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Crowe · 3 hours ago

Assistant General Counsel

Cleveland, OH

Full-time

Hybrid

Senior Level, Lead/Staff

$149K/yr - $317K/yr

9+ years exp

Crowe is one of the largest public accounting, consulting and technology firms in the United States, and they are seeking an Assistant General Counsel for a transaction-focused practice. This role involves leading the review, negotiation, and resolution of complex professional services and technology-related agreements while managing risks associated with business deals.

AccountingAdviceConsultingFinanceFinancial ServicesInformation TechnologyProfessional ServicesTax Consulting

No H1B

Hiring Manager

Shelakh André Williams

Responsibilities

Develop a deep and practical understanding of Crowe’s service lines and technology offerings, and business strategies, including the unique risk profiles associated with professional services, consulting, and technology-enabled engagements

Lead and negotiate complex, bespoke, and high-value professional services and technology-related agreements, including master services agreements, engagement letters, confidentiality agreements, business associate agreements, SaaS agreements, data protection agreements, software licenses, subcontractor agreements, government contracts, and related statements of work

Serve as an escalation point for non-standard, high-risk, or novel commercial issues, exercising sound legal and business judgment and partnering with Legal Department leadership on material risk decisions

Negotiate vendor agreements with an understanding of how the vendor will support Crowe’s business and the operational, regulatory, and information security risks associated with the vendor’s services or products

Review requests for proposals (“RFPs”) in order to identify areas of risk and advise partners and other business personnel on appropriate risk-based, commercially practicable mitigation strategies

Apply U.S. and international privacy and data protection laws as well as information security requirements in the review and negotiation of client and vendor agreements, and collaborate closely with information security, privacy, and risk teams

Own, maintain, and continuously improve existing contract templates, standard terms, and fallback positions, writing new contract templates and provisions as the business needs evolve

Evaluate and improve contracting processes and workflows, leveraging technology, automation, offshore resources, and contract lifecycle management (CLM) and AI-enabled tools to drive efficiency, consistency, and scalability

Assist in maintaining and expanding the commercial contracting playbooks, setting and reinforcing consistent application of approved negotiation positions while exercising judgment to allow for appropriate risk-based flexibility and escalation

Provide leadership, guidance, supervision, and mentorship to Senior Counsel, Counsel, and other legal professionals, including workload prioritization, issue escalation, and career development support

Influence and align stakeholders across the firm where direct reporting relationships do not exist, motivating collaboration through credibility, judgment, and strong relationships

Qualification

Complex commercial transactionsNegotiation of agreementsLegal risk managementU.S. privacy lawsContract lifecycle managementLeadershipStrategic thinkingWritten communicationVerbal communicationOrganizational skills

Required

Candidates must have at least nine (9) years of relevant experience in a law firm or in-house counsel role, with demonstrated experience handling complex commercial transactions and advising senior stakeholders

Candidates must possess superb organizational skills, business judgment, strategic thinking, and exceptional written and verbal communication skills tailored to senior audiences

Candidates must have the ability to lead and must be unafraid of rolling up their sleeves to take on tasks as needed

Where direct reporting lines are not in place, the candidate should have the ability to lead through influence and credibility

The Assistant General Counsel must learn general firm practice in a wide variety of areas, proactively identify issues presenting risk to the firm, and act as a driver of good business process

Candidates for this position must have the ability to set priorities, fluidly manage workload despite competing demands, and make risk-based decisions and recommendations aligned with the firm's risk profile, business objectives, and internal client priorities

While there is a preference for candidates in the Chicago area with admission to the Illinois bar, qualified candidates admitted to a U.S. state bar in good standing in their state of residence is an option for the right candidate

Preferred

Demonstrated experience leveraging technology to improve legal service delivery is strongly preferred, along with strong knowledge of Microsoft Office

Familiarity with CLM platforms and AI-assisted contract review tools is a plus

Additional experience that will be helpful for this role – but is not required – includes reviewing state or federal government contract requirements and assessing compliance capability; working in governmental, accounting, or financial regulatory sectors; experience with cross-border or multi-jurisdictional contracting; and advising on a range of intellectual property matters as they relate to marketing, trade secrets, licensing, patents, and copyright