600+ Legal & Compliance Jobs in Chicago, IL

Observed local pay is strong at the occupation-group level: BLS puts the Chicago legal occupational group's mean hourly wage at $71.28 versus $35.28 across all metro workers. Subrole data shows wide spread: a 2026 summary of BLS May 2025 data puts attorneys at a $165,660 median annual salary, with the 25th to 75th percentile range at $106,980 to $232,270, while paralegals and legal assistants are much lower at a $70,550 median. More current posting-based signals are directional rather than official wage averages: metro posted salary ranges center on about $110k to $154k, Illinois mean offered salary on new openings was ~$122,409 (n=445), and a recent Chicago private-credit compliance officer posting showed $165,000-$220,000.

Full August 2026 market report

Advertised pay

Across the 496 openings that disclose pay, the advertised range midpoint runs $90,000 at the 25th percentile, $134,000 at the median and $193,132 at the 75th. These are advertised ranges, not earned pay.

Active openings as of September 25, 2026

Senior roles | Entry level | Remote | Posted this week

Live from the Callings.ai index of over 13 million postings, refreshed hourly and re-checked here nightly. Roles that close are dropped at the next refresh.

Showing 30 of 250+ openings.

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What our analysts see this month

Competitive market | next 3-6 months

Chicago is still a real market for Legal, Compliance & Risk, but it is not an easy one. Illinois legal, compliance & risk employment was up 3.5% year over year in August 2026 while active postings were down 2.0%, which reads as stable demand with tighter selectivity rather than broad contraction. Locally, we observed more than 1,000 postings across more than 500 companies over the last 90 days, and hiring is fragmented rather than dominated by a few employers. The catch is that most openings are mid-career, mostly on-site or hybrid, and the broader Chicago labor backdrop is softer, with July unemployment at 4.9% and metro employment down -2.4046% year over year on preliminary BLS data.

Best positioned: You have the best odds right now if you already bring Illinois bar eligibility or another role-specific credential plus regulated-industry depth in healthcare, financial services, investigations, privacy, or AI-governance work.

Main caution: The biggest trap is assuming Chicago's headline legal pay applies broadly; the top end is concentrated in attorney and senior compliance tracks, while paralegal and entry-level work pays much less and faces more automation pressure.

From the August 2026 market report

Who is hiring here

Counted across all 600 openings in this market. 10 of the employers below are hiring for more than one role right now.

1. DCBA Friend and Sponsor OVC, INC: 48 open roles
2. Beacon Hill Solutions Group: 14 open roles
3. Morgan & Morgan, PA: 12 open roles
4. Axiom: 11 open roles
5. City of Chicago: 10 open roles
6. National Immigrant Justice Center: 10 open roles
7. Safeguard Law Group, PLLC: 10 open roles
8. Safeguard Law: 8 open roles
9. Illinois Legal Aid Online: 7 open roles
10. Illinois State Bar Association: 6 open roles

Where the openings are

• Chicago: 472
• Naperville: 10
• Northbrook: 8
• New York: 5
• Maywood: 5
• Arlington Heights: 4
• Rolling Meadows: 4
• Wheaton: 4

Work arrangement

on-site 283 (49%), hybrid 235 (41%), remote 59 (10%)

Where the demand is

Real opportunity in Chicago is spread across many employers, not a few dominant names. We observed more than 1,000 postings across more than 500 companies in the last 90 days, and the sample is fragmented. The biggest hiring bucket is legal services at about 45% of postings, but healthcare adds about 15%, with smaller yet meaningful pockets in insurance and financial services at about 5% each. That mix matters because Chicago is rewarding specialization more than generic legal experience. Recent local signals include an Associate Corporate & Compliance Counsel opening at Illinois Housing Development Authority, an in-house litigation counsel role at State Farm, senior risk and investigations growth at Miller Shakman Levine & Feldman, healthcare and government-investigations expansion at Bass, Berry & Sims, senior compliance investment at Inland Real Estate Group, and a high-paying compliance opening at Golub Capital. The practical read is to search by regulated problem set, not just by title. Healthcare regulation, government investigations, finance-related regulatory work, privacy, AI governance, and integrated legal-compliance leadership are where the strongest local and national signals line up.

• Law firms and legal services (high): Law firms remain the largest hiring bucket at about 45% of sampled postings, and recent Chicago office launches by Simpson Thacher and Milbank reinforce demand for associate, counsel, and specialist support talent.
• Regulated corporate compliance (high): Healthcare, insurance, and financial services are smaller shares of the posting mix, but they show some of the clearest specialty demand signals through employers such as State Farm, Inland Real Estate Group, and Golub Capital.
• Public and quasi-public legal/compliance work (moderate): The Illinois Housing Development Authority opening points to a narrower but credible lane for contracts, governance, and compliance counsel roles outside private practice.
• Entry/support roles (limited): Local postings still ask for legal research, case management, legal writing, and drafting, but only about 20% of openings are entry-level and support work faces more automation pressure than attorney-specialist tracks.

Where to focus: Prioritize regulated-industry roles where legal judgment and compliance execution overlap, especially healthcare, financial services, investigations, privacy, and contract-heavy counsel/compliance tracks.

