The Corporate Counsel – Joint Venture Compliance and Entity Management & IP/Licensing will be responsible for a variety of critical corporate matters and general airport-facing/business development support for a fast-paced and growing company. This person will also have direct oversight for the Staff Attorney – Contracts and Corporate Paralegal and serve as a resource on various contracts affecting the organization. Corporate responsibilities include Request for Proposal (RFP) and other Business Development support, Airport Contract (and Sublease) legal work, Entity Management and Corporate Filings management, Joint Venture (ACDBE) Compliance, License / Franchise & Intellectual Property Work, and Corporate Initiative work (including M&A support, as applicable). This role will be performed initially in partnership with the company’s General Counsel and other corporate attorneys and then autonomously. S/he must not only understand and further the interests of internal stakeholders but also support the company’s most valuable B2B relationships. This position requires consistent attention to detail and an exceptional ability to identify risks together with creative solutions. As such, the successful candidate must be collaborative, extremely organized/methodical, results-driven, and have superior verbal and written communication skills, demonstrated interpretation/negotiation experience, and robust time management skills.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Business Development; RFP Support.
  • Provide legal support to Business Development and bid proposal teams with respect to requests for proposals, proposed and existing airport agreements, and miscellaneous airport-related requests (e.g. badging, vendor verification, etc.) with a high degree of skill and autonomy.
  • Airport-Focused Contract Work.
    • Review, red flag and negotiate, as necessary, time-sensitive airport-related contracts, including concession/lease agreements, subconcession/sublease agreements, onsite warehouse / distribution agreements, and other airport-issued documents.
    • Begin preparation of maintenance of airport Agreement coversheets / abstracts for use by internal stakeholders (and build out airport snapshot rolling up information by platform).

• Entity Management and Corporate Filings.
  • Entity Formation and Maintenance. Oversee the formation, management, and dissolution (as necessary) for the each of the 200 Paradies Lagardère entities (mainly LLCs) and maintenance of entity org charts, including ensuring completion/filing of all required documents for formation with applicable Secretary of State entities, filing ongoing annual/required reports, maintaining registered agents, and tracking/dissolving entities following cessation of business.
  • Own all corporate entity document management, including ensuring various databases/systems are up to date and reflect all relevant documents (e.g. physical minute books, CSC entity management, Galexy, Corporate/Lease File repositories, and CLM (Conga)).
  • Oversee quality control audits to ensure all records are up to date and compliant with established conventions (naming and otherwise), including those related to JV meetings, activity reports, etc.
  • Joint Venture (ACDBE) Compliance.
  • JV Agreements. Structure, negotiate and prepare operating agreements, related finance-driven agreements and associated documentation to form relationships with (and, if necessary, restructure) joint venture partners for compliance with FAA ACDBE program requirements, 2008 JV Guidance, and airport diversity offices.
  • JV Meetings. Partner with Finance Partner function to attend and run “high touch” JV partner meetings as well as strategic sampling of other JV partner meetings, ensuring relevant documentation and preparation of meeting minutes for all attended.
  • Ensure that all required JV meeting and compliance documents are maintained in relevant repositories.
  • Airport Audits. Handle airport audits and audit responses and maintain catalog on common questions/responses.
  • License/Franchise & IP Work.
  • Prepare and negotiate time-sensitive Letters of Authorization (and associated documents), NDAs, and eventually license agreements with brand partners.
  • Review IP requests of business development, design and construction, and other internal stakeholders, managing conflict reviews and maintenance of IP owned by the company.
  • Restrictive Covenant resources. Build and maintain restrictive covenant resources for use by BD with respect to bids and potentially problematic placement.
  • Special Purpose Entity. Form and maintain Special Purpose Entity to consolidate all IP ownership / rights of the company; maintain registration of and other requirements needed to protect company IP.
  • General Contracts Oversight.
  • Oversee contract’s function and associated contracts attorney’s negotiation of contract documents of various types and sizes in keeping with company requirements, using both template and custom documents.
  • Resources; Training. Drive creation of contract protocol/process training(s) for various departments, including negotiation tips, FAQs, and any changes to workflow.
  • Advisory Support. Provide time-sensitive support to internal clients (e.g. BD, operations, D&C) by responding to inquiries on contract interpretation, airport guidelines, established legal guidelines, policy inquiries, and contracts and contract-specific questions.
  • Corporate Initiative; Special Projects. Serve as lead and general support for all corporate initiatives and associated projects that may arise from time to time, including any M&A activities, integration efforts, synergies/efficiency efforts and other company initiatives.

Miscellaneous

• Resources; Templates. Prepare and maintain various resources to standardize JV, RFP, and BD support, including templates, standardized provisions for common situations, SOPs for use/handling, and refined workflows.
• Audit; Reporting. Oversee the handling of a quarterly airport “new lease document” audit, Mazars corporate related inquiries/reporting, and end of year contract process along with associated reporting of relevant metrics.
• Invoices review; outside counsel management.
• Other activities as needed to support the organization and represent the legal department.

POSITION QUALIFICATIONS:

• Advanced knowledge of entity management, corporate law / formalities, contract development, negotiation, and management.
• Ability to quickly evaluate complex issues and identify multiple options for resolution.
• Strong interpersonal communication skills including verbal and written, active listening, critical thinking, persuasiveness, advising and counseling skills.
• Dedication to confidentiality, following-up on commitments on a timely basis, adhering to deadlines, organization, and collaboration.
• Highly motivated, self-starting, and experienced advocate who enjoys working cooperatively on a growing legal team.
• Effective self-starter with a practical approach, a panoramic perspective, and positive attitude
• Extremely well organized, detail-oriented, and able to meet deadlines and work in a demanding, fast-paced environment and able to solve, in a practical fashion, problems quickly and effectively.

EDUCATION AND/OR EXPERIENCE:

• JD degree from an accredited law school with strong academic performance. Active and in good standing with at least one state bar (Georgia preferred).
• 3-5 years related experience in-house or with a major law firm.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Sitting, standing and lifting for up to 10 lbs.
• Occasional travel