General Counsel

Perm/contract: Permanent
Status: Full-time
Reports to: President of the Civic Committee and Commercial Club of Chicago

The Commercial Club of Chicago works to shape Chicago’s future to make our region a better place for everyone to live, work, and do business. Since 1877 we have helped shape Chicago into one of the world’s greatest cities. The Commercial Club of Chicago is a membership organization of senior leaders in the region. Our members span the business, education, civic, cultural, and philanthropic sectors - unified by excitement for the future of Chicago.

We believe cooperation and an open exchange of ideas are fundamental to success. Today, the Commercial Club continues to address social and economic issues of importance to the Chicago region.

In 1983, the Civic Committee was formed as an entity within the Commercial Club to identify key issues facing the State of Illinois and the greater Chicago region and providing leadership, high-quality research, long-term policy recommendations and programmatic actions for the benefit of the city and region. The Civic Committee is composed of the leaders of the Chicago region’s leading private sector employers and works with public officials and other civic organizations on transformational initiatives to promote our region's social and economic well-being.

The Civic Committee generally serves as the Commercial Club’s lead on policy and initiatives in public safety, business diversity, transportation and infrastructure, and state and local finance.

We also work alongside, and partially fund, the organizations established by us to tackle key issues head-on:

• Civic Consulting Alliance: Civic Consulting Alliance has an effective model for addressing systemic problems and achieving lasting change. We leverage the power of public-private collaboration through a unique approach to management consulting, to channel Chicago’s proud history of civic engagement.
• Kids First Chicago: Kids First Chicago’s mission is to dramatically improve education for Chicago’s children by ensuring high-quality public schools are accessible to all families. We believe a healthy education environment where kids, schools, and communities thrive is the key to a world-class city. We believe that those closest to our students - families, community members, and educators - are best equipped to design policies and systems that will improve equity and lead to stronger outcomes for our students, communities, and city.
• P33: Our ambition is to transform Chicago into a tier one technology and innovation hub and promote inclusive economic growth.

This is a full-time position with benefits, reporting to the President of the Civic Committee and Commercial Club of Chicago. Initial employment will be on an introductory basis, with detailed evaluations and feedback for new employees at the 30-, 60-, and 90-day marks.

The General Counsel serves as the chief legal advisor to the organization, providing both strategic and operational legal guidance to the executive team. This role is responsible for ensuring compliance with all applicable laws and regulations, managing legal risk, and overseeing matters related to governance, contracts, employment, and nonprofit regulatory obligations. By doing so, the General Counsel helps strengthen the organization’s legal and operational foundation.

The position works closely with senior leadership, staff, and—when appropriate—the Board of Directors. It also manages all legal matters, including coordination with external counsel (pro bono, insurance-related, and retained legal services).

• Advise the CEO, Board of Directors, and senior leadership on legal matters affecting the organization.
• Ensure compliance with Illinois nonprofit corporation law, IRS regulations, and other applicable federal, state, and local laws, consistent with the organizations’ tax-exempt status.
• Draft, review, and negotiate contracts, MOUs, grant agreements, and partnership agreements.
• Support governance matters, including board policies, bylaws, and meeting procedures.
• Manage legal aspects of…