Skip to main content
Posted June 17, 2019

General Counsel

Art Institute of Chicago
Chicago, IL Full Time

The Art Institute of Chicago (“Art Institute” or “Institute”) is seeking an experienced, collaborative senior executive to serve as its Executive Vice...

The Art Institute of Chicago (“Art Institute” or “Institute”) is seeking an experienced, collaborative senior executive to serve as its Executive Vice President and General Counsel (“General Counsel”). Reporting to the President and Director of the Museum, the President of the School, and the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, the position serves as the chief legal officer for the Institute and its governing board.

The General Counsel is a key member of the senior executive team for both the Museum and the School and is responsible for overseeing the Institute’s legal activities and providing legal advice to the Board of Trustees, as well as the staff and executives of the Museum and the School. Given the diverse business and legal needs of the Institute, the General Counsel oversees a broad range of legal issues, including: tax; cultural property; copyright; employment; Title IX; student privacy laws; acquisitions and deaccessions; and provenance, title, and other issues relating to proposed acquisitions and the existing collection.

The Art Institute seeks an individual who can bring guidance and leadership to advance the mission of the Institute, its strategic initiatives, organizational issues, reputational risks, and other sensitive, high-level matters.

THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO

The Art Institute was founded as both a museum and school for the fine arts in 1879 and is internationally recognized as having two of the leading fine-arts institutions in the United States.

The Museum is a world-renowned encyclopedic art museum housing the third largest permanent collection in the United States. The Museum collects, preserves, and interprets works of art of the highest quality, representing the world’s diverse artistic traditions. The Museum welcomed almost 1.6 million in 2018 and membership numbered over 92,000. The Museum serves approximately 120,000 students from Chicago and Illinois annually, many of whom are from Chicago Public Schools.

The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) is one of the largest accredited, independent schools of art and design in the country and one of the premier fine arts educational facilities in the world. SAIC provides an unparalleled multidisciplinary approach to art and design education, with academic departments offering a range of undergraduate, graduate, and post-baccalaureate programs.

The Institute’s permanent faculty and staff number more than 1,300 with additional outsourced support staff and a large number of fellows, interns, and volunteers. The annual combined budget of the Art Institute is approximately $267 million. The net worth of the Institute exceeded $1 billion at the end of fiscal year 2018.

Qualifications
The successful candidate must possess a law degree from an A.B.A. accredited institution and 15+ years of experience practicing law in increasingly responsible positions, including management of attorneys, preferably with non-profits, museums, or institutions of higher education. Candidates also must possess the ability to understand and balance the varying business and legal needs of the Museum and the School so as to provide pragmatic and strategic advice based on their individual business needs. The selected candidate must be licensed to practice law in Illinois or be eligible for and achieve admission to the Illinois State Bar within a reasonable period of time.

TO APPLY

Prospective candidates are asked to send a resume and letter of interest by clicking Apply to this Job below.

The Art Institute of Chicago is an equal opportunity, equal access employer fully committed to achieving a diverse and inclusive workplace.

This listing expired on Aug 16. Applications are no longer accepted.

Below are some other jobs we think you might be interested in.