General Counsel - Big Law

JCW Group; Greenwich (CT); Hybrid; USD 250,000 - 350,000; Full time

Job summary

JCW Group's client, a leading international law firm, seeks its first General Counsel to establish and develop the GC function, shaping how the global partnership manages legal, reputational and commercial risk.

This is a hybrid role with a minimum of two days in the office weekly. The ideal candidate will be a US-qualified attorney with 10+ years in a law firm GC function, capable of building structure and trusted cross-firm collaboration.

Qualifications

• US-qualified attorney with bar admission in the United States.
• 10+ years of experience in a law firm general counsel function.
• Ability to operate without a playbook and set priorities amid ambiguity.
• Excellent judgment, integrity and strong commercial acumen.

Responsibilities

• Build the firm’s first General Counsel Office from a blank page, defining scope and structure.
• Advise leadership and governance bodies on legal, ethical and reputational matters.
• Lead responses to claims, litigation, investigations and regulatory inquiries.
• Define the interface with Global Risk & Compliance and align on responsibilities.
• Manage external counsel relationships and legal spend.
• Establish trust across a partnership that has not previously had a GC.

Skills

Legal leadership

Strategic advisor

Risk management

Governance

Education

US-qualified attorney

Job description

Our client is a leading international law firm with over 1500 employees spread across US, Europe, Asia and other jurisdictions. As the firm evolves, they are looking to hire their first General Counsel to establish and develop the general counsel function. This is a rare chance to build a legal function from the ground up and shape how a global partnership manages legal, reputational and commercial risk.

This is a hybrid role requiring minimum 2 days in office per week. The ideal candidate is either a current General Counsel, Deputy General Counsel or Associate General Counsel in a mid-large size global law firm.

Responsibilities

• Build the firm’s first General Counsel's Office from a blank page: define its scope, structure, priorities and ways of working, and decide what to handle in-house versus externally
• Advise leadership and governance bodies on significant legal, ethical, reputational and commercial matters
• Lead the response to professional liability and malpractice claims, material litigation, investigations and regulatory inquiries, working with insurers and brokers
• Define the working relationship with the Global Risk & Compliance Director, agreeing where legal and risk responsibilities sit and how the two functions work together
• Manage external counsel relationships and legal spend
• Build trust and credibility across a partnership that has not had a general counsel before, positioning the function as a pragmatic, commercially minded partner

Requirements

• US-qualified attorney
• 10+ years experience in a law firm general counsel function
• Comfortable operating without a playbook, setting priorities in ambiguous situations and creating structure and process as you go
• Excellent judgment, integrity and commercial acumen, with the ability to turn complex issues into clear, practical advice
• A global outlook, resilience and adaptability