Assistant General Counsel

Portland State University (PSU) is Oregon’s urban research university, located in the heart of one of America’s most dynamic cities. Our mission to “let knowledge serve the city” reflects our dedication to turning ideas into action — in Portland and around the world.

PSU's Office of General Counsel (OGC) is seeking an Assistant General Counsel to join our high-performing and collaborative team. OGC provides legal support to a broad range of academic and administrative service areas and to university leadership, including the President and the Board of Trustees. OGC attorneys are expected to function as generalists and support all practice areas as needed; however, this position will focus primarily on the areas of employment, student affairs, and civil rights compliance.

The attorneys of the Office of General Counsel work in a variety of practice areas, including labor and employment, business matters, contract review, litigation, copyright, technology transfer, information technology, property acquisitions and other real estate matters, student and faculty issues, tax, and constitutional law.

The University is a complex and diverse institution, and it generates a wide range of legal issues. Some of these are common to all large institutions; others (such as shared governance with faculty, freedom of speech, faculty tenure, academic freedom, sponsored research, student rights, campus safety, the ADA as it applies to students, and Title IX) are unique to the environment of a public academic institution.

Minimum Qualifications

• A law degree from an accredited law school.
• At least three years’ experience as a practicing attorney.
• Admitted to Oregon bar, or admitted to the bar of another state and prepared to seek immediate admission in Oregon.
• Excellent judgment, impeccable analytical, critical thinking, and written and oral communication skills.
• The capacity to foster constructive outcomes in a complex environment involving an array of distinct stakeholders and faculty, staff, and students from diverse backgrounds and with a wide variety of interpersonal communication styles.
• Superior intellectual capacity, flexibility, and creativity, and the aptitude to be a true “generalist.”
• Ability to work independently and with direction from the General Counsel.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Five or more years' experience as a practicing attorney.
• Substantial and focused experience providing legal advice to universities, to state or federal agencies or to other large institutional clients, especially in one or more of the following areas:
  • Employment law and labor relations;
  • Higher Education legal issues, such as student affairs, student conduct, Title IX, FERPA, and the Clery Act; or
  • State and federal civil rights laws, which prohibit discrimination and harassment based on race, color, religion, national origin, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other protected characteristic.
• Experience providing legal advice in one or more of the following substantive areas:
  • Contracting and procurement;
  • Real estate;
  • Intellectual property;
  • Immigration;
  • Data privacy; or
  • Federal or state grant funding and compliance.
• Familiarity with Oregon public law, including public records, public meetings law, and Oregon government ethics laws.
• Experience reviewing and responding to subpoenas, public records requests, or other document and data requests.
• Relevant experience working for, or closely with, an institution of higher education.