Staff Attorney

State of Oregon; Salem (OR); Hybrid; USD 87,000 - 131,000; Full time

Job summary

Office of the Legislative Counsel in Salem, Oregon, seeks a full-time Staff Attorney to perform legal research, write opinions, and draft bills. The role includes advising legislators and staff, with a focus on nonpartisan, clear legal analysis and recommendations.

Starting December 2026, this hybrid position combines in-office work at the Capitol with remote days. Applicants must submit a resume, cover letter, writing sample, and complete supplemental questions.

Qualifications

• Advanced legal research using a wide range of references (electronic and print).
• Ability to write clear, concise legal opinions and memos.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently and under time pressures.
• Ability to explain complex legal concepts to both attorneys and non-attorneys.

Responsibilities

• Conduct legal research and write legal opinions for legislators and staff.
• Perform individual project assignments including editing statutes or annotations.
• Draft bills and amendments with attention to form and style requirements.
• Review administrative rules for consistency and constitutionality.
• Attend meetings as needed and provide impartial legal information.

Skills

Legal research

Legal writing

Nonpartisan work

Effective communication

Education

Juris Doctor (JD)

Job description

Posting Information

Initial Posting Date: 09/21/2026

Application Deadline: 10/04/2026

Agency

Office of the Legislative Counsel

Salary Range

$7,800 - $11,698

Position Type

Employee

Position Title

Staff Attorney

The Office of the Legislative Counsel (LC) is expanding its team of attorneys and is recruiting one full-time Staff Attorney to join the office starting in December 2026.

This is a hybrid (remote and in-office) position located in the Capitol building in Salem, Oregon.

We encourage you to explore the position description provided to determine if your education and work history are comparable to those listed and welcome you to apply.

**To be considered for this position, an applicant must include with the application a cover letter, resume and a writing sample (not to exceed 10 pages) and answer all supplemental questions.

DESCRIPTION

The Office of the Legislative Counsel has an opening for one full-time Staff Attorney starting in December 2026.

Successful candidates for the position must possess strong legal research and writing skills with the ability to analyze issues in light of applicable law and prepare written work or verbal advice that is clear, concise and persuasive to both attorney and non-attorney readers.

This position is under the supervision of the Legislative Counsel. Staff Attorneys receive assignments and direction from the Legislative Counsel and from deputies (used throughout this posting to mean deputies, senior deputies or chief deputies).

A Staff Attorney assists legislators, legislative committees and legislative staff by performing legal research, writing legal opinions and drafting proposed legislation. This work is done on a confidential and non-partisan basis.

A Staff Attorney must be responsive to the needs of legislators, their staff and constituents, the staff of legislative committees, government agencies and, to a more limited extent, the public. A Staff Attorney must comply with all applicable laws and the ethical standards for attorneys, the legislative rules of both chambers and the practice and personnel rules of the Legislative Branch.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

PERFORM LEGAL RESEARCH AND WRITE LEGAL OPINIONS. Legislators, legislative committees and legislative staff submit requests for legal research and opinions to the Office of the Legislative Counsel. Many assignments require extensive research of the statutes, case law and constitutional law of Oregon and other jurisdictions, including federal law. A Staff Attorney must be thoroughly familiar with the tools of legal research. A Staff Attorney is a generalist who will have the opportunity to work in and learn a wide variety of legal subject areas, and to extensively research and analyze complex, novel and interesting legal issues.

PERFORM INDIVIDUAL PROJECT ASSIGNMENTS. A Staff Attorney may perform individual project assignments that vary widely in nature, complexity and duration. These projects may include assisting in editing the Oregon Revised Statutes or in writing annotations for the Oregon Revised Statutes.

