Salary : $129,560.00 - $202,438.00 Annually
Location : Hastings, MN
Job Type: Full-Time
Remote Employment: Flexible/Hybrid
Job Number: 60705.26.001
Department: County Attorney
Opening Date: 10/05/2026
Closing Date: 10/23/2026 4:30 PM Central
General Description POSTING TYPE: Open Competitive
DEPARTMENT: County Attorney
HOURS: Full-time
FULL SALARY RANGE: $129,560 - $202,438/year (113 Grade Level)
LOCATION: Judicial Center, Hastings
UNION: None
CLOSE DATE: Friday, October 23, 2026, at 4:30 p.m.
The Assistant Criminal Division Head reports directly to the Criminal Division Head. This position assists the Criminal Division Head in the management and oversight of the Criminal Division in the Office of the Dakota County Attorney as it pertains to adult criminal prosecutions. The basic functions of this position are to supervise attorneys, paralegals, and law clerks, and provide direction to support staff; to provide legal advice and representation to Dakota County and prosecute crimes on behalf of the State of Minnesota; to participate as a member of the County Attorney's Management Team in the formulation and implementation of policies and procedures; and to perform related duties as assigned.
Minimum Qualifications - Juris Doctorate Degree from an accredited law school; AND
- Licensed to practice law in the State of Minnesota by the date of hire; AND
- Five years of full-time equivalent CRIMINAL trial and/or CRIMINAL appellate experience as a licensed attorney.
Preferred Qualifications:- Prior experience as a supervising or managing attorney.
Duties & Responsibilities These examples do not include all possible tasks in this work and do not limit the assignment of related tasks in any position of this classification. Regular attendance according to the position's management approved work schedule is required for all positions.
- Directly supervise attorneys, paralegals, and law clerks as assigned, including work assignments, prioritization of work, work product and specific case advice. Provide direction to support staff in coordination with the Criminal Division Head and Office Lead.
- Provide legal advice to the Criminal Division Head, Chief Deputy, First Assistant and County Attorney on criminal matters.
- Prepare legal documents for cases and represent the County or State of Minnesota in court.
- Monitor performance and prepare reviews of direct subordinates.
- Provide information, support and advice to Criminal Division Head, Chief Deputy, First Assistant and County Attorney on management, policy and specific cases.
- Provide assistance to the Criminal Division Head in monitoring the performance of the division as a whole; accurately document work done, decisions made; and ensure appropriate record keeping is completed.
- Fulfill all job duties of Attorney III and IV.
- Attend staff and other required meetings.
- Perform other duties as assigned by the Criminal Division Head, Chief Deputy, First Assistant or County Attorney.
Duties 1-8 are essential functions.
Knowledge, Skills & Abilities and Work Environment - Knowledge of state and federal constitutional law, statutes, and court rules to effectively and efficiently oversee the prosecution of cases of all staff within the criminal division.
- Knowledge of the Rules of Professional Responsibility.
- Knowledge of County and Office policies.
- Ability to effectively lead, train, coach and evaluate assigned staff.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
- Knowledge of other departments in the County or other outside contacts to be able to advise them on actions and policies.
- Ability to moderate, negotiate or otherwise remedy disputes that arise between attorneys, staff, clients and other contacts.
Work Environment: Work is primarily stationary, although there is some movement, and transport of lightweight items such as briefcases, laptop, notebooks, and work papers. The work is typically performed in an adequately lighted and climate-controlled office. May require occasional travel.
Benefits:- Comprehensive and affordable medical, dental, vision, and other benefits.
- Excellent work-life balance.
- Generous paid time off (accrual rate starts at four weeks per year).
- Eleven paid holidays and one floating holiday each year.
- Pension with a generous employer contribution.
- Ability to work from home some of the time.
Selection Process:- You submit an online application that includes supplemental questions.
- We assign you a score based on your qualifications.
- Top scoring candidates are referred to the hiring manager for interview consideration.
- We conduct interviews and reference checks before extending an offer.
- We extend an offer and conduct background checks.
Visit our Benefits site for more information.
01
*******Applicants for this recruitment will be rated based on their answers to the supplemental questions listed below and application materials.
