Legal Counsel
Position Overview
NewCold is seeking a dynamic and highly motivated Legal Counsel to join its North American legal team at the company's regional headquarters in Chicago, IL. This role offers a rare and exciting opportunity for an attorney to gain broad, hands-on experience across a wide range of legal disciplines within a fast-paced, high-growth, and global organization.
Key Responsibilities
Strategic Legal Partnership. Serve as a trusted legal advisor to NewCold's North American leadership and operational teams, delivering practical, business-oriented legal guidance across a wide range of matters and disciplines.
Labor & Employment. Partner with HR and business leaders on the full spectrum of employment matters, including hiring, wage and hour compliance, terminations, accommodations, leaves, restrictive covenants, and internal investigations. Modernize policies, resolve disputes efficiently, and help shape a workplace culture that supports NewCold's rapid North American growth.
Workplace Safety. Serve as legal lead on workplace safety matters across NewCold's automated cold storage network, advising on federal and state OSHA compliance, incident response, root cause investigations, citation defense, and regulator interactions. Collaborate with QESH leadership, operations, and outside counsel to strengthen safety programs.
Commercial Contracts. Draft, review, and negotiate a broad portfolio of commercial agreements that power NewCold's daily operations and growth, including customer warehousing and logistics contracts, vendor and supplier arrangements, technology and SaaS agreements, equipment leases, and services agreements. Partner directly with business stakeholders to balance legal risk with commercial objectives, streamline contracting processes, and build practical playbooks that scale with the business.
Mergers & Acquisitions. Support execution of corporate M&A transactions from initial evaluation through closing, including due diligence, deal structuring, drafting and negotiating purchase agreements and ancillary documents, and managing post-closing integration matters.
Financing. Support the financing that fuels NewCold's expansion, including construction loans, term facilities, refinancings, and equipment leases, along with state and local economic incentives such as tax abatements and grants. Provide day-to-day legal support to treasury, accounting, and the controller's office on financing compliance, reporting, and related corporate matters.
Requirements
Business Savvy & Pragmatism. Strong commercial awareness and the ability to provide practical, solutions oriented legal advice that aligns with business goals and operational realities.
Ownership Mentality. A proactive, self-starting mindset with the confidence to take initiative, own workstreams end-to-end, and drive matters forward with limited oversight.
Effective Communication. Clear and confident communicator, capable of translating complex legal concepts into accessible guidance for non-legal stakeholders at all levels.
Project Management & Organization. Proven ability to manage multiple priorities simultaneously, track key deadlines, and work efficiently under pressure in a fast-paced, evolving environment.
Client-Service Orientation. Internal client-focused with a strong desire to build trust, anticipate needs, and deliver timely, actionable legal guidance tailored to the audience.
Attention to Detail with Commercial Focus. Strong drafting skills with the ability to simplify, clarify, and negotiate contractual terms in a way that safeguards the business without over-lawyering.
5-7 years of post-JD legal experience, ideally with a combination of in-house and law firm experience. Hands-on experience advising on labor and employment issues, with exposure to workplace safety and OSHA compliance.