Temporary Legal Counsel

Cennox; United States; Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Cennox seeks a Temporary Contract Legal Counsel to draft, review, and negotiate complex commercial contracts across the United States. Reporting to the Chief Legal Officer, you will support deadlines in a fast-paced environment, assist with templates and policy improvements, and coordinate with HR, Compliance, and sales teams. This is a 2–6 month term with potential remote work options.

Qualifications

• Juris Doctor or equivalent from an accredited US law school.
• Active admission to at least one US state Bar.
• Experience handling high-volume contracting (MSAs, SOWs, NDAs).
• Ability to provide practical, business-focused legal advice across US jurisdictions.

Responsibilities

• Draft, review, revise, and negotiate complex and routine commercial contracts for US operations.
• Support contract templates, playbooks, and internal processes.
• Assist HR and Compliance on day-to-day legal matters and policy development.
• Provide pragmatic legal input for proposals, RFPs, and cross‑functional initiatives.

Skills

Negotiation

Drafting

Interpersonal skills

Risk assessment

Education

Law degree (US)

Job description

Overview

The Temporary Contract Legal Counsel will support the legal department on a contract basis for an expected term of approximately 2 to 6 months, depending on business needs, project volume, and the availability of longer-term legal resources.

Reporting to the Chief Legal Officer, this role will provide practical, business-oriented legal support across the company, with a primary focus on United States contracting and commercial matters.

This role is designed for an experienced attorney who can quickly integrate with business stakeholders, manage a high volume of legal work, exercise sound judgment, and help keep legal projects moving during a temporary period of increased workload or transition.

Position Scope

The Temporary Contract Legal Counsel will draft, review, revise, and negotiate complex and routine commercial contracts, including master services agreements, statements of work, amendments, nondisclosure agreements, channel partner agreements, vendor agreements, RFP responses, and supporting documentation.

The role will also support contract templates, business and legal process improvements, internal policies, and legal risk assessment for operational matters. The attorney will work closely with colleagues across the United States to help maintain alignment of commercial, compliance, and operational legal standards.

The successful candidate must be proactive, organized, responsive, and comfortable managing multiple projects simultaneously in a fast-paced environment.

Essential Functions

Contracts

• Draft, review, negotiate, and provide practical counsel on commercial contracts across the United States.
• Negotiate, draft, and amend commercial agreements, including MSAs, SOWs, NDAs, channel partner agreements, vendor agreements, etc.
• Ensure commercial contracts comply with legal, regulatory, and internal risk standards across relevant jurisdictions.
• Provide guidance to internal business personnel on contract provisions, form agreements, terms and conditions, indemnification, limitation of liability, and related risk issues.

Contract Management and Process Support

• Support the creation and use of best practices in contract management by developing, recommending, and communicating operating policies and procedural improvements.
• Assist with contract intake, prioritization, status tracking, document organization, and escalation of legal issues requiring senior legal review.
• Help identify recurring contract issues and recommend practical improvements to templates, playbooks, and internal processes.

Employment, Compliance, and General Legal Support

• Provide support to Human Resources on day-to-day legal issues, policy development, compliance questions, and employee‑relations matters, while escalating or coordinating with external counsel as needed.
• Provide practical corporate and operational legal advice to support day-to-day business objectives.
• Assist with compliance, commercial, corporate, and operational legal matters as assigned.
• Support enterprise risk management, corporate governance, entity maintenance, and board‑level matters as requested.

Proposals and RFPs

• Support proposal and RFP responses for significant customer opportunities by reviewing terms, identifying legal and commercial risk, and offering practical alternatives for managing risk.
• Coordinate with sales, operations, finance, and other business teams to ensure timely, consistent, and commercially practical legal input.

Other Duties

• Handle other legal department responsibilities as assigned during the temporary contract term.

Minimum Education and Experience

• Law degree from an accredited US law school and admission to at least one state Bar in the United States required. Georgia or California Bar license preferred.
• Approximately 3 to 10 years of legal experience, preferably in‑house, in corporate defense, or in a commercial legal role with significant contracting responsibility.
• Demonstrated experience handling a high volume of contracts of varying complexity, including negotiating and drafting relevant documents through conclusion.
• Broad legal experience sufficient to advise on and manage practical legal matters for a business operating across the United States.
• Experience involving employment law, data privacy, corporate law, domestic and international operations, domestic and international tax law, European contracting, or cross‑border commercial matters is a plus.

Skills and Abilities

• Excellent negotiation, drafting, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build trust with key stakeholders at all levels.
• Strong judgment, critical thinking, and practical problem‑solving skills.
• Capacity to manage multiple priorities and deadlines with limited ramp‑up time.
• Outstanding written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to identify legal issues, anticipate potential risks, and propose workable solutions to complex situations.
• Solid business acumen and the demonstrated ability to apply that business acumen to legal and business issues in a fast‑paced, multifaceted organization.
• Ability to navigate differing commercial norms, legal frameworks, and risk standards across jurisdictions.
• Desire to partner closely with non‑legal teams to help accomplish business goals.

Term and Work Arrangement

• This is a temporary contract role with an expected term of approximately 2 to 6 months. The final duration may vary based on performance, workload, project needs, and business requirements.
• The role may be performed from the Alpharetta, GA office or remotely.

Physical Requirements

• Primarily a sedentary office role requiring prolonged periods of sitting, verbal and visual communication, and extensive computer use. Reasonable accommodation will be provided as needed.