Staff Attorney

State of Oregon • Salem, OR

3d • $7,800 - $11,698 • Hybrid

About The Position

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

Requirements

• Strong legal research and writing skills.
• 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.
• Thorough familiarity with the tools of legal research.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Must include with the application a cover letter, resume and a writing sample (not to exceed 10 pages) and answer all supplemental questions.

Nice To Haves

• Advanced legal research skills and ability to use wide variety of reference materials, both electronic and print.

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.

Benefits

• Work/life balance
• Paid leave
• 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.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level