CORPORATE COUNSEL at NOW Foods

Key Responsibilities (other duties, projects and ad-hoc requests may be assigned)

• Collaborate with relevant stakeholders to develop a strategic and proactive approach to the Company’s legal, compliance and risk management matters, which includes identifying trends, developing frameworks, and hands-on implementation of various initiatives.
• Develop and maintain positive professional relationships with key stakeholders, ensuring legal matters are addressed in a comprehensive and collaborative manner.
• Provide insights, guidance and expertise while minimizing risk to the Company.
• Promote the Company’s core values, mission and operating tenets to reinforce and ensure clarity of standards and behaviors that all Company personnel are expected to exhibit.
• Provide consultation, guidance and coaching to Company personnel on legal matters to ensure alignment to the Company’s culture and values.
• Champion legal and regulatory compliance across the Company which includes self-audits to identify risk and drive corrective actions to mitigate.
• Provide legal services and assist the Company’s various functional teams’ (operations, engineering, domestic and international sales, quality and science, marketing, private label, finance and accounting, credit and collections, customer service, supply and purchasing, technical, IT and retail) strategies and implementation, to include, but not be limited to, label review, contract drafting and review, legal research, leasing issues and agreements, and prosecution, protection and enforcement of domestic and international intellectual property rights.
• Provide expertise and guidance on evolving substantive areas such as e-commerce, data privacy, AI, cyber-security, and anti-counterfeiting.
• Advise the Company, with the help of outside legal counsel, regarding the laws and regulations of the Federal Food & Drug Administration, Federal Trade Commission and other related federal and state governmental agencies, including international agencies and ministries of health, pertaining to the distribution, labelling, and advertising of dietary supplements, natural foods and personal care products.
• Research, draft and review legal agreements that promote and protect the legal rights and interests of the Company, including but not limited to the following areas: vendor agreements, licensing agreements, purchase agreements, supply agreements, quality agreements, service agreements, confidentiality agreements, independent contractor agreements, and intellectual property agreements.
• Assist with the coordination and management of commercial disputes, threatened and actual litigation and other legal proceedings and interface with outside counsel rendering service to the Company in dispute representation and other specialized legal affairs.
• Confer with and advise directors, officers and employees about corporate, Board and shareholder agreements and matters, including but not limited to corporate bylaws, Board elections, purchase and/or sale of Company property, annual Secretary of State filings and related corporate governance documents.
• Assist with the administration of the Company’s general liability, products liability, and workers compensation insurance policies; interface with insurance agents of the Company as needed; ensure the Company has received and provided certificates of liability insurance from vendors; with involvement of customer service, sales and marketing, and quality teams, handle product complaint records (PCRs) from domestic and international customers.

Education, Experience and Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree and Juris Doctorate degree from an accredited law school required and admission to at least one State Bar; license to practice law and in good standing under any State Bar that enables admission to practice as in-house counsel in Illinois.
• Eight or more years of relevant legal/business/transactional experience with a law firm, corporation (preferably dietary supplements/food/personal care industry), educational institution, trade association, etc.
• Demonstrated track record of partnering with Company personnel at various levels to manage complex legal matters in order to mitigate risk and drive business results. Demonstrated ability in managing and prioritizing competing requests across all Company-functional areas for support; experience in supporting C-suite executive team.
• Proven ability to be hands on, roll up sleeves and demonstrate initiative and a results driven orientation. Prior success in managing, organizing and/or completing multiple tasks and priorities. Ability to thrive in a fast-paced and changing environment and high-performance culture. Have a mindset of continuous improvement and embrace the Company’s core values and operating tenets.
• Strong business acumen and the ability to understand the Company’s business, and to focus in on the matters that are key to the business. Be proactive, cost-effective and efficient in addressing potential issues. Strong analytical and creative problem-solving skills; flexibility and resourcefulness, with a proclivity toward well-informed action.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, with an ability to inspire trust and confidence with stakeholders at all levels by virtue of keen business acumen, professional competence, integrity, communication skills and personal style. Demonstrate humility and authenticity while possessing executive presence. Proven ability to develop strong partnerships and influence resources outside one’s direct responsibility.
• Ability to handle sensitive situations tactfully yet firmly, to be assertive without being adversarial and to take unpopular positions when necessary while maintaining trust and credibility.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to clearly and concisely articulate complex legal concepts to a lay audience.