Senior Corporate Counsel – Contracts & Compliance

Whittle Limited; Westlake (OH); On-site; USD 160,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Brook & Whittle Ltd. seeks a Corporate Attorney to provide comprehensive legal support across commercial contracts, regulatory compliance, governance, and risk management. The role partners with executives and operations to ensure sound business decisions and robust contract programs.

The ideal candidate has a JD with US bar admission and 5–10+ years in-house or with a law firm in manufacturing or related fields, capable of leading complex negotiations and guiding strategic transactions.

Qualifications

• JD from an accredited law school and admission to practice law in at least one US jurisdiction.
• 5–10+ years of legal experience, with a mix of law firm and in-house experience.
• Strong background in commercial contracting and corporate/general business law; experience with supply chain, procurement, and manufacturing operations is preferred.
• Familiarity with regulatory and compliance issues relevant to manufacturing, such as product safety, environmental regulation, trade compliance, and data privacy.
• Demonstrated ability to manage outside counsel and legal budgets effectively.
• Proactive business advisor; provide legal advice to facilitate business decision-making to manage risk and enable growth objectives.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain complex legal concepts clearly.
• Proven judgment, integrity, and ability to work independently in a fast paced, plant driven environment while collaborating effectively with cross functional teams.

Responsibilities

• Provide day to day legal advice to senior management and business teams on a wide range of issues, including commercial, operational, and corporate matters.
• Draft, review, and negotiate a broad spectrum of contracts (customer and supplier agreements, NDAs, MSAs, equipment and tooling agreements, logistics, IT, and service contracts) to align with business objectives and manage risk.
• Support manufacturing, supply chain, and procurement teams with legally sound terms on quality, delivery, warranty, indemnity, limitation of liability, force majeure, and change management.
• Oversee legal aspects of company policies and procedures, ensuring compliance with applicable federal, state, and local laws and industry regulations (e.g., product safety, environmental, export controls, trade compliance).
• Manage and coordinate litigation and disputes, including commercial, product liability, employment, and regulatory matters, and supervise outside counsel as needed.
• Advise on corporate governance matters, including corporate records, delegation of authority, and legal entity management.
• Partner with EHS and operations teams on environmental, health, and safety compliance, incident response, and regulatory reporting related to manufacturing activities.
• Advise on and support strategic transactions (M&A, joint ventures, site expansions, real estate leases), including due diligence, transaction documents, and post-close integration.
• Monitor legal and regulatory developments affecting the manufacturing sector and recommend proactive changes to contracts, policies, and practices.
• Lead the creation and continuous improvement of standard contract templates, playbooks, and legal processes to increase efficiency and consistency.
• Effectively manage external legal counsel for specialty matters, including IP, credit matters, litigation.
• Review existing contracts for potential risks/exposures, leveraging prior work completed by external counsel.
• Develop a legal contracts storage/management system
• Be a business advisor - Provide legal advice to senior leadership in the context of helping the company to make good business decisions.

Skills

Contract negotiation

Regulatory compliance

Legal risk management

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Juris Doctor (JD)

Admission to bar in US jurisdictions

Job description

Brook & Whittle Ltd. seeks a Corporate Attorney to provide comprehensive legal support across commercial contracts, regulatory compliance, governance, and risk management. The role partners with executives and operations to ensure sound business decisions and robust contract programs.

The ideal candidate has a JD with US bar admission and 5–10+ years in-house or with a law firm in manufacturing or related fields, capable of leading complex negotiations and guiding strategic transactions.