Associate Legal Counsel

Requisition ID: 23795  
Department: Legal Services 
Service: Civil Litigation Branch 
Employment Type: 1 Permanent Full Time Position 
Work Hours: 35 hours per week
Affiliation: MPE/New City MPE 
Salary Information: $95,127.76 - $120,309.28  annually (2025 rates of pay)
Location: City Hall,110 Laurier Avenue West  
Job Category: Legal Services 
Application Close: 26/10/2026
JOB SUMMARY

Legal Services provides a comprehensive and complex range of legal services to elected officials, all City of Ottawa departments, and various boards and commissions (i.e. Ottawa Police Services Board, Ottawa Community Land Development Corporation and the Ottawa Public Library), in the areas of civil litigation, labour and employment law, prosecutions, and corporate, municipal, planning, development, environmental, and commercial law.

Under the guidance of more senior legal counsel, you are responsible for providing a wide range of legal services to City Council, Committees, Departments, local boards and agencies, in one or more of the following areas: 

Civil litigation and claims/prosecutions focusing on claims made by and against the City, its boards, commissions and agencies, including the Police Services Board, conducting litigation/prosecutions before courts, boards and tribunals, and negotiation of litigation settlements.

You provide legal opinions and policy advice to an assigned client group and are responsible for protecting/advancing the legal interests of the City, advocating and defending corporate positions before the courts and external decision-making bodies. You also provide guidance and mentoring to more junior Legal Counsel, Articling Law Students and Paralegals/Law Clerks in the respective practice area. 

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

Completion of Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) or Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree (3 year program after first degree). 

Minimum of 2 years of broad legal experience in the practice of municipal law, as outlined in the Job Summary, which may include experience before civil courts, administrative boards and tribunals, or specific experience directly related to the assigned area of practice. 

CERTIFICATIONS AND LICENCES

Licensed by Law Society of Ontario and called to the Bar of Ontario

KNOWLEDGE

Knowledge of the Municipal Act 2001 

Knowledge of the Code of Professional Conduct of the Law Society of Upper Canada

Working knowledge of municipal operations, City organizational structures, and departmental business requirements, complexities, and inter-relationships 

Working knowledge of the specific legislation, regulations, policies/guidelines and methods/procedures relating to the assigned area of practice

Working knowledge of the law of civil procedures and practice before the courts, and or administrative boards or tribunals

Working knowledge of the principles, practices, and procedures relating to interviewing, facilitation, negotiation, dispute resolution, and mediation

Protocols for developing submissions, briefings, reports

Protocols for responding to inquiries, and preparing reports, briefing notes and other communiqués 

Knowledge of Employee Code of Conduct as well as applicable health and safety legislation, including the rights and duties of workers.

COMPETENCIES, SKILLS AND ABILITIES

Able to work independently, with minimal direction, and collaboratively with all staff as part of a team

Able to professionally represent the City before the courts and or administrative tribunals, and at meetings involving multiple shareholders and the general public

Possess leadership and human relations skills to provide ongoing mentoring, training, and coaching to more junior Legal Counsel, Articling Law Students, Paralegals and Law Clerks

Possess organizational skills and flexibility to plan, initiate, organize and prioritize own work, to manage multiple projects, and to deal effectively with multiple demands, conflicting priorities, pressures and timelines

Able to consult with internal corporate clients and provide problem solving advice, opinion and guidance on legal matters 

Able to undertake research, investigate/define issues, isolate key components of diverse issues, analyze/evaluate/interpret information, present findings and make recommendations 

Possess articulate and persuasive communication skills and strong influencing/negotiating skills/abilities in order to handle the advisory, adversarial and administrative nature of the work

Able to describe legal concepts in readily understandable terms, and provide timely, constructive professional advice/information to all clients to assist in the decision-making process 

Skilled in composing and writing pleadings, opinions, reports and summaries and other documents for assigned client group 

Able to write contract language, memoranda, settlement documents, reports and proposals 

Skilled in public speaking and in preparing/delivering presentations

Possess computer literacy in MS Office Suite and the ability to utilize specialized software and internet resources for legal research

Able to maintain and secure detailed documentation, records and files

Self directed in applying judgement, initiative and creativity to address unique situations

Demonstrates leadership capabilities

Demonstrates strong interpersonal skills

Thorough and attentive to detail

Demonstrates tact , diplomacy, political awareness, sound judgement and discretion in protecting the privacy, confidentiality, and security of information

Resilient, and able to deal with difficult individuals and situations

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Language Requirement: English oral, reading, writing

Experience and formal training combined with demonstrated performance and ability may substitute for stipulated academic requirements. 

Please save a copy of the job poster. Once the closing date has passed, it will no longer be available. 

We wish to thank all applicants for their interest and effort in applying for this position. Only candidates selected for interviews will be contacted. 

The City of Ottawa promotes the principles of diversity and inclusion and adheres to the tenets of the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Ontario Human Rights Code. We encourage applications from members of Indigenous, Black and other racialized communities, persons with disabilities, women and non-binary persons, persons of all ethnic origins, religions, sexual orientations, classes, gender identities and expressions. 
Candidates are encouraged to self-identify as a member of one or more designated employment equity groups in the self-identification questionnaire.

The City of Ottawa provides accommodation to applicants during all parts of the hiring process, upon request. If contacted to proceed to the selection process, please advise us if you require any accommodation.

Accessible formats and communication supports are available upon request. Please contact the Employee Service Centre at View phone number on jobs-ca.com or via email at .

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