We have an exciting new opportunity for a Legal Associate. The Legal Associate is a senior, non-attorney legal professional who provides high-level legal and administrative support to the Legal Services department and the business units it serves. Operating with a high degree of independence, this role manages complex legal documentation and processes, contract lifecycles and budgetary process matters, and serves as a subject-matter resource for document management, and process improvement. The Legal Associate routinely exercises independent judgment on matters of moderate complexity and escalates novel or high-risk issues to Counsel. This role may also mentor and provide functional guidance to more junior Legal Associate team members.
What You'll DoLegal Documentation Support- Support with legal documentation, including preparing, reviewing and revising various commercial and transactional agreements.
- Maintain and administer the contract lifecycle, ensuring execution and the accurate tracking of key dates, renewals and approval workflows.
- Coordinate cross-functionally with business unit stakeholders to move legal documentation through creation to execution efficiently.
Budgetary and External Counsel Spend Matters- Prepare various legal process documentation to support the approval, tracking and reporting of external counsel spend, including legal retainer agreements, matter budget worksheets and external legal spend approval forms.
- Assist with legal budget matters including support in budget preparation, cost tracking and reporting.
Documentation & Process Improvement- Develop and maintain templates, playbooks, checklists and precedent libraries to improve consistency and turnaround time across the legal team.
- Identify opportunities to streamline legal intake, workflow, and reporting processes, and lead or support implementation of approved improvements.
Leadership & Collaboration- Act as a mentor and technical resource for Legal Associate I/II staff, reviewing work product and supporting their development.
- Build and maintain effective working relationships with internal business partners.
- Represent the Legal department on cross-functional working groups or projects as assigned.
Minimum Qualifications- Paralegal Diploma/Certificate from an accredited program, or equivalent post-secondary education in law clerk/legal studies, required.
- Paralegal designation/licensing (e.g., Law Clerk designation or provincial paralegal certification), an asset.
- Minimum 6-8 years of progressive experience in a corporate legal department, law firm, or regulatory environment, including demonstrated experience operating at an advanced/senior support level.
- Prior experience in the energy, utilities, or a similarly regulated industry is strongly preferred.
- Demonstrated experience independently managing contracts and budgetary matters with minimal supervision.
Preferred Qualifications- Excellent legal writing, drafting, and verbal communication skills, with the ability to translate legal concepts for non-legal audiences.
- Strong organizational skills and sound judgment in prioritizing a high-volume, varied workload with competing deadlines.
- Proficiency with contract lifecycle management (CLM) tools, entity management software, and Microsoft 365 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint).
- High degree of discretion and integrity when handling confidential and privileged information.
- Collaborative, solutions-oriented approach with the ability to build credibility with senior stakeholders.
To remain competitive, support our high-performance culture and allow for more flexibility in the way we work, we offer a hybrid work model and flexible dress code for our eligible office-based workforce in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico. #LI-Hybrid
