Assistant General Counsel

Description

Reporting to the VP, General Counsel, the Assistant General Counsel will have an integrated role, working across the company to provide legal expertise, risk management, and regulatory governance. The Assistant General Counsel will help to increase and maintain the company’s reputation, ensuring compliance, legal conformity, and diminished probability of exposure. Success in this role will be determined by a dedication to internal best practices, combined with a constant focus on GS1 Canada’s business success and legal obligations. GS1 Canada is looking for an entrepreneurial, inquisitive, and analytical Lawyer to join the legal team as a critical member in negotiating with subscribers and service providers, contributing to and maintaining best practices, and enabling business strategic goals while minimizing risk.

Expectations of this role are to, under the direction and guidance of VP General Counsel, be responsive to needs across the business, including but not limited to: drafting/creating documents, refining existing documents and policies, negotiating on behalf of GS1 Canada to protect GS1 Canada’s interests and reduce and manage risks, attending and monitoring external meetings, and reducing potential financial and/or legal exposure.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide accurate and timely legal counsel to the business on a variety of topics such as but not limited to contract law, IP, anti-competition, trademarks, and privacy law;
• Draft, review, and negotiate on behalf of GS1 Canada with external stakeholders, including third-party vendors;
• Develop and guide business partners in developing and maintaining legally compliant policies, procedures, contracts, and communications to satisfy corporate legal responsibilities, including bridging gaps in existing policies;
• Leading compliance with applicable regulatory requirements on an ongoing basis, including forecasting the impact of pending provincial and federal legislation, devising risk management and effective regulatory compliance strategies, and meeting legal requirements where cross-functional deployment/implementation of compliance actions are required across the business (e.g., (but not limited to) AODA, privacy policies, changes to Competition Act, French language requirements, employment law requirements, Not for Profit Act, and applicable global compliance);
• Research unique legal issues impacting the organization by identifying applicable statutes, judicial decisions, and codes;
• Review Statements of Work (SOWs), Master Service Agreements (MSAs), and other third-party agreements where required;
• Analyze and communicate risk analysis with respect to contractual engagements to VP, General Counsel and applicable business partners;
• Manage terms and conditions with respect to third-party vendors, including tracking of existing and expiring agreements, monitoring of supplier responsibility and obligations with respect to contractual obligations, SLA’s and performance quality;
• Support and enable the delivery of policies, processes, and training with respect to legal risk mitigation and working to continuously improve pre-emptive risk reduction and consideration across the business with respect to external engagements and internal processes;
• Work collaboratively with internal partners as necessary to reduce legal risk;
• Other duties, as required.

Skills, Knowledge & Expertise

• Law degree from an accredited Canadian or American law school;
• Minimum 2 years’ experience at a top-tier firm or in-house experience;
• Called to the bar in Ontario, Canada; Member in good standing to practice law;
• At least 2 years’ prior experience and proficiency in drafting legal contracts, terms and conditions, SOWs, MSAs, and other agreements as required to protect legal interests and reduce liability related to such matters as intellectual property, liability, privacy, and other contract matters;
• Knowledge of regulatory policies across multiple jurisdictions to assess potential business impact;
• Experience in business law, and/or not for profit law, and a familiarity with regulatory reporting within a technology field;
• Robust knowledge of corporate and contract law, and exposure to IT/IP law;
• Strong negotiator and has led/facilitated multiple contract negotiations;
• Boundless professionalism and a capacity to multitask and manage time effectively using prioritization;
• Conduct work with integrity and responsibility;
• High degree of professional ethics, accountability, and integrity;
• Ability to work well on your own but enjoy participating in a dynamic and fast-paced team environment;
• Strong teamwork and collaboration skills to work across the organization and lead cross-functional teams;
• Strong communication skills to communicate complex and/or controversial topics and concepts to a wide and diverse audience both internally and externally;
• Exceptional organizational abilities, prioritization techniques;
• Innovative and resourceful with a strong sense of corporate awareness. A strong passion and attitude for understanding the complexities of high growth or software development companies.

About GS1 Canada

GS1 Canada is committed to helping all employees, customers, stakeholders, and subscribers in an effective and timely manner by preventing and removing barriers for persons with disabilities. Our policies and practices are intended to foster diversity, inclusiveness, and accessibility, while also ensuring that the workplace is free from discrimination and harassment.