It is IMPERATIVE that information provided on the application and resume are detailed and clearly outline your work experience & skills. They must also support and/or match answers to the supplemental questions.Please initial the box below to CONFIRM that the information provided is accurate and true to the best of your knowledge. Falsification may result in disqualification from consideration for this and subsequent recruitments with Dakota County for up to three years.
02
Please initial the box below to CONFIRM that you understand that a background check including
but not limited to criminal, employment, driving, and educational check may be conducted upon acceptance of a position.
03
Do you have a Juris Doctorate Degree from an accredited law school?
04
Are you currently licensed to practice law in the State of Minnesota?
- Yes
- No
- No, but I can be by the date of hire.
05
How many years of
full-time equivalent criminal trial and/or criminal appellate experience do you have as a licensed attorney?Convert any part-time experience to full years (i.e. 20 hours week for 2 years equals 1-year full time). Do not round up years of experience (i.e. 2 yrs. 9 mos. would equal 2 years). Apply this formula to all questions regarding number of years of full-time equivalent experience.
- Less than 5 years
- 5 years
- 6 years
- 7 years
- 8 years
- 9 years
- 10+ years
- No experience
06
Describe your criminal trial and/or criminal appellate experience below that supports your response to the question above. If you have no experience, write "none."
07
Which option best describes your
criminal trial work experience?
- 20 or more felony jury trials through verdict
- 10 or more felony jury trials through verdict
- 5 or more felony jury trials through verdict
- Less than 5 felony jury trials through verdict
- No felony jury trial experience
08
Which option best describes your
criminal appellate work experience?
- 20 or more criminal appeals
- 10 or more criminal appeals
- 5 or more criminal appeals
- Less than 5 criminal appeals
- No criminal appellate experience
09
How many years of
full-time equivalent experience in a City, County or District Attorney's Office, Attorney General's Office or other public law office do you have?Convert any part-time experience to full years (i.e. 20 hours week for 2 years equals 1-year full time). Do not round up years of experience (i.e. 2 yrs. 9 mos. would equal 2 years). Apply this formula to all questions regarding number of years of full-time equivalent experience.
- Less than 1 year
- 1 year
- 2 years
- 3 years
- 4 years
- 5 years
- 6 years
- 7 years
- 8 years
- 9 years
- 10+ years
- No relevant experience
10
How many years of full-time equivalent experience do you have
supervising or managing attorney(s) in a
public law office such as a City, County District Attorney's Office, or Attorney General's Office?Convert any part-time experience to full years (i.e. 20 hours week for 2 years equals 1-year full time). Do not round up years of experience (i.e. 2 yrs. 9 mos. would equal 2 years). Apply this formula to all questions regarding number of years of full-time equivalent experience.
- Less than 1 year
- 1 year
- 2 years
- 3 years
- 4 years
- 5 years
- 6 years
- 7+ years
- No experience
11
Describe your experience as a supervising or managing attorney in a City, County or District Attorney's Office, Attorney General's Office or other public law office below that supports your response to the question above. If you have no experience, write "none" in the space below.
12
How many years of full-time equivalent experience do you have
supervising or managing attorney(s) in a
private law office?
- Less than 1 year
- 1 year
- 2 years
- 3 years
- 4 years
- 5 years
- 6 years
- 7+ years
- No experience
13
Describe your experience as a supervising or managing attorney in a private law office below that supports your response to the question above. If you have no experience, write "none" in the space below.
14
The full salary range for this position is $129,560 - $202,438. The amount that is offered is dependent on the candidates' overall skills, education, experience and internal equity. The offer would also include the County's benefits package.
Taking that information into consideration, what would be the minimum salary you'd accept if selected for the position? 15
Your response to this question will help Dakota County evaluate the effectiveness of recruitment sources for this specific position. Please select the
one source that most closely describes how you
first learned about this opportunity.
- Facebook
- Friend, Family or Colleague
- Indeed
- Job Fair or Dakota County Event
- Job Interest e-mails from Dakota County
- League of Minnesota Cities
- LinkedIn
- Diversityjobs.com
- Minnesotaworks.net
- Minnesota Association of Counties
- Monster
- Professional Association Website
- Referred by a Dakota County Employee
- College Website, Instructor, Career Services
- Dakota County Website
- Other
16
If you selected Other, please indicate where you heard about this opportunity with Dakota County.
Required Question
