Senior Corporate Counsel

For over 20 years, SPINS has been a leader in recognizing the transformative power of data in retail. We offer our clients cutting-edge tools to attract attention from a fast-growing segment within the Health & Wellness industry, the values-based consumer. Our data is the most comprehensive and accurate in the industry, allowing clients to power AI models and machine learning algorithms that help them better understand and meet their customers' needs. At SPINS, behind all of our impressive data is our real differentiator—our people. We pride ourselves on our collaborative, flexible, and communicative culture that puts people at the center of everything we do.

About the role

The Senior Counsel is an integral part of the SPINS legal team and a trusted business partner to the company. They operate with a high degree of autonomy, providing day-to-day advice and guidance to help the company meet its objectives through a deep understanding of the business, knowledge of applicable laws and regulations, sound judgment, and analytical skills. The Senior Counsel works with other members of the legal team to mitigate risk, protect the organization’s interests, and maintain its operations within the scope established by law and contractual obligations. They independently manage a broad range of legal matters, escalating issues appropriately for novel, high-risk, or strategic decisions. They provide hands-on counsel to colleagues throughout the business on matters including commercial practices, employment, IP, insurance, and more. They also lead the development and implementation of processes, systems, and tools to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the legal team, ensuring compliance with relevant federal and state laws, regulations, and contractual obligations.

Responsibilities

• Own and manage day-to-day commercial activities, including primary responsibility for the company's commercial contracting function. Independently draft, review, negotiate, apply, and enforce commercial, data licensing, SaaS, and vendor agreements with minimal supervision.
• Own the negotiation of form commercial and data licensing agreements in support of sales and retailer recruiting. Provide contract interpretation, risk exposure, and deal structuring guidance to business stakeholders.
• Direct and oversee intellectual property matters, including protection and enforcement of company IP (trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, and licensed data rights). Own negotiation of IP ownership, license scope, and derivative work provisions in commercial and vendor agreements.
• Serve as the accountable legal owner for IP clearance and infringement risk guidance to product, marketing, and engineering teams. Coordinate with outside IP counsel on application filings, prosecution, and enforcement matters.
• Drive and administer corporate processes and projects, including leading process improvement initiatives such as legal templates, contract workflows, and document management systems. Train internal teams on their use.
• Contribute to ad hoc corporate projects requiring legal input, including supporting M&A due diligence, documentation, and integration. Conduct or coordinate legal due diligence for acquisition targets, including contract review, and draft/review transaction documentation.
• Lead post-close integration workstreams for acquired entities, including contract migration to company paper, policy harmonization, and system/process consolidation across Legal, Sales, Finance, and Product.
• Provide support on privacy and data protection matters, advising on U.S. and international privacy requirements. Draft and maintain privacy policies and documentation.
• Partner with IT, Security, and Product teams to identify and mitigate privacy and data protection risks, including employee and customer data.
• Support the development and maintenance of the company's AI governance framework, including AI use policies, vendor AI tool evaluations, and AI-specific contract provisions.
• Support internal and external policy development and implementation, as well as outside counsel management, including litigation matters.
• Collaborate with HR on employee-related legal matters.
• Monitor legal and regulatory developments affecting company compliance, including privacy, data security, and commercial regulatory requirements.
• Foster a workplace with high ethical and legal standards, promoting respect, inclusion, confidentiality, and integrity.

Requirements

• 5+ years of legal experience in a corporate or law firm setting, including prior experience providing commercial transactions counsel in-house and/or at a law firm.
• Licensed to practice law in Illinois.
• J.D. from an accredited law school and Bachelor's degree.
• Experience drafting transactional documents, especially commercial, licensing, vendor, services, and other business-to-business agreements.
• Proven ability to manage high volumes of simultaneous projects efficiently, with minimal supervision.
• Able to work autonomously, issue spot, and resolve complex legal and business issues in a practical, business-focused manner.
• Experience translating creative or complex business ideas into clear, concise written work product.
• Able to juggle competing priorities and adjust as the business requires.
• Detail-oriented, well-organized, and able to manage time efficiently.
• Experience with business and legal technology tools (e.g., Salesforce).
• Able to maintain discretion and confidentiality.

The Following Is Strongly Preferred: Data licensing and SaaS contract experience. In-house experience.

Pay

$180,000-$190,000

Benefits

• Hybrid work options for work/life balance flexibility.
• Paid volunteer time for employees to support organizations of their choice.
• Charitable donation matching.
• Semi-annual company-wide employee survey to shape company programs, perks, and culture.

Values

• Direct: We communicate with clarity, honesty, and respect in all situations and embrace opportunities to provide solution-oriented feedback.
• Determined: We are committed to overcoming all obstacles to achieve results. We adapt to change, seek opportunities to learn, and rapidly translate that learning into action.
• Passionate: We go above and beyond to help our partners achieve their goals. We challenge assumptions and are comfortable forging new paths.
• Collaborative: We leave our egos at the door, believing that working together we will produce an outcome that’s greater than each individual contribution.