Director, Legal Education (Chicago)

The Director, Legal Education is a strategic leader responsible for designing, building, and advancing an integrated education function that supports the ARDC’s mission to promote ethical conduct and integrity in the Illinois legal profession. The Director establishes and executes a multi-year education strategy that translates organizational priorities and insights into focused learning interventions intended to strengthen ethical judgment, professional responsibility, and practice behaviors. Rather than focusing primarily on program production, this role defines the education function’s audiences, objectives, operating model, capabilities, partnerships, and measures of effectiveness, and leads continuous improvement based on evidence of learning and behavioral impact.

Education Strategy and System Design

· Develop, execute, and regularly refresh a multi-year education strategy aligned with ARDC priorities, emerging legal ethics risks, and the needs of the Illinois legal profession

· Segment and prioritize target audiences based on professional roles, career stages, practice settings, risk patterns, and opportunities for meaningful behavior change

·Define measurable learning objectives, intended behavior changes, educational pathways, and a coherent portfolio of interventions for each priority audience

· Establish a governance and decision-making framework for prioritizing initiatives, allocating resources, and evaluating opportunities and trade-offs

Learning Effectiveness and Behavioral Impact

· Apply adult learning principles, instructional design, and evidence-informed approaches to select appropriate learning formats and interventions

· Develop an evaluation framework that measures more than attendance or satisfaction, including learning, application, changes in professional judgment and practices, and other feasible indicators of behavioral impact

· Use qualitative and quantitative insights, stakeholder feedback, and performance data to test assumptions, refine interventions, and report progress against strategic objectives

· Ensure educational content is accurate, relevant, accessible, and aligned with current professional responsibility issues

Function Building and Organizational Leadership

· Design and strengthen the education function’s structure, roles, workflows, capabilities, technology, and external support model to execute the strategy effectively

· Lead, coach, and develop staff; assess talent and capability gaps; establish clear accountabilities and expectations for quality and results

· Direct strategic planning, budgets, resource allocation, vendor relationships, and operating priorities, balancing impact, sustainability, and capacity

· Provide strategic leadership and oversight of ARDC’s Ethics Inquiry Program, ensuring appropriate alignment with broader educational priorities and the program’s distinct responsibilities

Partnerships and Organizational Alignment

· Partner with ARDC leadership and internal attorney groups, including Intake and Litigation, to identify patterns, emerging issues, and opportunities for preventive education

· Build purposeful relationships with bar associations, law schools, CLE providers, and other stakeholders to extend reach, gather insight, and advance shared educational goals

· Represent ARDC in relevant professional settings as a strategic partner and subject-matter leader; public presentation is a supporting responsibility, not the defining focus of the role

Education Portfolio Oversight

· Provide strategic direction and quality standards for live, virtual, and digital education offerings, including CLE, workshops, and other learning experiences

· Delegate and oversee program execution through staff, partners, and vendors while maintaining accountability for alignment, quality, reach, and demonstrated effectiveness

Qualifications and Desired Skills

• J.D. degree from an ABA-accredited law school and an active member of the bar in good standing
• Active Illinois bar license (or eligibility to obtain admission promptly)
• Demonstrated experience with continuing legal education, professional responsibility, and legal practice management
• History of developing and implementing a multi-year learning, professional education, or organizational education strategy with measurable outcomes
• Experience building, transforming, or leading an education or learning function, including team leadership, organizational design, staffing, and resource decisions
• Applied knowledge of adult learning, instructional design, audience segmentation, and evaluation of learning effectiveness and behavior change
• Experience working with professional audiences and building effective relationships across diverse stakeholders
• Excellent written, verbal, and public presentation skills
• Commitment to ARDC's mission and values

The ARDC is committed to a culture of inclusion. We offer a hybrid schedule, a congenial work environment, and a competitive benefits package. Salary will be determined based on the candidate’s experience and qualifications, with a targeted salary range of $140,000 to $180,000.

The ARDC is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation because of a disability for any part of the employment process, please send an e-mail to View email address on apply.placed-app.com to let us know the nature of your request and your contact information.