Deputy General Counsel: Corporate & Growth Strategy

Solutus Legal Search; New York (NY); On-site; USD 300,000 - 340,000; Full time

Job summary

Our client, a leading charter school network in New York City, is seeking a Deputy General Counsel to lead its growing legal function. The role reports to the Chief Legal Officer and will oversee a team of attorneys, manage corporate matters, and modernize operations with AI and contract management systems.

The ideal candidate is a sophisticated corporate generalist with at least 8 years of experience, J.D., and strong leadership, drafting, and negotiation skills.

Qualifications

• Active membership in good standing with at least one U.S. state bar.
• 8+ years of significant legal experience, including in-house and at a leading law firm.
• Strong corporate generalist with governance, finance, IP, real estate, and other enterprise matters.
• Proven leadership, mentoring, and process-improvement capabilities.
• Experience implementing legal technology and AI-enabled workflows.

Responsibilities

• Serve as senior advisor to the Chief Legal Officer and set strategic priorities for the legal department.
• Oversee corporate legal matters including commercial agreements, procurement, finance, IP, tax, governance, and enterprise transactions.
• Manage, mentor, and develop a team of attorneys and legal professionals.
• Advise on complex corporate structures, governance, and relationships among entities and boards.
• Provide guidance on financing, real estate, facilities, and strategic initiatives including geographic expansion.
• Partner with executives to deliver practical, commercially-oriented legal advice.
• Lead modernization of legal operations via contract management systems, intake processes, workflow automation, and AI tools.
• Develop scalable processes and knowledge management to track matters and drive data-driven decisions.
• Establish clear responsibilities and coordination across legal functions.
• Manage outside counsel and represent legal in senior leadership discussions.

Skills

Corporate generalist

Executive presence

Drafting & negotiation

Team leadership

Legal tech adoption

Education

J.D. from a top law school

Tools

Contract management systems

AI-enabled workflows

Job description

Our client, a leading charter school network in New York City, is seeking a Deputy General Counsel to lead its growing legal function. The role reports to the Chief Legal Officer and will oversee a team of attorneys, manage corporate matters, and modernize operations with AI and contract management systems.

The ideal candidate is a sophisticated corporate generalist with at least 8 years of experience, J.D., and strong leadership, drafting, and negotiation skills.