Assistant General Counsel - Canada/US

Cushman & Wakefield•Chicago, IL

12d•$187,000 - $220,000

About The Position

The Assistant General Counsel provides strategic legal counsel to an assigned region and/or business line within a matrixed legal department. The role is an embedded business advisor who develops deep knowledge of the business’s personnel, operations, deal flow, and risk profile. It is focused on judgment-intensive, business-critical work, while routine and specialist functions are handled by centralized teams. The position reports on a solid line to the Associate General Counsel for the Americas region and aligns with the supported business unit or units. It coordinates regularly with centralized teams and functions, including Contracts COE, Litigation & Risk, M&A/Corporate, Legal Operations, Ethics & Compliance, and EHS. The role serves as the primary legal contact for its assigned region or business, advises leaders on complex and high-risk matters, and helps identify and escalate legal and regulatory risks. It provides business context and coordination support to centralized litigation and M&A teams, delivers tailored legal training, monitors relevant jurisdiction-specific developments, and contributes to improvements in legal processes and protocols. Routine commercial contract drafting, review, and negotiation; litigation management; legal entity management; and M&A deal leadership are explicitly outside the role’s scope. The position requires a J.D. and active U.S. bar admission, along with 10 or more years of combined law firm and/or in-house experience. Admission to practice in Ontario or another Canadian province is a plus. Experience in commercial real estate, professional services, or a similarly complex multinational environment is preferred; French fluency is also a plus. The compensation range is $187,000 to $220,000. Eligible employees may enroll in benefit programs that generally include health, vision, and dental insurance, flexible spending accounts, health savings accounts, retirement savings plans, life and disability insurance, and paid and unpaid time away from work. Competitive pay may vary based on factors including location, experience, qualifications, job type, and other considerations.

Requirements

J.D. and active bar admission in the United States.
10 or more years of combined law firm and/or in-house experience.
Ability to operate effectively in a matrixed organization and balance regional and business-line stakeholders.
Sound commercial judgment and ability to distinguish routine issues from business-critical matters requiring direct counsel involvement.
Strong stakeholder management and communication skills.
Comfort advising senior business leaders.

Nice To Haves

Licensed to practice law in Ontario or another Canadian province.
Experience in commercial real estate, professional services, or a similarly complex multinational operating environment.
Fluency in French.

Responsibilities

Serve as the primary legal point of contact for an assigned region or business and maintain working knowledge of its organization, key personnel, revenue drivers, and operating risks.
Attend business leadership meetings as a standing advisor, identifying legal issues early and helping shape decisions.
Translate business strategy and objectives into legal risk assessments and practical recommendations.
Build trusted relationships so business leaders consult legal proactively.
Advise the centralized commercial contracts team on non-routine, high-value, precedent-setting, or elevated-risk agreements.
Review and advise on deal structures, unusual terms, indemnification and liability positions, and regulatory considerations for business-critical agreements.
Determine with the centralized contracts team when an agreement should be escalated for direct counsel involvement.
Identify legal and regulatory risks and escalate them to the appropriate centralized group with context and recommended action.
Advise business leaders on company policy, delegation of authority, and approval protocols.
Support internal audits, investigations, and compliance reviews involving the assigned business by providing context and coordinating with the business.
Act as the business liaison for litigation matters by gathering facts, coordinating witnesses, and managing document and data collection requests.
Provide business and operational context to the Litigation & Risk team and outside counsel, and flag new claims or disputes.
Provide business intelligence, personnel context, and operational due diligence support to the M&A/Corporate team on transactions involving the assigned region or business.
Identify region- or business-specific contract, regulatory, and personnel risks relevant to a transaction early in the process.
Deliver periodic legal training and policy updates tailored to the business’s operations and risk areas.
Maintain awareness of jurisdiction-specific legal and regulatory developments relevant to the assigned region.
Contribute to improvements in legal playbooks, escalation triggers, and matrixed working protocols.