Contracts Lawyer

Harbor

8d•Remote

About The Position

Harbor is hiring a Contracts Lawyer for its growing consulting delivery team and Business Operation Solutions (BOS) group. The role combines legal expertise with project management and consulting skills, supporting clients in procuring goods and services, reducing costs, optimizing business processes, and improving stakeholder value. The lawyer will work closely with project teams and client personnel to review vendor contracts, support negotiations, and follow both client and Harbor contract-administration processes. The position aims to mitigate risk and create value through contracts that meet or exceed client needs. The role operates within a matrix structure. It reports primarily to a Business Unit Client Lead, who allocates day-to-day work, with legal oversight, coverage, and training provided by the Contracts Team. The position is fully remote anywhere in the United States, with little to no travel. The ideal candidate is in Chicago and can work hybrid from Harbor’s Chicago headquarters.

Requirements

Juris Doctorate (JD).
License to practice law in any U.S. state.
At least 4 years of work experience in contract development, redlining, legal terms review, negotiations, or contract management.
Strong familiarity with Professional Services Agreements, Software as a Service Agreements, software license agreements, and related contract provisions.
Working knowledge of emerging AI-related contract terms, including data usage, model training, output ownership, risk allocation, audit rights, and regulatory compliance.
Ability to interpret complex policies and legal language, assess business risk, and help plan a risk-mitigation approach.
Ability to build collaborative relationships and communicate effectively, orally and in writing, with managers, internal clients, vendors, colleagues, and support staff.
Proactivity and ownership of daily responsibilities and projects, including contract administration.
Effective time-management, prioritization, and organizational skills in a multitasked environment.
Responsiveness, customer focus, and appropriate follow-up and follow-through.
Commitment to quality and accuracy.
Willingness to learn and adapt to change.

Nice To Haves

Law firm procurement background.
Working knowledge of data privacy and data security laws, such as GDPR, and experience reviewing and negotiating related contractual language.

Responsibilities

Apply playbook standards to redline and edit contract language, incorporate client-defined standards, and suggest alternative terms based on the services and products involved in the procurement engagement.
Identify terms-and-conditions options and carve-out strategies for BOS personnel and client stakeholders to resolve negotiation roadblocks while limiting risk.
Liaise with clients’ in-house legal counsel during the review and final approval of initial contracts and renewals.
Engage with Harbor client leads and department leaders to discuss upcoming contract renewals.
Facilitate contract-term negotiations and serve as a liaison between internal and external personnel, including identifying escalation points.
Communicate pertinent contract terms and conditions to appropriate end users and stakeholders.
Manage a work pipeline by tracking review status, meeting established KPIs, proactively updating external stakeholders and internal client leads, and following up in a timely manner.
Support contract administration by updating contract statuses and newly signed documents in the system.
Serve as a key point of contact for questions and needs regarding assigned contracts.
Develop, update, and administer standard agreement templates and related playbooks.
Support vendor governance, including vendor onboarding and offboarding, risk management, and relationship management.
Facilitate and attend proactive planning and contract-management meetings with key stakeholders.
Perform other contracts-related duties as necessary.