Associate Legal Counsel

Position Details

• Department: Legal Services
• Employment Type: Permanent Full Time
• Work Hours: 35 hours per week
• Salary Information: $95,127.76 - $120,309.28 annually (2025 rates of pay)
• Location: City Hall,110 Laurier Avenue West
• 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:

• Planning and development law focusing on land subdivision, severances, condominiums, official plans, zoning and development, by-law preparation, preparation of development agreements and planning issues generally, including representing the City at the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB).
• Environmental law focusing on environmental legislation and regulations, assessment, Waste Master Plan, by-law prosecutions and environmental issues generally.
• Employment law and labour relations focusing on labour arbitrations, Labour Relations Board and Human Rights Tribunal proceedings, pay equity, occupational health and safety, workers’ compensation, wrongful dismissal, litigation and other labour relations and employment law issues generally.
• Contract law focusing on revision and creation of construction, purchasing and consulting service contracts, documents and procedures; construction disputes/liens and bonding; review and preparation of contracts before tender call and after contract award; contract law training programs; contract management and dispute resolution.
• 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.
• Real Estate and Property law focusing on issues relating to the acquisition/disposal of lands including acquisitions, sales, expropriations, leases and title information processes and related easement and encroachment agreements.
• Administrative law focusing on interpretation/preparation of all manner of documents, including by-laws, corporate documents or specialized applications, drafting of all manner of reports and correspondence, the development of standardized contracts, agreements or forms, ATIP (Access to Information Privacy) administration, handling all manner of various enquiries/responses, and making final determinations on collections pertaining to monies owed the City.

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