Senior Paralegal, Corporate Contracts

Fortune Brands • Deerfield, IL

11h • $70,000 - $110,000

About The Position

The Senior Paralegal, Corporate Contracts provides support to the Corporate Legal Department with a primary focus on commercial contract review, drafting and negotiation support. This role manages contract intake workflows, drafts and redlines agreements, and partners cross‑functionally to drive timely, risk‑balanced outcomes. It requires excellent organization, independent judgment, and the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast‑paced environment. The position involves sensitive and confidential information and demands a high level of discretion.

Requirements

• 5+ years of hands‑on contract negotiation and review experience in a corporate legal department and/or law firm.
• Demonstrated proficiency drafting and redlining standard form agreements and addenda using Microsoft Word/Office.
• Proven ability to manage high‑volume contract workflows, meet deadlines, and balance multiple matters with minimal supervision.
• Demonstrated exceptional attention to detail, organization, and written communication skills; practical, business‑savvy judgment.
• Experienced engaging directly with internal business stakeholders and external vendors to resolve deal terms.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills; excellent attention to detail and accuracy, strong proofreading skills.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with commercial contracts across procurement/sourcing and sales/customer agreements, strongly preferred.
• Real estate contract experience (leases and related documents).
• Experience collaborating with IT/Security on data protection and vendor risk requirements.
• Graduation from an ABA‑approved paralegal certificate program strongly preferred; bachelor’s degree a plus.
• Customer‑centric communication; ability to translate legal risk into business terms.
• Influencing skills to drive alignment on standard positions while maintaining strong relationships.
• Continuous improvement mindset—refining templates, processes, and playbooks.
• High integrity and discretion handling confidential information.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, agile, team environment.
• Well-developed analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Must be flexible and comfortable with change.

Responsibilities

• Contract review: draft, analyze, and redline agreements (e.g., MSAs, SOWs, customer/sales, vendor/supplier, NDAs, SaaS/software licenses, marketing, distribution, logistics). Escalate non‑standard terms and propose practical alternatives. Assist in negotiating terms with suppliers and customers.
• Intake & workflow management: Own contract intake triage, tracking, and routing; maintain approval records and turnaround metrics.
• Template and playbook enablement: Maintain and improve standard templates, fallback clauses, and guidance notes; help deliver self‑service resources and guardrails for business partners.
• Issue spotting and risk alignment: Identify legal and business risks (e.g., indemnities, liability caps, termination, IP, data privacy/security, insurance) and recommend mitigations consistent with policy.
• Outside counsel coordination: Liaise with external counsel when needed and track assignments, deliverables, and budgets.
• Draft internal memos, summaries, reports and other correspondence. Prepare spreadsheets, timelines, presentations, contract management tracking.
• Cross‑functional partnership: Collaborate with Sourcing/Procurement, Sales, IT/Security, Finance, Tax, and Compliance to resolve deal issues and keep transactions on schedule.

Benefits

• In addition to base salary, employees will participate in either an annual bonus plan based on company and individual performance, or a role-based sales incentive plan.
• At Fortune Brands, we support the overall health and wellness of our associates by offering comprehensive, competitive benefits that prioritize all aspects of wellbeing and provide flexibility for our teammates’ unique needs. This includes robust health plans, a market-leading 401(k) program with a company contribution, product discounts, flexible time off benefits, adoption benefits, and more.
• We offer numerous ERGs (Employee Resource Groups) to foster a sense of belonging for all associates.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees