Legal Counsel, Real Estate (12-Month Contract)

Sobeys; Mississauga; Hybrid; CAD 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A prominent Canadian grocery retailer is seeking a skilled legal professional in Mississauga to provide legal services that support business objectives and mitigate risks. This role requires a law degree and substantial legal experience. The candidate should possess strong negotiation skills and be comfortable working with diverse teams. This position offers a hybrid work model and a comprehensive Total Rewards package including competitive benefits and professional development resources.

Benefits

Comprehensive Benefits Package

10% in-store discount

Virtual Health Care Access

Learning and Development Resources

Parental leave top-up

Qualifications

• Minimum 8 years of experience in private practice or in-house roles.
• Experience in purchase and sale transactions and lease negotiations is preferred.
• Strong academic background with practical in-house experience.

Responsibilities

• Deliver legal services to support business goals and minimize risks.
• Oversee resolution of complex legal issues.
• Advise on drafting and negotiating agreements.

Skills

Legal issue management

Negotiation skills

Communication

Relationship building

Education

Law degree (LL.B)

Membership in Ontario Bar Association

Undergraduate degree

Job description

Requisition ID: 191653
Career Group: Corporate Office Careers
Job Category: Legal Real Estate
Travel Requirements: 0 - 10%
Job Type: Full-Time

Country: Canada (CA)
Province: Ontario
City: Mississauga
Location: Tahoe Office

Overview

Embark on a rewarding career with Sobeys Inc., celebrated among Canada’s Top 100 employers, where your talents contribute to our commitment to excellence and community impact. Our family of 128,000 employees and franchise affiliates share a collective passion for delivering exceptional shopping experiences and amazing food to all our customers. Our mission is to nurture the things that make life better – great experiences, families, communities, and our employees. We are a family nurturing families. A proudly Canadian company, we started in a small town in Nova Scotia but we are now in communities of all sizes across this great country. With over 1,600 stores in all 10 provinces, you may know us as Sobeys, Safeway, IGA, Foodland, FreshCo, Thrifty Foods, Lawtons Drug Stores or another of our great banners but we are all one extended family.

Ready to Make an impact?

We’re looking for a skilled legal professional to join our team under the leadership of the Director, Legal, Real Estate. In this role, you’ll provide a wide range of legal services to help achieve business objectives and minimize legal risks for the company.

Please note: This is a temporary opportunity to cover a maternity leave for a term of 12 months.

Responsibilities

• Deliver a broad range of legal services on matters involving Sobeys, supporting business goals and minimizing legal risk in coordination with Real Estate, Operational leaders, and key members of the Executive and Leadership teams.
• Provide functional legal support to business leaders and employees across all retail banners, distribution centres, and other real estate assets in all regions outside of Quebec, including coordination of projects involving Crombie REIT.
• Oversee the resolution of complex, sensitive, and occasionally ambiguous legal issues with potential business risk.
• Advise on legal matters impacting the business, including drafting and negotiating a variety of agreements with internal and external stakeholders (e.g., leases, purchase and sale documents, non-disturbance agreements).
• Assist the Director and SVP Legal with, or lead, process improvement initiatives—including the review and update of real estate precedent documents.
• Advise business leaders on potential risks in dispute resolution and direct litigation matters involving Sobeys, including oversight and management of external legal partners.
• Lead, manage, or delegate work to paralegals and support staff, providing day-to-day direction on specific files.
• Support the legal department in areas such as the Code of Conduct, litigation matters, and internal ethics/conflict policies.

What you have to offer

• Undergraduate degree and a minimum of 8 years of experience gained through a combination of private practice and/or in-house roles.
• Proven ability to manage a broad range of legal issues and work closely with business leaders.
• Experience in purchase and sale transactions and negotiating leasing agreements is preferred.
• Strong academic background and law firm training, followed by in-house experience, ideally within a retail environment.
• Law degree (LL.B) and membership in good standing with the Ontario Bar Association.
• Exceptional communication and relationship-building skills.
• Comfort working in a retail environment and confidence engaging with all levels of the organization.

#LI-Hybrid #LI-LM1

At Sobeys we require our teammates to have the ability to adhere to a hybrid work model that requires your presence at one of our office locations at least three days per week. This requirement is integral to our commitment to team collaboration and the overall success of our office culture.

We offer a comprehensive Total Rewards package, which varies by role and designed to help our teammates to live better – physically, financially and emotionally.

Some websites share our job opportunities and may provide salary estimates without our knowledge. These estimates are based on similar jobs and postings for general comparison, but these numbers are not provided by our organization nor monitored for accuracy.

We will consider factors such as your working location, work experience and skills as well as internal equity, and market conditions to ensure the selected candidate is paid fairly and competitively. We look forward to discussing the specific compensation details relevant to this role with candidates who are selected to move forward in the recruitment process.

Our Total Rewards programs, for full-time teammates, goes well beyond your paycheque:

• Competitive Benefits Package, tailored to meet your needs, including health and dental coverage, life, short- and long-term disability insurance.
• Access to Virtual Health Care Platform and Employee and Family Assistance Program.
• A Retirement and Savings Plan that provides you with the opportunity to build and add value to your savings.
• A 10% in-store discount at our participating banners and access to a wide range of other discount programs, making your purchases more affordable.
• Learning and Development Resources to fuel your professional growth.
• Parental leave top-up
• Paid Vacation and Days-off

We are committed to accommodating applicants with disabilities throughout the hiring process and will work with applicants requesting accommodation at any stage of this process.