies to ensure that public entities remain compliant with the law and standards of ethical conduct, to safeguard public funds, and to promote the efficient functioning of local government for Marion County taxpayers. OCC’s third division is the Office of the City Prosecutor, which is responsible for enforcing City-County ordinances. OCC also oversees the Office of Equal Opportunity, which administers the City’s human rights ordinance, protecting against discrimination in employment and other contexts. In exercising these crucial legal functions, OCC cultivates a productive, collaborative, and compliant work environment that prioritizes the needs of our clients and the residents of Indianapolis and Marion County.

The holder of this position will be a front-line attorney with immediate responsibility for handling a wide range of general legal matters on behalf of City-County agencies. The position holder will serve as an assistant corporation counsel within the City’s Office of Corporation Counsel.

All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran, or disability status. We value diversity in perspectives and experiences among colleagues and the residents of this city of whom we serve.

Position Responsibilities

The primary responsibility of a Counseling Attorney is to represent and advise the City-County and related agencies in general legal matters. The City-County is involved in a diverse array of matters requiring sound legal advice and guidance, including in the areas of contracts, real estate, employment, land use, tax, environmental law, public safety, legal drafting and administrative and regulatory matters.

This position will provide immediate experience in all facets of client service and representation. This role representing our public agency clients includes preparing and reviewing contracts, leases, and other transactional documents; representing City-County clients at Board and Commission meetings; researching and answering general legal questions and providing advisory opinions; and drafting ordinances, reviewing legislation and handling other legislative matters. Front-line attorneys benefit from the assistance of more experienced Counseling attorneys and supervisors in many cases, but should expect to have immediate responsibility for handling a diverse and challenging workload.

The Counseling attorney position also involves the following additional responsibilities:

• Keeping clients, including senior agency staff and elected officials, fully informed on matters affecting their agencies.
• Advising clients and colleagues in the Office of Corporation Counsel on compliance with law and the avoidance of future litigation risk.
• Preparing advisory opinions and memos on general legal matters, at the request of the Corporation Counsel or client agencies.
• Representing City-County agencies in Board or Commission meetings or similar settings.
• In conjunction with the Litigation section, providing advice to client agencies on litigation strategy and settlement negotiations.
• Keeping apprised of relevant legal developments at the state and federal level.
• Performing other duties as assigned by the Chief Counsel, Deputy Chief Counsel, or the Corporation Counsel.

Strong independent judgment

Guidance from more senior attorneys will be available, but successful Counseling attorneys must have the good judgment to take responsibility for what they can handle themselves, and seek assistance when doing so is in the client’s best interests.

Analytical ability and intellectual curiosity.

This position faces a wide variety of legal issues and fact patterns. While Counseling attorneys are encouraged to develop areas of expertise over time, the position requires rapidly digesting new information, integrating it into an existing body of knowledge, and adeptly using legal research tools to acquire mastery of all the issues raised by each matter as it arises. Counseling attorneys will also be called upon to determine alternative legal and administrative approaches to solving problems.

Proficiency at legal writing and other written communication.

Counseling attorneys must be particularly adept at working with and informally communicating with clients and other City-County leaders and staff. This position will also require more formal work product like preparation of contracts, leases, ordinances and resolutions, and formal advisory opinions.

Oral communications skills.

This includes providing advice in meetings and conferences, communicating in a clear and concise manner, as well as explaining complex legal issues to non- lawyers. Counseling attorneys must be adept at improvising and thinking on the spot and be able to adapt their tone and messaging to the needs of different audiences in different settings.

Zealous advocacy.

Many of the general legal matters handled by this position will be important, both operationally and financially. Position holders must keep in mind that their client is ultimately the public and must treat their work with the attention and seriousness that it deserves.

Time management skills.

Counseling attorneys will be responsible for considerable caseloads. Success in the position requires efficiency, strong time management, and the ability to prioritize the most pressing or important tasks.

Ethics and professionalism.

Holders of this position are public servants, and so are their clients. All attorneys at the Office of Corporation Counsel are expected to uphold the highest standards of professional ethics and responsible advocacy.

Qualifications

Minimum Job Requirements and Qualifications

• Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D.) from an ABA-accredited law school
• Valid license to practice law in the State of Indiana
• Proficiency in legal research tools, including Westlaw
• At least one year’s experience in the practice of law as a licensed attorney (may include a judicial clerkship)

Preferred Job Requirements And Qualifications

• Professional experience in one or more areas of Counseling practice: contracts, real estate, employment, land use, tax, environmental law, public safety, legal drafting, and/or administrative and regulatory matters; or other experience relevant to a governmental practice.
• Knowledge of, or experience in, local government and/or the administrative process.
• Experience with any of the following Counseling attorney responsibilities: advising, drafting, researching and/or counseling clients.

All rates are bi-weekly.

2026 Rate Sheet - To view our rate sheet, please copy and paste this link into your web browser: https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:VA6C2:67382b58-4d1a-4519-89d7-8453f91e19a1

Life Insurance Employee Only (rates per $1,000 per month):

Basic: Employer Paid

Optional Life Insurance Employee Only (rates per $1,000 per month)

Additional

• 25-29 $0.058
• 30-34 $0.083
• 35-39 $0.099
• 40-44 $0.132
• 45-49 $0.223
• 50-54 $0.363
• 55-59 $0.600
• 60-64 $0.795
• 65-69 $1.329
• 70 + $2.054

Important Perf Update

• For more information on eligibility options, refer to Proposal 21-288 https://bit.ly/3exq8yR
• All employees hired/rehired after 1/1/2022 have a choice to select the PERF Hybrid plan (3% + Pension) or the INPRS My Choice: Retirement Savings plan (3% + 1% Contribution). The Hybrid plan consists of two components:

Annuity Savings Account (ASA) -This consists of the mandatory employee contribution of three (3%) percent of compensation (made for the employee by the City), plus interest credits or earnings. You're always vested in your ASA portion - it's always yours.

Pension - The pension portion of the retirement benefit is funded by contributions made by the employer over the course of the employee's career and separate from the annuity savings account. Employees enrolled in the PERF Hybrid plan are eligible for retirement benefits at age sixty-five (65) if they have ten (10) or more years of creditable service. After June 30, 1995, employees may retire at age sixty (60) with at least fifteen (15) years of credible service or if the member's age in years plus the years of credible service equals at least 85 and the member is at least fifty-five (55) years of age. With fifteen (15) or more years of creditable service, the employee may retire as early as age fifty (50) with a reduced pension.

• Employees hired/rehired by the City and County between 1/1/2017 and 12/31/2021 will be automatically enrolled in the PERF My Choice: Retirement Savings plan. This plan is an annuity savings account (ASA) only plan and does not have a pension component. Any service that an employee has in the My Choice: Retirement Savings Plan will not count toward the service time requirements for pension eligibility in the Hybrid Plan.

With the PERF My Choice: Retirement Savings Plan, the ASA is split up into two parts:

Part one - This consists of the mandatory employee contribution of three (3%) percent of compensation (made for the employee by the City), plus interest credits or earnings. You're always vested in your ASA portion - it's always yours.

Part Two - This Consists Of An Additional Variable Rate Contribution Paid By The City Toward Your ASA. This Variable Rate Contribution Is Currently 1% Of Your Gross Wages. Vesting In The Value Of The Variable Rate Employer Contribution Will Vary By Length Of Participation. You Are

• 20 percent vested after 1 full year of participation
• 40 percent vested after 2 full years of participation
• 60 percent vested after 3 full years of participation
• 80 percent vested after 4 full years of participation
• 100 percent vested after 5 full years of participation
• All employees hired/rehired prior to 1/1/2017 are grandfathered into PERF Hybrid plan. The Hybrid plan consists of two components:

Annuity Savings Account (ASA) -This consists of the mandatory employee contribution of three (3%) percent of compensation (made for the employee by the City), plus interest credits or earnings. You're always vested in your ASA portion - it's always yours.

Pension - The pension portion of the retirement benefit is funded by contributions made by the employer over the course of the employee's career and separate from the annuity savings account. Employees enrolled in the PERF Hybrid plan are eligible for retirement benefits at age sixty-five (65) if they have ten (10) or more years of creditable service. After June 30, 1995, employees may retire at age sixty (60) with at least fifteen (15) years of credible service or if the member's age in years plus the years of credible service equals at least 85 and the member is at least fifty-five (55) years of age. With fifteen (15) or more years of creditable service, the employee may retire as early as age fifty (50) with a reduced pension.

• City Employees hired/rehired between 1/1/2017 and 12/31/21 that are members of the City AFSCME labor union can choose to enroll in either the PERF My Choice: Retirement Savings plan or the PERF Hybrid plan. Both plans are described above. Employees have 60 days to choose which option they want, and by state law this cannot be changed. If no choice is made, the employee will then be automatically added to the PERF My Choice: Retirement Savings plan.

The Indiana General Assembly has enacted a provision that allows public employees to make voluntary contributions in addition to the mandatory three percent (3%) contributions. Employees may contribute up to an additional ten- percent (10%) of their compensation per pay period to the annuity savings account. This means that the maximum level of contributions to the annuity savings account under this new provision is thirteen percent (13%) of an employee's compensation per pay period.

Employees who separate from the city within their first ten (10) years of employment need to contact INPRS - PERF regarding their ASA account.

Questions relating to PERF may be directed to INPRS - PERF at:

Indiana Public Retirement System

Public Employees' Retirement Fund

One North Capitol, Suite 001

Indianapolis, Indiana 46204

[phone]