Associate General Counsel - Litigation, Education, Employment - The Noble Network of Charter Schools
Chicago, IL
About the Job
Associate General Counsel - Litigation, Education, Employment
Noble Schools
About Noble
Noble’s mission is to ensure that all students have equitable and positive school experiences that equip them to complete college and lead choice-filled lives. Noble serves more than 12,000 students and 23,000 alumni across 17 open-enrollment, free, public charter schools in Chicago. We are proud to be recognized nationally for college access and persistence. 98% of our graduates are accepted into college and the graduating Class of 2023 earned over $632 million in college scholarships.
The Role
Noble is seeking an Associate General Counsel to lead Noble’s litigation, education, and employment-related legal work. Ideal candidates will have 5+ years of experience representing educational institutions, preferably at a law firm, school district, and/or in‐house legal department, be a self-starter, and be highly detail-oriented and organized.
Given that we’re a small, entrepreneurial legal department, the successful candidate will also need to assist as needed on other assorted legal matters, spanning the corporate governance, commercial agreements, data privacy, and intellectual property practice areas.
The Associate General Counsel will report directly to the General Counsel.
Key Responsibilities
- Manage Noble’s active lawsuits (often tort, contract, and employment matters), including contributing to litigation strategy, reviewing outside counsel’s work product, managing deadlines, attending depositions, and engaging in settlement negotiations and mediation.
- Manage other dispute-related matters and records requests, including third-party testimony and document subpoenas, student records requests (FERPA, ISSRA), FOIAs, and demand letters.
- Advise and proactively support our Education team and campuses in all areas of education law.
- Provide guidance to staff on a wide range of special education issues under IDEA and Section 504, including IEP/504 plan development and compliance, manifestation determination reviews, and due process hearings.
- Advise staff on student discipline, including student searches, suspensions, expulsions, and broader SB100 compliance.
- Manage education administrative investigations and hearings, particularly those led by the DOE’s Office of Civil Rights, ISBE, OIG, OSP, and DCFS.
- Advise and proactively support our People team and campuses in all areas of employment law and in all aspects of the employee life cycle - from hiring, onboarding, compensation and benefits, performance management, leaves of absence, internal investigations, and terminations.
- Possess, maintain and grow an extensive understanding of relevant employment laws, including Title VII, FMLA, ADA, ADEA, NLRA, and FLSA.
- Manage employment administrative investigations and hearings, including drafting EEOC and IDHR position statements and making appearances as necessary.
Skills and Characteristics
- A deep-rooted passion for Noble’s mission and work in Chicago as well as a desire to work with highly talented, smart people who are also passionate about Noble’s mission.
- An exemplary embodiment of Noble’s core values of results; respect; follow-through; diversity, equity, and inclusion; humility and self-awareness.
- Provide thought leadership while working with minimum supervision in a fast-paced environment requiring superior prioritization skills.
- Demonstrate an ability to explain complex legal concepts and positions to internal and external stakeholders, many of whom are non-lawyers, and garner requisite buy-in.
- Excellent advocacy, oral, and written communication skills.
- Excellent legal reasoning, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
- Superior organizational skills.
Educational Background and Work Experience
- JD from an accredited U.S. law school with strong academic credentials.
- 5+ years of experience, preferably at a law firm, school district, and/or in-house legal department.
- Licensed to practice in Illinois.
- Maintain an active and in good standing membership with the Illinois bar.
Compensation & Benefits
We strive to be the best place to work, and our employee benefits are thoughtfully designed to support us in this ambition. Compensation will be commensurate with experience and qualifications. A comprehensive compensation plan will include a bonus incentive and a competitive benefits package.
Statement of Non Discrimination
Noble is proud to be an equal opportunity employer, making all employment decisions, including recruiting, hiring, training, and promoting without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, veteran status or any other characteristic or classification protected by law.
Source : The Noble Network of Charter Schools