Senior Corporate Counsel

Summary

The Senior Counsel is an integral part of the SPINS legal team and a trusted business partner to the company. They operate with a high degree of autonomy and provide day-to-day advice and guidance to help the company meet its objectives through a deep understanding of the business, knowledge of the laws and regulations applicable to the business, sound judgment, and analytical skills. They work with the other members of the legal team to mitigate risk, protect the organization's interests, and maintain its operations within the scope established by law and contractual obligations.

The Senior Counsel independently manages a broad range of legal matters, escalating issues appropriately for novel, high-risk, or strategic decisions. They provide hands-on counsel to colleagues throughout the business and work on a variety of legal matters, including the company's general commercial practices, employment, IP, insurance, etc. They also lead and manage the development and implementation of processes, systems, and tools to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the legal team. They support the development of practices, guidelines, and policies to ensure the company is compliant with relevant federal and state laws and regulations, as well as applicable contractual obligations.

Job Duties & Responsibilities

• Own and manage day-to-day commercial activities. This role holds primary responsibility for the company's commercial contracting function. Independently draft, review, negotiate, apply, and enforce commercial, data licensing, SaaS, and vendor agreements with minimal supervision. Own the negotiation of form commercial and data licensing agreements in support of sales and retailer recruiting. Manage contract interpretation, risk exposure, and deal structuring guidance provided to business stakeholders.
• Direct and oversee intellectual property matters. This role holds primary responsibility for protection and enforcement of company IP, including trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, and licensed data rights. Own negotiation of IP ownership, license scope, and derivative work provisions in commercial and vendor agreements. Serve as the accountable legal owner for IP clearance and infringement risk guidance to product, marketing, and engineering. Own coordination with outside IP counsel on application filings, prosecution, and enforcement matters.
• Drive and administer corporate processes and projects. Lead process improvement initiatives, including legal templates, contract workflows, and document management systems, and train internal teams on their use. Contribute to ad hoc corporate projects requiring legal input.
• Support M&A due diligence, documentation, and integration. Conduct or coordinate legal due diligence for acquisition targets, including contract review. Draft and review transaction documentation, including disclosure schedules and ancillary agreements. Lead post-close integration workstreams for acquired entities, including contract migration to company paper, policy harmonization, and system/process consolidation across Legal, Sales, Finance, and Product.
• Provide support on privacy and data protection matters. Advise on U.S. and international privacy requirements. Draft and maintain privacy policies and documentation. Partner with IT, Security, and Product to identify and mitigate privacy and data protection risks, including employee and customer data.
• Support the development and maintenance of the company's AI governance framework, including AI use policies, vendor AI tool evaluations, and AI-specific contract provisions.
• Support internal and external policy development and implementation.
• Support outside counsel management, including litigation matters.
• Collaborate with HR on employee-related legal matters.
• Monitor legal and regulatory developments affecting company compliance, including privacy, data security, and commercial regulatory requirements.
• Foster a workplace with high ethical and legal standards, promoting respect, inclusion, confidentiality, and integrity.

Requirements:

Education & Experience

• 5+ years of legal experience in a corporate or law firm setting, including prior experience providing commercial transactions counsel in-house and/or at a law firm.
• Licensed to practice law in Illinois.
• J.D. from an accredited law school and Bachelor's degree.
• Experience drafting transactional documents, especially commercial, licensing, vendor, services, and other business-to-business agreements.
• Proven ability to manage high volumes of simultaneous projects efficiently, with minimal supervision.
• Able to work autonomously, issue spot, and resolve complex legal and business issues in a practical, business-focused manner.
• Experience translating creative or complex business ideas into clear, concise written work product.
• Able to work autonomously, issue spot, and resolve complex legal and business issues in a practical, business-focused manner, translating creative or complex business ideas into clear, concise written work product.
• Able to juggle competing priorities and adjust priorities as the business requires.
• Detail-oriented, well-organized, and able to manage time efficiently.
• Experience with business and legal technology tools (e.g., Salesforce).
• Able to maintain discretion and confidentiality.

The following is strongly preferred:

• Data licensing and SaaS contract experience a plus.
• In-house experience a plus.

Work Arrangement: This is a hybrid role. Team members are expected to work in the Chicago office a minimum of three days per week.

Salary Range: $180,000-$190,000

#LI-AO1 #LI-Remote

What SPINS Offers

We have enjoyed tremendous growth over the years and, as a leader in a fast-growing industry, we have no plans to slow down! While all that growth brings excitement, it is also an opportunity for SPINS to show it values the health and wellness of its team members.

• We embrace hybrid work options so that you have the flexibility to create a work/life balance that actually works!
• Each employee is allotted paid time to use to volunteer with an organization of their choice and charitable donations are matched.
• Semi-annual company-wide employee survey that is used to shape company programs, perks, and culture.

The SPINS Way

• Direct - We communicate with clarity, honesty and respect in all situations and embrace opportunities to provide solution-oriented feedback.
• Determined - We are committed to overcoming all obstacles to achieve results. We adapt to change, seek opportunities to learn and rapidly translate that learning into action.
• Passionate - We go above and beyond to help our partners achieve their goals. We challenge assumptions and are comfortable forging new paths.
• Collaborative - We leave our egos at the door, believing that working together we will produce an outcome that's greater than each individual contribution.