Legal Counsel

Role Overview

CAA is seeking a Legal counsel to join our growing legal team and serve as a contracts-focused attorney responsible for the drafting, negotiation, implementation, and lifecycle management of commercial agreements supporting CAA’s EPR programs and our mission to reduce waste and promote a circular economy. Reporting to the General Counsel, the Legal Counsel will lead a wide range of contract negotiation and management.

This is an excellent opportunity for a motivated, mission-driven attorney to work closely with senior leadership and gain hands-on experience in the implementation of groundbreaking EPR programs across multiple states. This role is primarily dedicated to commercial contracting and will focus on supporting the organization’s growing volume of program, vendor, and stakeholder agreements. 

Key Responsibilities

Contract Support

• Support and scale a high-volume contracting environment with a focus on efficiency.
• Lead end-to-end contract lifecycle, including intake, drafting, negotiation, execution, amendment, and termination for a wide variety of contracts(e.g., service provider agreements, consulting agreements, program agreements, NDA’s, etc.).
• Lead development and continuous improvement of contract templates, fallback positions, and playbooks. 
• Identify and mitigate key commercial risks (indemnity, liability caps, data rights, termination rights, regulatory obligations) and lead negotiation of risk allocation positions with counterparties. 
• Lead the continued implementation and ongoing support of contract lifecycle management (CLM)system, including workflows, processes, metadata, and reporting.
• Track and report on contract metrics (cycle time, volume, risk trends).
• Serve as a primary legal advisor to business teams on contract strategy, risk allocation, and negotiation positions. 
• Own contract compliance processes and governance, including recordkeeping and audit readiness. 

Legal & Regulatory Research 

• Provide targeted legal analysis on regulatory requirements as they directly impact contract terms, obligations, and program implementation.
• Draft legal memoranda and summaries to inform internal decision making. 
• Assist in ensuring organizational compliance with applicable law, regulations, and contract commitments.

Skills & Competencies

• Experience structuring and negotiating complex commercial transactions. 
• Strong commercial judgement and risk assessment. 
• Advanced contract negotiation skills. 
• Ability to balance legal risk with business objectives. 
• Experience managing high-volume contract workflows. 
• Hands-on experience with CLM tools and contract process optimization. 
• Mission-Driven and passionate about sustainability. 
• Highly detail oriented with precision in drafting and issue spotting within complex agreements and strong organizational and problem-solving skills. 
• Excellent communicator with proven ability to translate legal concepts to non-legal stakeholders.
• Proactive, collaborative, and eager to learn from and support business leaders.
• Comfort working in a lean, entrepreneurial, and mission-driven organization. 
• Team-oriented, adaptable, and proactive.

Qualifications

• Juris Doctor (J.D.) from an accredited U.S. law school.
• Active bar membership in good standing in at least one U.S. state.
• 5+ years of experience with a primary focus on commercial contract drafting and negotiation (law firm or in-house). 
• Strong legal research, writing, and analytical skills. 
• Excellent organizational skills and ability to manage multiple deadlines in a fast-paced, evolving environment. 
• Demonstrated experience in negotiating complex commercial agreements. 
• Experience with CLM systems is strongly preferred (ideally, Ironclad). 

Compensation & Other Information

• Location: Remote in U.S. with preference for Milwaukee, WI; Occasional travel to meetings or stakeholder engagement as needs; future work location may be determined. 
• Pay Rate: Based on a variety of factors in accordance with applicable law including the successful candidate’s relevant experience, skills, knowledge ,and experience.
• Reports To: General Counsel

Circular Action Alliance is an equal employment opportunity employer. All qualified applicants for employment will be considered without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, lactation, and related medical conditions), national origin, military or veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, age or any other category protected by applicable federal, state, or local law. If you require accommodation as part of the application process, please contact careers@circularaction.org.