DRAFT BILLS. The Office of the Legislative Counsel drafts all of the bills and amendments considered by the Legislative Assembly for passage into law. Each drafting request is assigned to the deputy who specializes in the legal subject area. The deputy may then assign related tasks to the Staff Attorney, such as analyzing the legal issues, seeking additional information, ascertaining the current law on the subject, including applicable constitutional provisions and federal law, and preparing a draft conforming to the office form and style requirements that accomplishes the drafting request. The Staff Attorney is expected to note any legal problems that the draft may raise. The deputy may review the draft with the Staff Attorney and direct revision of the draft. All drafting must be done within the deadlines set by the requester or by legislative rules. Although staff attorneys must possess a general knowledge of state statutes, they need not have specialized knowledge of the subject areas of bill drafts that are assigned to them.

DRAFT AMENDMENTS. During a legislative session and at the direction of deputies, a Staff Attorney prepares proposed amendments. This work is similar to drafting bills. The Staff Attorney may have the opportunity to attend committee meetings and meetings of legislators and stakeholders. Occasionally, staff attorneys testify before committees.

REVIEW ADMINISTRATIVE RULES. The Office of the Legislative Counsel reviews all Oregon Administrative Rules for consistency with the intent and scope of the enabling legislation and for the constitutionality of the rule. The Staff Attorney may be assigned administrative rules for review. If the Staff Attorney finds that a rule is inconsistent with the intent and scope of the enabling legislation or the state or federal constitution, the Staff Attorney prepares an adverse rule report, and the report is submitted to the appropriate committee of the Legislative Assembly for consideration.

A Staff Attorney may be given additional responsibility as their knowledge and skills progress.

Regular and punctual attendance is required for all positions within the Office of the Legislative Counsel.

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DESIRED SKILLS / EDUCATION

• Advanced legal research skills and ability to use wide variety of reference materials, both electronic and print.
• Ability to work effectively at a professional, nonpartisan level with diverse groups of people, including legislators, legislative staff, constituents, state agency personnel, lobbyists and the public.
• Ability to work independently with a minimum of direct supervision and under time pressures.
• Ability to communicate complex ideas and concepts both verbally and in writing in a clear, concise and persuasive manner.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The Office of the Legislative Counsel provides legal and publication services to the Legislative Assembly. Working under the direction of the Legislative Counsel, the office drafts measures for legislators, legislative committees and state agencies, provides research and legal services to the Legislative Assembly and its committees and reviews administrative rules of state agencies. The Legislative Counsel also directs staff in editing, indexing, annotating and publishing Oregon Revised Statutes and publishing Oregon Laws and other publications.

WORKING CONDITIONS

The Oregon Legislature operates on a two-year cycle. In odd-numbered years, the Legislature is in session approximately from January to the end of June. In even-numbered years, the Legislature is in session in February and early March. The working conditions in the Office of the Legislative Counsel vary depending on what is occurring in the Legislature. The legislative session is a fast-paced, busy and exciting time during which a Staff Attorney may be required to work extra hours, sometimes on weekends. During the interim, when the Legislature is not in session, a Staff Attorney generally works regular office hours.

A Staff Attorney must respond directly to all members of the Legislative Assembly as well as individuals that members refer to the Staff Attorney, including lobbyists, state agency personnel and constituents.

HOW TO QUALIFY

• Please attach a resume, a cover letter that clearly states your experience and how it is applicable to this position and a writing sample (not to exceed 10 pages) and answer all supplemental questions.
• Applications that do not include a resume, cover letter, answers to the supplemental questions and a writing sample will not be reviewed.

SUPPLEMENTAL QUESTIONS

Describe briefly a situation when you were required to determine whether a statute, rule or general policy applied to a specific situation.

Describe briefly an instance in which you formally analyzed the legal implications of a proposed action, including the steps you took to reach your legal opinion.

Describe briefly how you would provide impartial legal information in both written and oral forms to a legislator or a legislative committee on a controversial proposed state policy.

That is the applicant's answer to the supplemental question, and our response to the application (the basis upon which we evaluate whether the applicant has the experiences and education needed to perform the work of the position).

That is the applicant's answer to this supplemental question, and our response to the application (the basis upon which we evaluate whether the applicant has the experiences and education needed to perform the work of the position).

That is the applicant's answer to the supplemental question, and the basis for the review in which the full application is evaluated.

That is the applicant's answer to this supplemental question, and the basis for the review of the application.

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