Corporate Development Attorney

Distro•Duluth, GA

2d•$230,000 - $350,000•Onsite

About The Position

The M&A Attorney is a core legal partner to the Corporate Development team and business leaders. This role is responsible for end-to-end legal support of M&A and strategic transactions. It requires significant transactional experience to draft and negotiate deal documentation, lead legal due diligence, and serve as lead counsel on acquisitions, divestitures, investments, and strategic partnerships.

Requirements

J.D. from an accredited law school.
Active membership in good standing with at least one U.S. state bar (or in-house eligibility).
4–6 years of M&A and transactional experience from law firm, in-house, or both.
Proven ability to independently run deals and engage with senior business leadership.
Strong knowledge of U.S. M&A transactions and corporate law.
Advanced drafting and negotiation skills.
Ability to manage multiple deals and priorities independently.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
Business-oriented judgment with solutions-focused approach.
High professionalism, discretion, and confidentiality.
Strong written and verbal communication skills.
Ability to explain complex legal concepts to non-legal stakeholders.
Effective negotiation skills with counterparties and external counsel.

Nice To Haves

Experience with private company M&A.
Support experience in growth-stage, sponsor-backed, or acquisitive organizations.
Familiarity with cross-border transactions and regulations.
Experience improving legal processes and templates.

Responsibilities

Serve as lead legal counsel on mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, investments, and strategic transactions from diligence to closing and post-closing.
Draft, review, and negotiate NDAs, LOIs, term sheets, purchase agreements, merger agreements, disclosure schedules, and ancillary agreements (TSAs, employment, retention, equity-related).
Collaborate with Corporate Development, Finance, Tax, HR, IT, and senior management for transaction execution.
Lead and manage all legal due diligence workstreams including governance, contracts, litigation, compliance, employment, IP, data privacy, real estate, and financing.
Identify and communicate legal risks, issues, and mitigation strategies.
Oversee diligence reporting, issue tracking, remediation planning, and closing deliverables.
Manage deal timelines, workplans, and closing checklists.
Coordinate cross-functional inputs and stakeholders to proactively resolve legal issues.
Support post-closing integration and compliance obligations.
Prepare transaction materials for Board and committee review.
Assist with entity formation, reorganizations, and corporate housekeeping related to transactions.
Improve and maintain M&A legal processes, templates, and playbooks.
Support special legal projects and strategic initiatives outside active transactions.
Provide backup support during peak workload periods.
Participate in internal training, knowledge-sharing, and process improvements.
Assist with ad hoc legal research at senior leadership requests.