Staff Attorney - Transactional Business

The role

Most of the people you will advise in this job are building something small and breakable. A first storefront. A food business moving out of a home kitchen. A side business becoming a living. They are rarely one bad decision away from losing it. They are often one unanswered question away. You will be the person who answers it.

You will provide brief advice, limited scope representation, and legal education to low-income entrepreneurs, small business owners, and startups across Minnesota, and support the statewide network of volunteer attorneys who make most of that work possible.

In a given week you might form an LLC, review a commercial lease, untangle a worker classification question, and teach a workshop in a community center. The variety is the job, not a distraction from it. For a full job description visit https://legalcorps.org/employment/.

What you will do

• Provide brief advice, consultations, and limited scope transactional representation to entrepreneurs, startups, and small business owners.
• Advise on entity selection, formation, governance, employment questions, licensing and permitting, risk management, and regulatory compliance.
• Draft and review formation documents, operating agreements, bylaws, contracts, and policies.
• Teach workshops and webinars across Minnesota and build legal education materials and self-help resources.
• Support volunteer attorneys through well-prepared referrals, templates, substantive guidance, and CLE programming.
• Keep client and outcome records current, which is how we report to funders and how we know whether a program is working.

What you bring

If you meet most of these and are interested in this work, we encourage you to apply. We would rather read your cover letter and have a conversation.

• Juris Doctor from an accredited law school, and licensed and in good standing in Minnesota or eligible for admission by reciprocity.
• At least two years of legal experience with clients, preferably in transactional business law, corporate law, or a related area.
• Experience drafting and reviewing contracts and other business documents.
• Strong research, writing, and analytical skills, and the ability to explain complex legal concepts in plain language.
• Good judgment about priorities when several matters are moving at once, and comfort working independently and with clients, volunteers, and colleagues.
• A real commitment to serving low-income clients and historically underserved communities.
• Willingness to travel within Minnesota for clinics, trainings, and partner events.

Helpful, but not required. Experience in a nonprofit, legal aid, pro bono, or public interest setting. Familiarity with the issues facing minority-owned, women-owned, immigrant-owned, and rural small businesses. Experience teaching or presenting. A language in addition to English, particularly Spanish, Hmong, or Somali.

Why attorneys come to LegalCORPS

Our team came here from private practice, in-house roles, government, and other nonprofits, driven by mission. Here is how the work is structured.

• No billable hours. Our services are free to the people we serve, so the role carries no billable hour requirement and no origination expectations.
• A sustainable caseload. We set caseloads deliberately, so you have time to do careful work and keep regular hours.
• Clients you meet in person. You sit across from the people you are helping, often at the moment a decision matters most.
• Real autonomy. You manage your own matters and make your own judgment calls, with colleagues available for a second opinion.
• A schedule that bends. Hybrid, with [2 to 3] days per week in the office. We are flexible about which days and about the hours you keep around them.
• A practice with range. You will see entire problems from the first conversation through resolution, and you will often learn what happened next.

About LegalCORPS

Since 2004, LegalCORPS has provided non-litigation transactional and intellectual property legal help to entrepreneurs, small business owners, inventors, and small nonprofits who could not otherwise afford counsel. Last year more than 5,000 people came to us, 25 percent more than the year before. Our staff and more than 500 volunteer attorneys delivered 7,777 hours of advice and representation, an investment of more than $4.2 million that helped create or maintain 5,144 jobs. Of the clients we served, 51 percent were female founders, 47 percent identified as Black, Indigenous, or people of color, and 69 percent lived below 200 percent of the federal poverty level.

Benefits, location, and schedule

Benefits. Health, dental, and vision coverage; retirement plan with employer contribution; paid time off and holidays; Minnesota bar dues and professional development support.

Location. Our office is on the Minneapolis campus of the University of St. Thomas, 1000 LaSalle Avenue, TMH 331, Minneapolis, MN 55403. Hybrid, with [2 to 3] days per week in the office, plus travel within Minnesota for clinics and partner events roughly one to two times per month.

To apply

Send a resume and cover letter to employment@legalcorps.org by November 20, 2026. A writing sample is welcome but not required. For a full job description visit https://legalcorps.org/employment/. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis and accepted until the position is filled.

Tell us in your cover letter why this work interests you. We care more about that than a perfect match to every qualification above.

We are a small team and cannot take phone calls about applications, so please reach us by email.

LegalCORPS is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any characteristic protected by applicable law.