Vice President, Senior Commercial Counsel

Ares Management Corporation•Los Angeles, CA

3d•$250,000 - $300,000

About The Position

Ares Management Corporation is seeking an experienced commercial attorney to join its Legal team as the primary legal advisor and functional lead for the vendor contracting program. Reporting to the Associate General Counsel, Enterprise Legal, the Senior Commercial Counsel will oversee a high-volume contract review function while personally reviewing, drafting and negotiating vendor and other commercial agreements. The role supervises a team of contract professionals and partners closely with business stakeholders and Legal colleagues. The position will lead the development of a future-state operating model for vendor contract review, including evaluating processes, workflows, external service providers, contract lifecycle management systems, artificial intelligence and other legal technologies. The successful candidate will combine strong commercial contracting expertise with experience leading a large-scale contract review function and an interest in using technology, process design and innovative service-delivery models to improve the quality, efficiency and scalability of legal services.

Requirements

Juris Doctor (JD) from an accredited law school.
Bachelor's degree.
Admission and good standing in at least one U.S. state bar.
8–10+ years of legal experience, including significant experience reviewing, drafting and negotiating vendor and other commercial agreements.
Demonstrated experience leading or materially overseeing a large-scale, high-volume commercial or vendor contract review program; annual volume exceeding approximately 5,000 contracts is preferred.
Significant hands-on experience negotiating complex technology, software, SaaS, professional services and other vendor agreements.
Experience supervising and developing attorneys, paralegals, contract administrators or other contract professionals.
Demonstrated experience designing, scaling or materially improving commercial contracting processes and operating models.
Strong understanding of contract lifecycle management systems and technology-enabled contracting workflows, with fluency in AI and other emerging technologies applicable to contract review and legal service delivery.
Strong stakeholder-management experience, including interaction with senior leadership and cross-functional business partners.
Ability to provide practical, solutions-based legal advice and collaborate strategically with business partners on legal and commercial considerations.
Ability to work autonomously and as part of a larger team.
Ability to plan, execute and manage complex projects and organizational change, and obtain stakeholder buy-in.
Excellent interpersonal, written and verbal communication skills.
Excellent time-management and organizational skills.
Excellent contract review, drafting and negotiation skills.
Critical thinking, issue-spotting ability and strong attention to detail.
Ability to manage and prioritize multiple priorities and competing or shifting demands.
Strong people-management skills and ability to develop high-performing teams.
Appreciation for process design, implementation and continuous improvement.
Technology-forward mindset and interest in innovative legal service delivery.
Growth mindset and desire to learn, improve and take on new challenges.

Nice To Haves

Experience managing external counsel, alternative legal service providers or other outsourced contracting resources.

Responsibilities

Review, draft and negotiate vendor and commercial agreements, including master services agreements, statements of work, software and SaaS agreements, technology agreements, professional services agreements and NDAs.
Serve as a senior escalation point for complex or higher-risk vendor contracts and provide practical advice on contractual and commercial risk.
Ensure vendor contracts reflect Ares' standards, policies and risk tolerances while supporting commercial objectives.
Partner with Procurement, Technology, Information Security, Privacy, Finance and other business functions on vendor contracting matters.
Develop and maintain contract templates, playbooks, fallback positions and escalation guidelines.
Lead and supervise contract professionals responsible for day-to-day vendor contract review, drafting and negotiation.
Personally review and negotiate contracts while managing, developing and supporting the contract review team.
Establish standards, workflows and escalation protocols, and provide guidance and coaching to team members.
Monitor contract volume, turnaround times, workload allocation and performance indicators.
Build stakeholder relationships and act as a primary Legal contact for the vendor contract review process.
Develop and implement a scalable, efficient and technology-enabled operating model for vendor contracting.
Evaluate AI, contract review, workflow automation and other legal technology solutions.
Partner with Legal Operations, Technology and other stakeholders to optimize CLM functionality, workflows and integrations, and lead or support improvements.
Evaluate and, where appropriate, oversee external legal service providers, law firms and other resources supporting vendor contract review.
Identify opportunities to streamline reviews and improve stakeholder experience while managing legal and commercial risk.
Develop and use metrics and reporting to assess the contracting function and identify continuous improvement opportunities.
Keep current on CLM technology, AI-assisted contract review and developments in legal service delivery.