Litigation Attorney

City of Indianapolis

Indianapolis (IN)

Hybrid

USD 110,000 - 150,000

Full time

26 hours ago

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Job summary

The City of Indianapolis is seeking a front-line civil litigation attorney to serve as an assistant corporation counsel in OCC’s litigation division. You will represent City-County agencies in state and federal court, handling diverse civil matters from rights claims to contract disputes.

You will work closely with senior attorneys, draft pleadings, conduct discovery, participate in hearings, and advise clients on litigation strategy and risk while ensuring ethical, professional service to

Qualifications

Doctor of Jurisprudence from ABA-accredited law school required.
Valid license to practice law in Indiana.
Must be admitted to practice in the Southern District of Indiana.
Proficiency in legal research tools, including Westlaw, and familiarity with electronic filing and records management systems.
At least two years’ experience as a licensed attorney (may include clerkship).

Responsibilities

Represent City-County and related agencies in a wide range of civil litigation in state and federal court.
Prepare complaints, answers, and other pleadings; conduct discovery; file motions and briefs.
Attend judicial hearings, settlement negotiations, and trial advocacy.
Provide litigation strategy guidance and keep clients informed on matters.
Oversee junior staff and collaborate with co-counsel and supervisors.

Skills

Independent judgment

Analytical ability

Legal writing

Oral communication

Zealous advocacy

Time management

Ethics and professionalism

Education

J.D. from ABA-accredited law school

Indiana bar admission

Admission to Southern District of Indiana

Tools

Westlaw

Electronic filing systems

Job description

Agency Summary

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

Agency Summary

Job Summary

The holder of this position will be a front-line attorney with immediate responsibility for handling a wide range of civil litigation matters on behalf of City-County agencies. The position holder will serve as an assistant corporation counsel within OCC’s litigation division.

Equal Employment Opportunity

the City of Indianapolis Marion County is an equal opportunity employer. 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 litigation attorney is to represent the City-County and related agencies in civil litigation matters in state and federal court. The City-County is involved in a diverse array of litigation matters, including federal civil rights suits, tort claims, contract disputes, prisoner litigation, appeals at the state and federal level, and administrative and regulatory matters.

This position will provide immediate experience in all facets of complex civil litigation. On many cases, the holder of this position will assume the role of the primary attorney. This role representing our public agency clients includes preparing complaints, answers, and other pleadings; researching and filing motions and briefs; handling discovery and depositions; judicial hearings; settlement negotiations; and trial advocacy. Front-line litigation attorneys benefit from the assistance of more experienced co-counsel and supervisors in many cases but should expect to have immediate responsibility for handling a diverse, challenging caseload.

On litigation matters for which the litigation attorney is not the primary attorney but is assisting a more senior attorney, case assignments will involve conducting in-depth legal research of issues presented by a case, communicating with client agencies and employees as part of the discovery process, assisting in the drafting of pleadings, briefs, and other court filings, and other essentials of diligent case management.

The litigation attorney position also involves the following additional responsibilities:

Providing advice to client agencies on litigation strategy and settlement negotiations.
Keeping clients, including senior agency staff and elected officials, fully informed on litigation 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 issues related to litigation or future litigation risk, at the request of the Corporation Counsel or client agencies.
Representing City-County agencies in administrative hearings or similar settings.
Keeping apprised of relevant legal developments at the state and federal level.
Overseeing the support work of the litigation staff team, including paralegals, investigators, and office assistants.
Performing other duties as assigned by the Chief Litigation Counsel or the Corporation Counsel.

Skills Required

Strong independent judgment. Guidance from more senior attorneys will be available, but successful litigation 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 litigation 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 litigation matter as it arises.

Proficiency at legal writing and other written communication. This includes more formal work product like summary judgment briefs, motions to dismiss, and memoranda. Litigation attorneys must also be skilled at more informal communications, including messages to clients, communications with opposing counsel, and summaries of legal research.

Oral communications skills. Our attorneys will have immediate opportunities to speak on their feet, whether in administrative proceedings, pre-trial hearings before judicial officers, or jury trials. Litigation attorneys must concisely, effectively communicate their arguments, be adept at improvising and thinking on their feet, and be able to adapt their tone and messaging to the needs of different audiences in different settings.

Zealous advocacy. Many of the litigation matters handled by this position will be high stakes – both financially and emotionally. Litigation attorneys 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. Litigation 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 Indiana.
Must be admitted to practice in the Southern District of Indiana.
Proficiency in legal research tools, including Westlaw, and familiarity with electronic filing and records management systems.
At least two (2) years’ experience in the practice of law as a licensed attorney (may include a judicial clerkship).

Preferred Job Requirements And Qualifications

Professional experience with litigation, either as a litigating attorney or as a judicial clerk.
Knowledge of, or experience in, local government and/or the administrative process.
Knowledge of, or experience in, one or more of the following areas: federal civil rights, constitutional law, torts, contract law, appellate practice.
Experience with any of the following litigation processes: authoring dispositive motions, electronic discovery, conducting depositions, in-court oral advocacy.

Working Conditions

Work is performed in a standard office/courtroom environment. May occasionally travel to outside locations for meetings.

Opportunities for scheduled remote work may be available at the discretion of the attorney’s supervisors.

Physical Conditions

Sitting at a desk the majority of the day
Some lifting, carrying, pushing and/or pulling of objects and materials of light weight (5-10) pounds
Tasks may involve extended periods of time at keyboard or workstation
Tasks require the ability to perceive and hear sounds and see visual cues or signals
Tasks require the ability to communicate orally

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)

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:

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

(888) 236-3544

Do you currently possess a valid license to practice law in the state of Indiana?

Do you have at least two years’ experience in the practice of law as a licensed attorney (may include a judicial clerkship)?