Corporate Counsel (Contracts Negotiation and Administration)
The Role
CEG is seeking an in-house attorney to serve as a practical legal resource to the business. This includes (1) owning contract intake, legal review, redlines, internal alignment, approvals, and signature, (2) leading negotiations and driving execution across our portfolio, including prime contracts, subcontracts, vendor agreements, and proposal/RFP terms, and (3) providing general business legal support across the company (day-to-day legal guidance, issue-spotting, and coordination with outside counsel as appropriate).
You are a pragmatic, firm negotiator who can protect CEG's non-negotiables, reduce unnecessary customization, and craft smart compromises when exceptions are required. You'll provide legal guidance on risk allocation, compliance, and contract interpretation, and partner closely with sales/business development, project development, construction, consulting, finance, risk/insurance, and senior leadership (coordinating with outside counsel as needed) to move agreements to signature quickly without compromising risk posture.
Core Responsibilities
1. Negotiation Leadership
• Review third-party contracts, including prime agreements, RFPs/solicitation terms, subcontracts, purchase orders, professional services agreements, consulting agreements, and change order/amendments.
• Identify and clearly communicate legal, financial, schedule, and operational risks. Propose specific, actionable redlines aligned to CEG's risk framework.
• Coordinate internal reviews and approvals (project team, operations, finance, risk/insurance, leadership, and outside counsel when needed).
• Ensure all approved redlines are correctly reflected in the final execution copies and attachments/exhibits.
2. Subcontract Support & Flow-Down Governance
• Support subcontract negotiations and ensure subcontract and vendor agreements appropriately flow down applicable prime contract obligations and protections.
• Support proposal/RFP responses by reviewing T&Cs, developing exceptions/clarifications, and aligning commercial positions with pricing, schedule, and delivery assumptions.
• Own the "contracts out for execution" pipeline. Remove blockers, chase open items, and maintain momentum to signature.
• Ensure executed agreements are stored in a centralized, searchable repository with appropriate access and version control. In addition, ensure signed agreements are stored in the appropriate project folder.
3. Legal Advisory & Internal Counsel Support
• Provide day-to-day legal support and contract compliance management on broader business matters, as needed (e.g., corporate governance, employment-related issues spotting in partnership with HR, vendor disputes, compliance/ethics questions, etc.).
• Maintain a simple intake/triage process for legal requests; prioritize issues, track status, and communicate clear guidance and next steps to stakeholders.
• Support claims/disputes and formal notice strategy by partnering with project leadership (and outside counsel when needed) while keeping business objectives and risk posture aligned.
• Develop and maintain internal contracting policies, playbooks, and approval thresholds; train stakeholders on standard positions, escalation triggers, and contracting hygiene.
4. AI-Enabled Efficiency (With Reasonable Controls)
• Use AI to accelerate first-pass issue spotting, clause comparisons, summarization, and drafting-while independently validating outputs and exercising judgement.
• Establish and maintain internal "safe use" guidelines for AI in contract review (confidentiality and privilege controls, verification steps, approved use cases).
• Build lightweight automations (e.g., clause extraction, status reporting, redline checklists) that improve speed and consistency without compromising accuracy.
What You Bring
• Juris Doctor (JD) from an ABA-accredited law school required. Active license to practice law in at least one U.S. jurisdiction (in good standing) required. The successful candidate will be required to register as Virginia Corporate Counsel (bar exam not required).
• 5-10+ years of relevant legal experience (in-house and/or law firm), including commercial and government contracting and negotiation in construction, energy services, energy consulting, etc.
• Exceptional written communication, redline discipline, and ability to synthesize complex risk into clear recommendations.
• Highly organized and comfortable building and maintaining contract trackers, dashboards, and contracting workflows.
• Demonstrated ability to balance AI tools for speed while validating accuracy and applying independent judgement.
• Preferred: experience in ESCO/EPC/construction environments, public-sector or federal contracting, and/or contract flow-downs.
• Preferred: Familiarity with bonding/surety concepts and risk/insurance coordination.
Location & Travel
This role is designed to operate largely in a remote capacity, with periodic travel to our headquarters (Arlington, VA or Denver, CO) as needed to support critical negotiations.
