Chief Legal Officer

Chief Legal Officer

The Supreme Court of Ohio is seeking to fill the position of Chief Legal Officer. This position directs the legal, legislative, and policy affairs of the Supreme Court and serves as the principal advisor on legal matters affecting Court administration and the Ohio judicial branch. The position provides executive leadership and operational oversight for the Office of the Chief Legal Officer, Office of the Clerk, Office of the Reporter, and Office of Legal Resources, ensuring effective governance, statutory compliance, and coordinated service delivery. Key responsibilities include leading multidisciplinary teams of legal and professional staff, managing budgets and resources, and guiding strategic planning, policy development, records management, and public access functions.

What You'll Do:

• Leadership: Oversees the activities of the Offices of the Chief Legal Officer, Reporter, the Clerk, and Legal Resources, ensuring alignment with the Court's mission, statutory obligations, and operational priorities. Fosters collaboration and clear communication to ensure strategies and operations are aligned under a unified legal and administrative strategy. Coordinates efforts to drive innovation, efficiency, and consistency, enabling the Court to advance priorities.
• Organizational Goals: Develops and executes strategic goals, values, and policies across offices in alignment with the Court's mission. Provides high-level leadership for court-wide initiatives. Supports the Chief Justice and Administrative Director in implementing organizational change, fostering innovation, and ensuring policy compliance across relevant functions. Provides leadership for legal, legislative, and policy matters. Assists the Chief Justice and Administrative Director in planning and reviewing non-judicial operations. Coordinates activities with other agencies and court divisions. Conducts special projects assigned by the Chief Justice, Administrative Director, or Deputy Administrative Directors.
• Office Management: Plans, prioritizes, directs, and oversees activities of the Office of Chief Legal Officer, including legal, legislative, and policy activities. Develops and implements the Office of Chief Legal Officer's budget.
• Legal Advice: Provides legal advice to the Chief Justice, Justices, Administrative Director, Deputy Administrative Directors, managers, supervisors, and employees to ensure compliance with laws, rules, and regulations. Consults with managers and supervisors on various programs, policies, and regulations. Addresses legal issues impacting the Court or Ohio judicial branch by researching statutes, judicial decisions, and rules; drafting advisory opinions; and preparing legal memoranda and reports.
• Public Records & Policy: Oversee public records requests and manage public records policies and procedures across the offices of the Supreme Court of Ohio.
• Contract & Agreement Management: Reviews, prepares, and coordinates intergovernmental agreements, grant agreements, and contracts; advises staff on legal risks, terms, and conditions. Provides reference materials and training for judges and judicial branch employees.
• Staff Supervisory Responsibilities This position directly supervises the Reporter of Decisions; Clerk of the Court; Director, Legal Resources; Deputy Chief Legal Officer, Legal and Government Affairs; Deputy Chief Legal Officer, Policy and Rulemaking; and Judicial Assignment Analyst. As a supervisor, this position is responsible for overseeing recruitment and onboarding processes, providing coaching and feedback to team members, managing performance issues, conducting performance evaluations, and fostering a collaborative and high-performance work environment to ensure team success.

Why Work for the State of Ohio

At the State of Ohio, we take care of the team that cares for Ohioans. We provide a variety of quality, competitive benefits to eligible full-time and part-time employees*. For a list of all the State of Ohio Benefits, visit our Total Rewards website! Our benefits package includes:

• Medical Coverage
• Free Dental, Vision and Basic Life Insurance premiums after completion of eligibility period
• Paid time off, including vacation, personal, sick leave and 11 paid holidays per year
• Childbirth, Adoption, and Foster Care leave
• Education and Development Opportunities (Employee Development Funds, Public Service Loan Forgiveness, and more)
• Public Retirement Systems (such as OPERS, STRS, SERS, and HPRS) & Optional Deferred Compensation (Ohio Deferred Compensation)

*Benefits eligibility is dependent on a number of factors. The Agency Contact listed above will be able to provide specific benefits information for this position.

Qualifications

What we're looking for:

• Juris Doctor degree from an accredited law school and an active Ohio law license in good standing or ability to obtain within 6 months of employment.
• At all times during employment with the Court, must be an attorney properly admitted to the practice of law in Ohio and be in good standing.
• Minimum of eight (8) years of increasingly responsible broad based legal experience as a bar licensed attorney.
• At least five (5) years of extensive and substantial management responsibility is preferred.

Supplemental Information

This is an exempt unclassified position, reporting to the Administrative Director. The salary range for this position, which is commensurate with experience, is $175,000 - $190,000. Formal consideration of interested applicants responding to this job announcement will begin immediately and will continue until the positions are filled. To be considered for this position, candidates must apply online at or deliver an application to the Supreme Court of Ohio, 65 S. Front St., Columbus, OH 43215 and attach or enclose all of the following:

• Completed application
• Resume or CV
• Cover letter. Only completed applications will be considered.

In response to your application, this system will send you a confirmation email. Interviews will be scheduled as soon as practical. We will contact you if you are selected for an interview. Please do not duplicate your application and please, no phone inquiries. The Supreme Court of Ohio is an equal employment opportunity employer that supports an alcohol and drug-free, and a weapons and violence free, work environment. At-Will Employment The Supreme Court of Ohio is an at-will employer that seeks to attract, employ, and retain highly skilled and motivated individuals, attempts to maintain staff continuity for the efficiency of its operation, and desires to foster and maintain an ethical, professional, and impartial work environment. Pursuant to Adm. P. 4 (At-Will Employment), no person shall be offered or denied a position of employment with the Court, and no employee shall have the employee's employment terminated based solely upon political party affiliation, political activity permitted under Adm. P. 17 (Employee Code of Ethics), or other partisan considerations. Further, no employee shall have the employee's employment terminated with or without cause unless upon the concurrence of a majority of the Court. Background Check Information: The final candidate selected for the position will be required to undergo a pre-employment drug screening and a criminal background check. Criminal convictions do not necessarily preclude an applicant from consideration for a position. An individual assessment of an applicant's prior criminal convictions will be made before excluding an applicant from consideration.ADA StatementOhio is a Disability Inclusion State and strives to be a model employer of individuals with disabilities. The State of Ohio is committed to providing access and inclusion and reasonable accommodation in its services, activities, programs and employment opportunities in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other applicable laws.