Description:
Summary: The General Counsel & Corporate Secretary serves as the chief legal advisor to the Chief Executive Officer and executive leadership team. This role is responsible for all corporate legal matters, governance, complex contract negotiations, compliance, and risk mitigation across the organization. The General Counsel ensures the company's legal strategy aligns with business objectives while fostering strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders to support growth, operational excellence, and long-term value creation.Essential Duties and Responsibilities include the following. Other duties may be assigned.:
Corporate Governance & Board Support
- Serve as Corporate Secretary, managing board meeting preparation, governance documents, resolutions, and minutes.
- Advise the CEO and Board on legal, regulatory, and governance matters.
- Ensure compliance with corporate bylaws, charters, and governance policies.
- Lead and manage distributor, dealer, customer, vendor, and partnership agreements.
- Review, draft, and negotiate complex commercial contracts, terms, and conditions.
- Partner with business leaders to support negotiations for strategic relationships and commercial initiatives.
- Manage and coordinate legal strategy for litigation, disputes, and claims.
- Partner with Human Resources on employment matters and investigations; provide legal guidance to reduce risk and ensure compliance with applicable laws.
- Select and oversee outside counsel as needed.
- Point of contact for Company hotline.
- Support mergers, acquisitions, joint-ventures, and strategic investments.
- Assist with due diligence, deal structuring, integration, and post-close compliance.
- Lead negotiations with legal oversight for real estate leases, renewals, acquisitions, and dispositions.
- Support facilities teams with real estate compliance and property management legal needs.
- Serve as trusted advisor across all business units.
- Identify and mitigate legal risks while enabling business agility and growth.
- Provide education and training to leaders and employees on legal and compliance matters.
- Juris Doctor (JD) from an accredited law school; active bar membership in good standing.
- Eight (8) to ten (10) years of in-house counsel experience within a corporate or industrial business environment.
- Demonstrated experience negotiating complex agreements and contracts.
- M&A experience, including due diligence and negotiation.
- Proven ability to influence, negotiate, and build relationships at all levels of the organization.
- Strong attention to detail, follow-through, and judgement.
- Knowledge of employment law and experience supporting HR/employment matters.
- Experience with federal government contracts, compliance, and procurement processes.
- Working knowledge of export controls and international trade regulations.
- Experience in industries such as transportation, heavy-duty equipment, and industrial services preferred.
Core Competencies:
- Business Acumen: ability to align legal strategy with business objectives.
- Influence & Negotiation: Strong ability to persuade, simplify complex concepts, and drive mutually beneficial outcomes.
- Judgement & Integrity: Make sound decisions based on risk, strategy, and values.
- Collaboration: Build trusted partnerships with executives, leaders, internal and external partners.
- Detail-Oriented Execution: Ensure accuracy, completeness, and compliance across all legal work.
- Strategic Thinking: Ability to anticipate legal needs and proactively recommend solutions.
About the company:
W.W. Williams was founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 1912. Today The W.W. Williams Companies have a broad portfolio of businesses located throughout the U.S. and Mexico. The W.W. Williams Companies include CT Power and Guaranteed Truck Service. W.W. Williams offers a full range of industry-leading products, while providing technical/mechanical service and repair, remanufacturing and warehouse/supply chain management solutions to a varied customer base. Our products and services include diesel engines, transmissions, heavy duty truck repair, transport refrigeration, power generation and third-party supply chain logistics services. Our customers include on-highway truck fleets, off-highway equipment users, data centers, hospitals, Department of Defense OEMs, vehicle OEMs, U.S. Military and boat owners to name a few.
What began as a small family-owned business has evolved into one of the nation's most diversified solutions provider. We are relentlessly dedicated to helping our customers achieve maximum up time. From single trucking to cranes to fleet management to power generators to military and commercial packaging - consider it done.
We are Genuine. Honest. Passionate. That's not a slogan, it's a mantra. Everyone who wears the W.W. Williams name - from service technicians to advisors to business executives - is committed to getting the job done right, the first time around. Our people are our greatest assets; we support our team with access to world class training and development opportunities. It's this level of investment and care that matters to customers, giving you peace of mind that your fleet is in the right hands.
W.W. Williams is one of the nation's largest sales and service networks of industrial power products. With multiple locations across the US and Mexico, we are dedicated to providing highly professional service and strong relationships with our customers.
Join us for a career where you'll grow both personally and professionally in a welcoming, diverse, and inclusive environment.
Competitive wages and benefits. AAP/EPE/M/F/Vets/Disabled, DFWP.
