Legal Counsel III

If you think your skills, experience and aspirations make you a good match for this position, we encourage you to apply. This position may be filled anywhere in the United States. Preference may be given to candidates that can work in one of the CannonDesign locations. ABOUT THE ROLE

Joining CannonDesign as a Legal Counsel III will involve the following roles:

• Strategic Leadership: As a senior member of the legal team, you will drive legal strategy, influence business decisions, and provide leadership on complex legal matters across the organization.
• Enterprise Impact: Your work will directly influence the firm’s risk profile, compliance posture, and strategic initiatives, including M&A, international expansion, and corporate governance.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with executive leadership, finance, HR, and operations to align legal strategies with business objectives and ensure enterprise-wide legal compliance.
• Mentorship and Development: Lead and mentor junior legal team members, fostering a culture of excellence, collaboration, and continuous learning.
• Innovation and Transformation: Champion legal innovation by implementing best practices, legal technologies, and process improvements to enhance efficiency and effectiveness.

HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL DO

• Draft, review, analyze, and negotiate complex contracts and vendor agreements both domestically and internationally.
• Lead complex contract negotiations and develop enterprise-level contract templates and playbooks.
• Provide strategic legal counsel on high-risk matters including litigation, regulatory compliance, intellectual property, and international operations.
• Resolve commercial disputes and manage litigation, coordinating with outside counsel as needed.
• Oversee legal aspects of mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, and strategic partnerships, including negotiation, due diligence, structuring, and integration.
• Serve as legal advisor on corporate matters, insurance, labor and employment, and intellectual property.
• Develop and implement legal policies, and training programs across the organization.
• Work with project teams to ensure adherence to risk management and contracting policies. Work with project teams to identify and resolve issues.
• Identify and mitigate legal risk issues across the organization to protect the Firm from legal risk and damage.
• Manage relationships with external counsel and ensure alignment with business goals and budget.
• Mentor other members of the Legal Department fostering team growth, consistent high performance, and firmwide collaborative behavior.
• Demonstrate leadership, critical thinking, and problem-solving across legal and business functions.
• Exhibit excellent communication and negotiation skills while applying broad relevant experience to complex legal challenges.

HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL NEED

• Juris Doctorate from an accredited law school.
• Minimum of 12 years of experience, with a preference for in-house counsel roles.
• Admission to the bar in the United States.
• Experience in drafting and negotiating contracts is essential.
• Preferred experience in the architectural, engineering, or construction industry.
• Experience in one or more of the following areas of law – litigation, corporate, professional licensing, software licensing, ERISA, benefits, insurance and intellectual property.
• Proven ability to manage complex projects, and collaborate with senior stakeholders.
• Exceptional strategic thinking, communication, negotiation, and leadership skills.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment and make sound legal judgments under pressure.
• Some travel is required.

The salary range for this position is $130,600 to $163,200 annually. This salary range is the range we believe is the anticipated range of possible base compensation at the timing of the posting. We may ultimately pay more or less than the anticipated salary range for the position. Employees may be eligible for discretionary bonuses. We offer a full benefit package including medical, dental and vision coverage and flexible spending account options and voluntary insurances. We have paid time off, flex-time schedules, remote work options and a 401k plan and employee perk programs. For a general overview of our benefits, please visit our careers page at https://www.cannondesign.com/careers/benefits. Actual compensation may vary from posting based on geographic location, work experience, education and/or skill level. ABOUT OUR FIRM CannonDesign is a design practice where strategy, experience, architecture, engineering, and social impact converge. We don’t just dream up solutions — we create and bring them to life in ways to solve some of the biggest challenges facing our clients and the society. At the heart of everything we do is Living-Centered Design, a bold commitment to using our talents to not just improve the world but to truly reshape it for the better. It’s more than a philosophy — it’s who we are, and it drives us to make a meaningful, lasting difference every day. ABOUT WORKING HERE

• We are relentless in our pursuit of client adoration (not simply satisfaction). Consistent delivery of the best service is what we are about.
• We are committed to ensuring our practice provides equal opportunities for all employees, as we strive to connect with communities around us and focus on the future of design. We support equity, diversity, and inclusion efforts that benefit all employees through the leadership of our DEI Council, our Employee Resource Groups which are open to everyone, and other community initiatives.
• We’re about communication and transparency here. If you want to talk to someone about an idea you have, or a challenge that needs addressing, we’re ready for you.

Please note that candidates can only apply to our positions on our company Careers site. It's not uncommon for scammers to create positions that look legitimate on other sites; never enter your information or apply for CannonDesign positions on any platform. Should an issue arise that you feel we should be aware of, please contact us. Please provide your resume and portfolio when applying. As a condition of employment, all employees are expected to complete mandatory training, including compliance training, within required timeframes and adhere to our internal policies and our Code of Conduct. CannonDesign is an Equal Opportunity Employer. CannonDesign is committed to maintaining a work environment that is free from any and all forms of unlawful discrimination and harassment. It is therefore the firm’s policy to prohibit discrimination and harassment against any applicant, CannonDesign employee, vendor, contractor, or client on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, pregnancy, veteran status, genetic information, citizenship status, or any other basis prohibited by applicable law. It is also CannonDesign’s policy to prohibit any and all forms of retaliation against any individual who has complained of harassing or discriminatory conduct, or participated in a firm or agency investigation into such complaints.