Assistant General Counsel at Follett Corporation in Westchester, IL

Job Description

The Assistant General Counsel & Chief Labor Employment Counsel represents Follett Corporation including all business units. Performs complex legal, administrative and analytical work. Work involves planning and coordinating a variety of management and support activities to ensure prompt and effective actions involving legal services. May supervise the staff of the Legal department and serve as department head in absence of the General Counsel. This role will report directly to the General Counsel.

Position Responsibilities:

• Provides comprehensive legal services to internal departments of Follett Corporation. Works with General Counsel and/or handles complex advisory matters up to and including litigation. Analyzes the facts of cases and consults with management to provide advice and counsel.
• Interpret and provide advice and counsel on employment laws including but not limited to workplace harassment, discrimination, wage and hour, medical, military and personal leaves of absence, labor relations (grievances, arbitrations and union negotiations), reasonable accommodation, unemployment compensation, workers compensation, workplace violence, and safety (including COVID-19).
• Identifies and assesses legal risks and opportunities within the labor and employment area and advises so that management can make sound business decisions. May assign work to staff.
• Be a strategic partner with the business team as it works to develop new product and service offerings.
• Draft responses to EEOC and state agency discrimination charges. Develops strategy to defend claims and litigation.
• Oversees investigation and draft responses to OSHA and other governmental inquiries within United States and Canada relating to safety.
• Partners with stakeholders to comply with federal, state and local laws to comply with COVID-19 requirements, including but not limited to compliance with CDC, OSHA, state and local executive orders and guidelines.
• Manages litigation in single plaintiff and class/representative action employment lawsuits.
• Reviews, drafts, revises and negotiates contracts, agreements and other documents of Follett to ensure company assets and interests are protected.
• Interprets legal rulings, laws, rules and regulations with a concentration in employment and labor laws, in order to give opinions to company management and staff regarding policies, procedures and legal compliance.
• Oversees and manages employee investigations with the utmost discretion.
• Drafting and reviewing the full range of company policies, procedures and training. Reviews and edits internal business units' policies to ensure legal compliance and alignment with all other company policies.
• Contributor to the preparation and monitoring of the Department's strategic plan, budgets and performance reports. Prepares and/or assists in the preparation of the budget for the legal department.
• Liaise with business partners, compliance, operations, client support teams and other in-house counsel.

Requirements

• Prior background must include at least ten years of experience as an attorney in a law firm or as an in-house attorney with substantial experience in highly complex function(s) or business(es) with the types of matters detailed above, particularly labor and employment matters.
• Substantial knowledge of U.S. and Canadian labor and employment law.
• Knowledge of immigration law.
• Prior union negotiation experience and grievance handling.
• Outstanding academic and work credentials, stellar business acumen, and a proven record of successfully working with management to drive projects and processes forward in a lean, fast paced, team-oriented environment.
• Responsible for overall coordination and management of significantly complex issues of multiple work groups or departments within or across functions. Addresses issues that impact the medium to long-term direction of the function. Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including with respect to non-lawyers, and the ability to work independently or as a member of a team.
• Acts as the lead resource to people, projects and management team and employees. Collaborates with management team to develop business strategies and goals. Decisions and work impact the entire business or company.
• Generally supported by managers/professionals. Constitutes the second level position within the legal function. Broad scope and impact within a business or enterprise. Manages the work efforts of supervisory personnel.

Other Requirements:

• Licensed in good standing to practice law in the State of Illinois
• Strong interpersonal relations and written and oral communications
• Proven ability to prioritize workload and manage competing priorities
• Strong capability to perform legal research on Internet and legal websites and draw appropriate conclusions from findings
• Ability to maintain confidentiality
• Demonstrated problem solving capabilities
• Strong influencing skills
• Moderate travel may be required