Corporate Counsel

Carver Companies Payroll; City of Albany (NY); Hybrid; USD 145,000 - 165,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Sign-on bonus

Annual bonus (25% target)

Medical, dental and vision coverage

401(k) with company match

Paid vacation, personal days and holid

Job summary

Carver Companies is seeking a Corporate Counsel to work with the CLO on the full legal scope of the business. The small legal team handles commercial agreements, real estate purchases, vessel charters, supply agreements, litigation support, and regulatory advice across multiple entities.

You will travel nationally and domestically (40–50% early on, then ~10–15%) and work in a hybrid model from Albany, NY or Chicago, IL. The role offers significant responsibility and broad exposure early on.

Qualifications

• Draft and negotiate commercial agreements across the group.
• Manage real estate transactions from LOI to closing.
• Support corporate governance and entity maintenance for a multi-entity group.
• Manage claims and litigation with insurers, brokers and outside counsel.
• Advise HR and operations on employment and regulatory matters.
• Build and maintain templates, playbooks and processes for the legal function.

Responsibilities

• Draft and negotiate commercial agreements across the group.
• Run real estate transactions from LOI to closing, including title and survey review, financing documents and closings with outside counsel.
• Support corporate governance and entity maintenance for a multi-entity group, including board materials, resolutions and filings.
• Manage claims and litigation with insurers, brokers and outside counsel, including tenders, reservations of rights and settlement.
• Advise HR and operations on employment, safety and regulatory matters as they arise.
• Build and maintain the templates, playbooks and processes a growing legal function needs.

Skills

Corporate law

Contract drafting

Contract negotiation

Real estate transactions

Corporate governance

Employment law basics

Education

Juris Doctor (JD)

Bar admission in New York preferred

Tools

Microsoft 365

SharePoint

DocuSign

Job description

Position Summary:

Carver Companies is a privately held industrial group headquartered in Albany, New York, with operations in ports and stevedoring, marine towing, quarrying and aggregates, construction, real estate and aviation across New York, South Carolina, Florida and Atlantic Canada. Legal is a small, senior team reporting directly to the Chief Legal Officer, and it touches every part of the business.

We're hiring a Corporate Counsel to work alongside the CLO on the full range of the company's legal work. Legal is a small team. There are no layers between you and the decisions. In a typical month you might close a commercial real estate purchase, paper a vessel charter, negotiate a supply agreement for a port customer, manage outside counsel on a piece of litigation, and advise an operating company GM on a contract he needs signed by Friday. If you want breadth, exposure and real responsibility early, this is that job.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Draft and negotiate commercial agreements across the group: sales and supply, services, leases, charters, NDAs, construction and vendor contracts
• Run real estate transactions from LOI to closing, including title and survey review, financing documents and closings with outside counsel
• Support corporate governance and entity maintenance for a multi-entity group, including board materials, resolutions and filings
• Manage claims and litigation with insurers, brokers and outside counsel, including tenders, reservations of rights and settlement
• Advise HR and operations on employment, safety and regulatory matters as they arise
• Build and maintain the templates, playbooks and processes a growing legal function needs

Required Qualifications:

• JD from an accredited law school and admission in good standing in a US jurisdiction. Admission in New York strongly preferred. Candidates admitted elsewhere in the US will be considered if willing to register as in-house counsel in New York (and Illinois, if Chicago-based) within six months of start; we'll support the process
• 3 to 7 years of post-admission experience in corporate, commercial or real estate practice, in-house or at a firm
• Comfortable owning matters end to end with a light touch from above, and candid about what you don't know
• Plain-English drafter and a practical, business-facing adviser
• Able to travel: approximately 40 to 50% in the first three months to learn the operations (Albany, Charleston, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia), settling to around 10 to 15% after that. Valid passport required
• Comfortable with Microsoft 365, SharePoint and DocuSign; experience with entity-management or contract-management platforms a plus
• Must be authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship, now and in the future

Location and Work Arrangement:

• Reports to the Chief Legal Officer. The CLO is Chicago-based and travels regularly, so you'll have real autonomy and a direct line to him, and you'll be expected to use both.
• Based in either Chicago, IL or Albany, NY, at our headquarters. Hybrid, with regular time in our operating locations. Relocation assistance is not offered for this role.

Compensation and benefits

• Base salary range: $145,000 to $165,000, depending on experience
• Sign-on bonus
• Annual bonus opportunity with a target of 25% of base salary, tied to company performance
• Medical, dental and vision coverage; 401(k) with company match; paid vacation, personal days and holidays; bar dues and CLE covered

Carver Companies is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status or any other protected characteristic.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this position.