Legal Counsel

Drake; Scottsdale (AZ); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Drake in Scottsdale, AZ seeks a Corporate Legal Counsel to lead Legal Operations and Commercial Contract Management. You will develop standardized templates, playbooks, and workflows while negotiating complex contracts and managing external counsel budgets.

You will collaborate with executive leadership to align legal risk with business goals, implement technology solutions, and drive KPIs, dashboards, and reporting for a scalable, compliant legal function.

Qualifications

• J.D. from an accredited law school.
• Active AZ law license; CA license a plus.
• 5–7 years of experience in commercial contracts or legal operations.
• Experience supporting corporate legal departments.
• Bilingual English and Spanish preferred.

Responsibilities

• Design and lead Legal Operations and contract management functions.
• Develop standardized templates, playbooks, and workflows.
• Draft, review, negotiate, and manage commercial contracts.
• Monitor external counsel usage, budgets, and invoices.
• Partner with business leaders to balance commercial objectives and legal risk.
• Implement legal technology solutions and governance metrics.

Skills

Strategic thinking

Process improvement

Executive communication

Collaborative leadership

Analytical problem-solving

Education

Juris Doctor (J.D.)

Tools

CLM

Legal technology platforms

Microsoft Office

Document management systems

Job description

Corporate Legal Counsel – Legal Operations & Commercial Contract Management

Reports To: Chief Legal & Corporate Affairs Officer

Position Purpose:

Establish and lead UNACEM North America's Legal Operations and Commercial Contract Management function by standardizing legal processes, improving contract governance, optimizing external legal spend, and enhancing the efficiency, visibility, and scalability of the Legal Department. Serve as a strategic business partner by providing practical legal guidance on commercial matters while developing operational processes that enable Legal to deliver timely, consistent, and business-focused support.

Key Accountabilities:

• Build and manage the Legal Operations function.
• Lead commercial contract management and contract lifecycle processes.
• Develop standardized contract templates, playbooks, and approval workflows.
• Optimize external legal counsel utilization and legal spend.
• Establish legal intake processes and workload management.
• Develop Legal Department KPIs, dashboards, and reporting.
• Support implementation of legal technology and contract management tools.
• Provide legal guidance on commercial agreements and business transactions.

Critical Responsibilities:

• Design and implement standardized legal intake and matter management processes.
• Develop contract templates, clause libraries, negotiation playbooks, and approval matrices.
• Draft, review, negotiate, and manage commercial contracts, including vendor, procurement, consulting, confidentiality, services, and customer agreements.
• Partner with business leaders to provide timely legal support while balancing commercial objectives and legal risk.
• Monitor and manage external counsel engagement, legal invoices, budgets, and performance.
• Develop Legal Department metrics, dashboards, and reporting for executive leadership.
• Identify opportunities to internalize legal work and improve operational efficiency.
• Evaluate and recommend legal technology solutions that improve contract management and workflow automation.
• Train business teams on contracting standards, approval requirements, and legal processes.
• Continuously improve Legal Operations processes to increase efficiency and consistency.

Required Qualifications & Experience:

• Juris Doctor (J.D.) from an accredited law school.
• Active license to practice law in Arizona, California would be a plus.
• Minimum of 5–7 years of legal experience in commercial contracts, legal operations, corporate law, or related practice.
• Experience supporting corporate legal departments or in-house legal teams preferred.
• Experience developing legal processes, governance models, or operational improvements preferred.
• Bilingual English and Spanish strongly preferred.

Technical Knowledge:

• Commercial contract drafting and negotiation.
• Contract lifecycle management (CLM).
• Legal Operations.
• Legal technology platforms.
• Contract governance.
• Vendor and procurement agreements.
• Corporate governance principles.
• Budget and outside counsel management.
• Legal analytics and reporting.
• Microsoft Office and document management systems.

Leadership & Behavioral Competencies:

• Business partnership.
• Process improvement mindset.
• Strategic thinking.
• Strong organizational skills.
• Executive communication.
• Collaboration.
• Analytical problem-solving.
• Influence and impact
• Conduct legal research and analysis on commercial, contractual, and corporate matters to support business decisions and legal strategy.
• Results orientation.
• High ethical standards.

Key Relationships:

Internal:

• Operations.
• Executive Leadership Team.
• Planning and Supply Chain.
• Compliance.
• Finance.
• Human Resources.
• Commercial.
• Information Technology.
• Health & Safety.

External:

• Outside legal counsel.
• Local government agencies.
• Vendors.
• Customers.
• Legal technology providers.
• Industry associations.

Success Measures:

• Commercial contract turnaround time.
• Percentage of agreements executed using standardized templates.
• Adoption of Legal Operations processes.
• Internal client satisfaction.
• Legal intake response time.
• Accuracy and visibility of Legal Department reporting.
• Successful implementation of legal technology and process improvements.Increased percentage of legal work managed internally.