Staff Attorney

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Job Description:

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.

To view the position description in its entirety, click here.

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.

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, a writing sample (not to exceed 10 pages) and answer all supplemental questions (see questions below).
• 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.

Your application must demonstrate:

That you possess at least the minimum job requirements of a J.D. (Juris Doctor) degree with at least one (1) year of related experience practicing law, service as a judicial clerk or work in a legislative environment and membership in a state bar and the ability to become a member of the Oregon State Bar within 18 months of appointment. 

*An equivalent combination of education and experience sufficient to demonstrate ability to perform the duties of the position may be considered.

BENEFITS:

• Work/life balance, paid leave and a competitive benefits package.
• Full medical, vision and dental insurance with paid sick leave, vacation, personal leave and 11 paid holidays per year.
• Collaborative work environment with a team of collegial and hardworking individuals.
• Opportunities for professional development to expand your breadth and depth of knowledge.
• Opportunities for mentoring from attorneys with decades of experience at the Office of Legislative Counsel.
• Opportunity to participate and observe as ideas are crafted into policies and laws and history unfolds for the State of Oregon.
• Opportunity to learn and delve deeply into a wide variety of legal subject areas.

Considering a move to Oregon? Check out what living, working and playing in Oregon is like.

TO APPLY:

• IF YOU ARE NOT A STATE EMPLOYEE: To apply for this position, follow the "Apply" link and complete the application & questions online. If this is your first time applying in our new system "Workday", you will need to create a new user profile. You can even drag and drop your resume into Workday and it will read and generate your Work History! Be sure to attach a cover letter and resume.

• CURRENT STATE EMPLOYEES: Login to Workday using the Career app on your Home Page. Prior to clicking "Apply", update your employee profile to reflect your Education, Skills, and Job History (including your current job).

• 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             

• Please monitor your Workday account, as all communication will be sent to you through this system. You must have a valid e-mail address to apply.

• This announcement closes at 11:59 PM on the close date listed.

SPECIAL INFORMATION:

• The Capitol building is located at 900 Court Street NE, Salem, OR  97301.  Regardless of any remote work agreement granted by your Appointing Authority in accordance with Legislative Branch Personnel Rule 26, you may be required to report to the Capitol Building under short notice.  Every effort will be made to provide reasonable notice.  While working from home, personal, stable, and high-speed internet access will be required to perform the functions of this position.
• Oregon state government provides qualifying veterans and disabled veterans with preference in employment in accordance with ORS 408.225, 408.230, and 408.235. If you are requesting veterans' preference, you may receive an additional questionnaire in your Workday account. In order to ensure your privacy, we are asking that you complete the Veterans’ Questionnaire and attach your qualifying military documents at that time. This questionnaire will be sent to your Workday account after you submit your application. We ask that you complete the questionnaire before the application deadline; extensions may be granted if necessary and reasonable. For questions about documentation, please visit: Veterans Resources. Or call the Oregon Department of Veterans' Affairs at: 1-800-692-9666.
• The salary in this job posting reflects the base salary without contributions to the Public Employee Retirement System (PERS). Employees eligible for PERS will have their salary increased by 6.95% and 6% will be automatically subject to a mandatory employee contribution to PERS.
• The work experience and/or education section of your application must clearly demonstrate how you meet all the minimum and desired skills listed above.
• An offer including salary will not be extended until an equal pay analysis is completed pursuant to ORS 652.220 and 659A.357.  An equal pay analysis will be conducted utilizing the education and work experience section of the legislative application.
• Work Authorization:  The Oregon State Legislature does not offer visa sponsorships. On the first day of employment, all hires will be required to complete the US Department of Homeland Security’s Form I-9, confirming authorization to work in the United States. In addition, hires will have three business days from their first day of employment to present documents that establish employment authorization and identity. The Oregon State Legislature is an E-Verify employer and will use E-Verify to confirm that hires are authorized to work in the United States.
• If you have questions regarding this recruitment, or need assistance to participate in the application process, please contact Aimee Steketee, Human Resource Analyst, at aimee.steketee@oregonlegislature.gov or (503) 986-1373.
• The Oregon State Legislature is an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to Workforce Diversity.