Senior Legal Counsel
About The Position
GreenWaste is seeking an experienced, business-oriented Senior Legal Counsel to join its growing in-house legal team. This high-impact role provides practical, strategic legal advice across corporate and operational matters, with a primary focus on commercial transactions, corporate governance, regulatory compliance, and strategic initiatives. The position partners closely with executive and operational leadership to enable business objectives while managing legal risk, and requires independent work, strong judgment, and clear, actionable guidance in a fast-paced, evolving environment. The Senior Legal Counsel supports a wide range of commercial agreements, strategic transactions, corporate matters, regulatory and compliance needs, litigation and outside counsel management, legal operations, training, and special projects. The role also helps improve legal processes and responsibly leverage technology and AI tools. It is primarily office-based, with standard business hours and some flexibility for evenings or weekends. Limited travel may be required.
Requirements
- J.D. from an accredited law school.
- Active membership in a U.S. state bar; California Bar admission or eligibility for in-house counsel registration within six months is required.
- At least 8 years of relevant legal experience.
- Strong expertise in commercial transactions and contract negotiation.
- Ability to provide clear, concise, practical legal guidance to non-legal stakeholders.
- Strong business acumen and ability to align legal advice with operational goals.
- Ability to work independently with sound judgment and prioritization skills.
- Effective communication, writing, editing, and presentation abilities.
- Proven ability to manage complex, high-volume workloads in a fast-paced environment.
- Experience managing outside counsel and legal spend.
- Strong organizational and project management skills.
- High level of integrity, discretion, and professionalism.
- English proficiency required.
- Technical proficiency with contract lifecycle management systems, matter management and e-billing tools, and Microsoft 365, including SharePoint.
Nice To Haves
- Prior in-house experience is strongly preferred; a combination of law firm and in-house experience is highly valued.
- Spanish proficiency is a plus but not required.
Responsibilities
- Draft, review, and negotiate complex commercial agreements, including customer and municipal contracts; vendor, procurement, and service agreements; real estate, access, purchase, and lease agreements; construction, engineering, and design-build agreements; and NDAs, MOUs, and LOIs.
- Provide practical, risk-balanced contract guidance aligned with business objectives.
- Support mergers, acquisitions, and other strategic transactions, including applicable regulatory filings such as HSR and CFIUS.
- Advise on corporate governance and entity management.
- Serve as a trusted advisor to senior leadership, including the CEO, CFO, COO, and functional vice presidents.
- Provide legal guidance on business development and growth initiatives, regulatory and compliance matters, employment and labor considerations in coordination with HR or legal specialists, real estate, licensing, marketing, and intellectual property.
- Translate legal concepts into practical business guidance.
- Monitor and advise on applicable laws and regulatory requirements, particularly in California.
- Identify, assess, and proactively manage legal and operational risks; support environmental, permitting, and regulatory matters as needed.
- Manage outside counsel on litigation and advisory matters; oversee matter tracking, budgeting, and invoice review.
- Support internal investigations and responses to regulatory inquiries.
- Maintain and optimize contract lifecycle management systems; develop and update templates, playbooks, and internal policies; improve legal processes; and responsibly use technology and AI tools to improve productivity.
- Train internal stakeholders on legal processes and compliance, and contribute to cross-functional initiatives and continuous improvement efforts.
- Support the General Counsel on strategic priorities and special projects; track performance metrics and contribute to legal department planning.
Benefits
- Paid time off
- Holiday pay
- 401(k) benefits
- Flexible spending account (FSA)
- Full employee coverage for medical insurance
- Full employee coverage for dental insurance
- Full employee coverage for vision insurance
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
Education Level
Ph.D. or professional degree
