Legal Counsel

Avery Dennison; Kentucky; On-site; USD 164,000 - 244,900; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health & wellness benefits starting on day 1

Paid parental leave

401K eligibility

Tuition reimbursement

Employee Assistance Program

Paid vacation and holidays

Job summary

Avery Dennison is seeking a skilled lawyer to partner with their Solutions Group. This role involves providing proactive legal advice, managing outside counsel, and overseeing legal matters for their intelligent labels, apparel solutions, and identification solutions divisions.

The ideal candidate will have over 8 years of legal experience, a J.D. degree, and expertise in drafting complex commercial contracts. The position is based in Kentucky and offers competitive salary and benefits.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of legal experience, ideally in manufacturing or retail.
• Experience drafting and negotiating complex commercial contracts.
• Licensed to practice law in the state of residence.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a trusted advisor on legal matters to business teams.
• Draft, review, and negotiate complex contracts and agreements.
• Manage outside counsel on litigation and strategic projects.

Skills

Contract negotiation

Legal compliance

Commercial contracts

Litigation management

Strategic legal guidance

Education

J.D. degree from an accredited law school

Tools

Ironclad contract management platform

Job description

Benefits

• Health & wellness benefits starting on day 1 of employment
• Paid parental leave
• 401K eligibility
• Tuition reimbursement
• Employee Assistance Program eligibility / Health Advocate
• Paid vacation and paid holidays

Position Overview

We are seeking an experienced, skilled, and highly motivated lawyer to partner with and provide proactive legal advice to Avery Dennison’s Solutions Group (SG) businesses (our Intelligent Labels, Apparel Solutions, Identification Solutions, and Vestcom divisions) in North America. In this role, you will work closely with senior leaders, others in the business, and the Law Department on all legal matters and manage outside counsel on specific projects and litigation as a key member of the Americas legal team.

Reporting

This position reports to the Vice President & Associate General Counsel, Americas.

Primary Responsibilities

• Serve as a trusted advisor to the North American SG business teams, providing sound, business-focused, and strategic guidance on legal matters to senior leadership, functional leaders, and others in sales, marketing, procurement, finance, IT, and HR. Matters include commercial contracts and disputes; digitalization of products, services, and the workplace; data privacy and AI governance; ESG issues; marketing and advertising; information technology; antitrust/competition; product liability and compliance; EHS; and labor and employment.
• Identify and effectively communicate risks and legal developments to senior leadership, functional leaders, and colleagues in the Law Department and work closely with them to provide and implement strategic and pragmatic legal advice.
• Review and analyze complicated legal issues quickly and effectively, working calmly under pressure to provide timely and appropriate legal advice.
• Draft, review, and negotiate a variety of complex contracts, including purchase and sale, consulting, software licensing, integrated/bundled solution agreements combining hardware, software, and consumables, strategic customer agreements with major brands and retailers, strategic procurement and reseller agreements, and contracts related to digital services (SaaS, terms of use, license agreements, service agreements, data rights).
• Lead strategic projects and initiatives related to legal, compliance, and/or regulatory matters.
• Assist in the improvement of legal support processes, templates, and client‑facing materials to drive greater internal efficiencies.
• Develop and deliver training to internal clients on various legal and regulatory topics.
• Partner with other in-house counsel on a wide variety of issues related to the business.
• Manage and oversee outside counsel on litigation matters and other strategic projects, including budgeting, forecasting, and managing outside counsel spend.
• Contribute to a positive working environment within the Legal Department, cultivating an environment that supports diversity, trust, and respect.
• Travel < 25%; could fluctuate depending on circumstances.

Essential Qualifications

• J.D. degree from an accredited law school.
• Licensed to practice law in the state in which the candidate resides.
• Experience drafting and negotiating complex commercial contracts in a manufacturing, retail, CPG, or technology environment.
• 8+ years of legal experience.
• Ability to effectively manage a variety of legal matters.
• Experience conducting or managing litigation.

Preferred Qualifications

A combination of legal and business skills enabling active membership of one or more business leadership teams.

Experience with integrated agreements combining hardware, software, and consumables, and with strategic brand and retailer customer contracts.

Experience working with IT-related agreements, including SaaS, system integration agreements, and agreements related to the purchase of IT services and the sale/provision of digital solutions.

Familiarity with contract lifecycle management platforms (e.g., Ironclad) and legal AI tools.

Experience with M&A transactions, including post-acquisition integration activities.

• Strong prioritization, delegation, and workload‑management skills, with consistent responsiveness across a high‑volume, multi‑business portfolio.
• Strong communication skills.
• Proactive, business‑oriented approach.
• Commitment to Avery Dennison’s core values of Integrity, Courage, External Focus, Diversity, Teamwork, Sustainability, Innovation, and Excellence.

Salary

The salary range for this position is $164,000 - $244,900 per year. The hiring base salary range above represents what Avery Dennison reasonably expects to pay for this position as of the date of this posting. Actual salaries will vary within the range and, in some circumstances, may be above or below the range based on factors including but not limited to a candidate’s relevant skills, experience, education, location, and job scope and complexity, responsibilities, and travel required.

Legal and Background Screening

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, protected veteran status, or other protected status. EEOE/M/F/Vet/Disabled. All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

As part of our commitment to maintaining a safe and productive work environment, Avery Dennison requires all final candidates to successfully complete a comprehensive background check and a drug screening. These checks are conducted post‑offer and are a condition of employment. All results will be considered in accordance with applicable local, state, and federal laws.

Reasonable Accommodations Notice

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