Description:
Position Summary:The Senior Counsel (SC) is a self-motivated, confident lawyer who supports the General Counsel (GC) in safeguarding the Company's legal interests. This role involves identifying legal risks and opportunities, ensuring compliance with applicable laws and contracts, and managing various aspects of the legal department's operations.
The SC is responsible for independently assessing legal needs and, with the GC's approval, developing and executing strategies to address them. Acting as a project lead, the SC coordinates cross-functional input to minimize legal exposure and strengthen the Company's legal position.
Key responsibilities include conducting legal research and advising senior decision-makers, engaging with external stakeholders such as regulatory agencies, and managing litigation matters—including interactions with opposing counsel, participation in mediations, arbitrations, deposition preparation, and handling discovery processes such as discovery responses.
The SC will oversee the work of outside counsel on assigned matters. The role requires the ability to provide sound legal guidance across all levels of the organization, creatively evaluate business strategies, and advise when legal risks warrant reconsideration or cessation of a proposed action. The SC must be able to multi-task and remain calm when dealing with multiple demands.
Additional duties include drafting and reviewing key legal documents and contracts (e.g., leases, software licenses, consulting agreements, purchase and sales contracts, insurance policies), delivering clear legal recommendations, and ensuring compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.
Principal Duties, Responsibilities, and Expectations:
- Performs duties vital to the optimal performance of the Company's legal interests.
- Spots legal issues and develops plans to react to or avoid legal risk.
- Records the board minutes when needed.
- Manages legal interns and assists GC in oversight of law firm counsel.
- Assists GC in principal projects and cases, and initiates solutions to Company legal issues.
- Develops expertise in subject areas important to the Company, such as IP and regulatory affairs.
- Anticipates and guards against legal risks facing the Company.
- Acts as project manager on large, interdisciplinary projects.
- Proactively suggests to GC ways to decrease legal risk.
- Takes the “first chair” on matters with regulators where appropriate.
- Works directly with outside counsel to manage work and to keep within budget.
- Provides ongoing legal counseling to management and business team members, including general managers in the field.
- Structures, drafts and negotiates complex agreements and transactions, including technology and licensing agreements, real estate leases, acquisitions, and other commercial agreements.
- Provides legal support and counselling to business clients related to service contracts and other business operations, commercial agreements, marketing, service liability and risk management.
- Provides legal support related to corporate transactions such as alliances, franchises, independent contractors, licensing outside of the United States, etc.
- Performs managerial and supervisory duties related to legal work (e.g., plan and prioritize work, manage and guide subordinates and Company managers in the completion of work; assigns, reviews, and approves work).
- Provides advice on employment law matters.
- Researches, analyzes and advises on cases and proposed and existing legislation and regulations for impact on the Company and its customers and/or employees.
- Reviews and/or advises on policies, procedures and legal documents.
- Provides legal counsel to senior management on issues arising from actual or anticipated dispute and/or litigation issues.
- Assists in litigation cases, mediations and arbitrations, and may oversee production of discovery.
- Reviews drafts of pleadings and other legal documents.
- Negotiates directly with third party claimants to resolve disputes without litigation.
- Responds to customer or employee complaints, as necessary.
Job Qualifications:
Education: Juris Doctor (J.D.) from an accredited law school; licensed and in good standing with a state Bar.
Experience: Minimum of 5–7 years of legal practice in a law firm and/or corporate legal department. Preferred background includes experience in transportation, hospitality and/or employment law.
Skills:
- Able to clearly communicate the principal issues and proposed resolution to the GC
- Interacts well with management and project team members
- Proficient with MS Office Suite, Adobe Acrobat and other project management software
- Strong attention to detail
- Able to manage time so that projects are completed timely
- Excellent writing and research abilities
- Able to multi-task, working on multiple projects simultaneously
- Able to analyze problems and devise logical and well-planned solutions
- Effectively and efficiently manages a large workload
- Understands the work demands of a legal department and expected to be responsive (on-call) as needed by GC and CEO.
- Ethical
- Confident and creative
- Organized
- Self-starter
- Strong interpersonal skills; builds trust
- Analytical
- Dependable
Primary Contacts:
Internal: Legal Department lawyers, Business clients throughout the company.
External: Outside law firms, regulators, customers.
Working Conditions:
General Working Conditions: Normal and favorable office environment
Physical Requirements: Mostly sitting, with some walking and bending. Heavy use of computer for keying and reading screen. Travel to company office locations, as needed.