Roles worth searching next

• Internal Auditor / SOX Analyst: This is a reasonable bridge if your background is heavier on controls, walkthroughs, remediation, and documentation than on legal interpretation.
• Privacy Program Manager / Security GRC Analyst: Privacy, cybersecurity, and AI governance are overlapping demand areas, so legal/compliance candidates with policy and control experience can pivot credibly here.
• Legal Operations Manager / Contract Lifecycle Manager: Contract lifecycle management and legal technology integration are becoming more valuable, making this a practical lane for process-oriented legal talent.
• Employee Relations / Workplace Investigations Manager: This is a solid pivot for candidates whose strengths are interviewing, fact-finding, policy interpretation, documentation, and sensitive issue handling.

What postings ask for

• Illinois bar admission (table_stakes | immediate): It is the most commonly named local credential in postings that specify one, which makes it a first-screen item for attorney and counsel paths. Who: Licensed attorneys and law-school graduates aiming at counsel, litigation, or in-house legal roles.
• Regulatory compliance and contract negotiation (table_stakes | immediate): Both regulatory compliance and contract negotiation appear among the most requested hard skills in metro postings, so they function as baseline proof of usefulness across multiple sub-roles. Who: Mid-career counsel, contracts managers, and compliance professionals.
• AI governance (premium | near-term): AI governance is now a named growth area in legal hiring, corporate legal department AI use reached 47% in 2026, and AI governance is becoming a compliance-training priority. Who: Counsel, compliance managers, privacy leads, and anyone advising product, operations, or regulated workflows.
• Data privacy and cybersecurity (premium | near-term): Data privacy and cybersecurity are among the strongest-demand specialties, and cybersecurity is identified as a premium-paid skill in risk and compliance recruiting. Who: Compliance, risk, privacy, investigations, and in-house legal candidates targeting regulated employers.
• CAMS (differentiator | near-term): Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist is listed among the top compliance certifications for 2026 and helps make AML/KYC or financial-crime claims more credible. Who: Career switchers, analysts, and compliance candidates targeting banks, broker-dealers, fintech, or private-credit firms.
• CRCM (differentiator | near-term): Certified Regulatory Compliance Manager is specifically relevant to financial-services compliance, which is one of Chicago's clearer premium niches. Who: Candidates aiming at banking, lending, broker-dealer, or investment-adviser compliance roles.

Questions about this market

What do Legal, Compliance & Risk roles pay in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN?

Observed local pay is strong at the occupation-group level: BLS puts the Chicago legal occupational group's mean hourly wage at $71.28 versus $35.28 across all metro workers. Subrole data shows wide spread: a 2026 summary of BLS May 2025 data puts attorneys at a $165,660 median annual salary, with the 25th to 75th percentile range at $106,980 to $232,270, while paralegals and legal assistants are much lower at a $70,550 median. More current posting-based signals are directional rather than official wage averages: metro posted salary ranges center on about $110k to $154k, Illinois mean offered salary on new openings was ~$122,409 (n=445), and a recent Chicago private-credit compliance officer posting showed $165,000-$220,000. Chicago can pay very well, but the premium mostly goes to bar-admitted lawyers, senior compliance professionals, and specialists working in regulated sectors or high-value transactions. Illinois mean offered salary on new openings for legal, compliance & risk was ~$122,409 versus ~$79,688 across all occupations, which reinforces that this category still commands a real premium.

Where is demand for Legal, Compliance & Risk roles in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN concentrated?

Real opportunity in Chicago is spread across many employers, not a few dominant names. We observed more than 1,000 postings across more than 500 companies in the last 90 days, and the sample is fragmented. The biggest hiring bucket is legal services at about 45% of postings, but healthcare adds about 15%, with smaller yet meaningful pockets in insurance and financial services at about 5% each. That mix matters because Chicago is rewarding specialization more than generic legal experience. Recent local signals include an Associate Corporate & Compliance Counsel opening at Illinois Housing Development Authority, an in-house litigation counsel role at State Farm, senior risk and investigations growth at Miller Shakman Levine & Feldman, healthcare and government-investigations expansion at Bass, Berry & Sims, senior compliance investment at Inland Real Estate Group, and a high-paying compliance opening at Golub Capital. The practical read is to search by regulated problem set, not just by title. Healthcare regulation, government investigations, finance-related regulatory work, privacy, AI governance, and integrated legal-compliance leadership are where the strongest local and national signals line up.

Which employers are hiring the most Legal, Compliance & Risk talent in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN?

Recent postings show the most activity from DCBA Friend and Sponsor OVC, INC (30 postings), Trilogy, Inc. (20 postings), AbbVie Inc. (20 postings), NACBA (20 postings), Clearbrook (15 postings). See the full market report for the complete employer landscape.

Can Legal, Compliance & Risk roles in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN be done remotely?

Of recent postings, 5% are remote and 40% hybrid, with 55% on-site. Use the Remote filter above to see only remote openings.

How current are these listings?

Openings come from the Callings.ai live index of over 13 million jobs, refreshed hourly. This page searches postings from the last 30 days; run the search yourself to filter by anything else in plain language.

Browse Illinois openings by job title

• General Manager: 86 open roles statewide
• Senior Manager: 61 open roles statewide

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