With more than 800 attorneys and more than 1,200 employees, the Cook County State's Attorney's Office is the second-largest prosecutor's office in the nation. The Office is responsible for the prosecution of all misdemeanor and felony crimes committed in Cook County, one of the largest counties in the United States. In addition to direct criminal prosecution, Assistant State’s Attorneys file legal actions to enforce child support orders, litigate to protect consumers and the elderly from exploitation and assist thousands of victims of sexual assault and domestic violence each year. The State’s Attorney also serves as legal counsel for the government of Cook County.
Ensuring that the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office is as diverse as the communities it serves remains one of the Office’s top priorities. In the interest of maintaining a high standard of diversity, the Office proactively explores opportunities to attract talented individuals from a variety of backgrounds.
The Office’s commitment to diversity is one of its greatest strengths. In the interest of securing justice for the people of Cook County, the Office, through various recruitment and retention programs, has sought out and retained some of the best legal talent locally, statewide and nationally.
This is a full-time recruiting position will play a key role in the execution of proactive recruitment strategies to support the office’s recruitment and interviewing models for its law clerk and legal hiring programs. For this role, the ideal candidate will come equipped to demonstrate and maintain a comprehensive understanding of legal recruiting and hiring, while continuously building strong recruiting networks and developing innovative and creative techniques to source top talent. They will manage the recruitment process in a way that ensures an excellent experience for both the candidates we meet and the members of the office’s hiring committee. This individual must demonstrate the ability to work independently, yet collaboratively, with assurance that they will be able to represent the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office in an unwaveringly professional manner.
Working Environment & Reporting Structure:
The Director of Legal Hiring will be responsible for all legal hiring for the CCSAO. This position supervises two direct reports, and works with multiple CCSAO managers and members of the Human Resource team. The Director of Legal Hiring will report directly to the Chief of Staff.
Duties/Requirements:
Develop strategic hiring plan.
Collaborate with executive team ensure that recruitment strategies and processes are consistent, reliable, and provide a consistent and meaningful experience for all parties who touch the process.
Through proactive direct sourcing, networking and referrals, continuously contributes to building an external network of selected and targeted prospective candidates.
Work with CFO/budget office on attorney hiring approval
Establish search strategies, plan for and manage kick-off meetings and trainings with hiring committee members, screen and interview candidates, and contribute to and organize de-brief meetings.
Continuously build and maintain strong active and passive pipelines of qualified and diverse candidates for our criminal prosecutions and civil actions bureaus.
Organize and attend recruiting events as necessary; engage in all aspects of planning for OCI and build out training for the Hiring Committee on recruitment strategies and tools used in the recruitment and interviewing process.
Constantly looks for ways to further improve recruiting process and metrics responsible for effectively and efficiently recruiting for and managing the lifecycle of applications.
The Supervisor shall be an effective advocate and emissary of the mission, vision and values of the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office both with ASAs as well as criminal justice stakeholders and partners.
Minimum Qualifications:
Previous experience with sourcing legal talent at all levels through a variety of strategic methods is preferred.
Experience implementing effective recruiting strategies, which may include leveraging institutions and professional organizations, developing personal recruitment is preferred.
Working knowledge of compensation; as well as competency in understanding legal matters related to conflicts of interest in the screening/selection/hiring process.
Broad understanding of HR practices and related regional employment laws and regulations.
Advanced degree preferred.
Experience including direct recruiting within the legal profession, local government, or not-for-profit organizations.
Proficient computer skills and knowledge of Word, Excel, and Outlook are required.
Proficient in the use of contemporary recruiting tools, such as LinkedIn, Indeed, etc.
Exceptional written and verbal communication and interpersonal skills.
Contact: If you are interested in applying for this position, internal candidates must submit a resume and a statement of interest to Dawn C. Smith, Director of Human Resources, at dawnc.smith@cookcountyil.gov.
External candidates must submit an application found on the Cook County State’s Attorney website at www.cookcountystatesattorney.org with a resume and statement of interest to Dawn C. Smith, Director of Human Resources, at dawnc.smith@cookcountyil.gov.
Equal Employment Opportunity:
The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office (CCSAO) is an equal opportunity employer, which seeks to recruit, develop, and retain the most talented people from a diverse candidate pool. The CCSAO does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, age, physical and mental disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression,
and any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. Upon request, the CCSAO will provide reasonable accommodation for qualified individuals due to a disability or pregnancy.
Please note that as a condition of employment all newly hired SAO employees must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 prior to the start of employment or submit a request for reasonable accommodation prior to onboarding. Those granted reasonable accommodation will be required to submit to PCR based testing once a week. Employees who are in inactive status will be required to be fully vaccinated or request a reasonable accommodation within eight weeks of returning to active status.
Notice:
Please note that as a condition of employment all newly hired SAO employees must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 prior to the start of employment or submit a request for reasonable accommodation prior to onboarding. Those granted reasonable accommodation will be required to submit to PCR based testing once a week. Employees who are in inactive status will be required to be fully vaccinated or request a reasonable accommodation within eight weeks of returning to active status.
With more than 700 attorneys, the Cook County State's Attorney's Office is the second largest prosecutor's office in the nation. The CCSAO is responsible for the prosecution of all misdemeanor and felony crimes committed in Cook County, one of the largest counties in the United States. The CCSAO also serves as legal counsel for the government of Cook County and county office holders and employees, litigating Plaintiff and Defense oriented cases and providing legal counsel on a range of matters. Led by State’s Attorney Kimberly M. Foxx, the first African American elected to the office, the CCSAO’s team of prosecutors has a passion for public service and has earned a national reputation for excellence in the pursuit of justice for the people we serve.
The CCSAO offers many rewarding and exciting opportunities in the following areas:
Criminal Prosecutions
• Felony Trial
• Sex Crimes Unit
• Special Prosecutions Bureau
• Juvenile Justice Bureau
• Narcotics Bureau
• Appeals Unit
Civil Actions Bureau
• Civil Rights
• Constitutional Law
• Labor and Employment
• Medical Malpractice
• Plaintiff-Side Torts
• Municipal Litigation
• State and Federal Litigation
Our... program is highly competitive due to the hands-on, challenging and relevant work experience. There are opportunities for Assistant State's Attorneys, undergraduate interns, legal interns earning a paralegal certificate, law clerks and recently graduated Secondments or Fellows. Please visit our careers page to download an application and learn more about applying to be part of the office.
