Senior Counsel

Core Mandate

The Senior Counsel's mandate is to provide practical, independent legal counsel to executive leadership and the Board. They maintain comprehensive oversight of enterprise legal risk, claims, and compliance, ensuring the firm's legal framework supports growth and stability.

Key Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary legal advisor to the CEO and a key advisor to the Executive Team and Board of Directors. Deliver independent, confidential, and candid legal advice, including when that advice requires saying "no" or slowing initiatives that exceed acceptable risk.

• Establish, document, and actively manage the firm's enterprise legal risk profile. Exercise legal judgment and go/no-go authority on contracts, pursuits, and strategic initiatives.

• Directly manage all litigation, claims, and dispute matters, with particular depth in South Carolina and the Southeast. Manage professional liability, construction disputes, and other material legal exposures. Lead strategy, selection, and performance management of outside counsel, maintaining control over scope, cost, and outcomes. Collaborate strategically with insurers and brokers to reduce long-term risk and improve predictability.

• Focus on systemic risk reduction, consistency, and defensibility rather than reactive case-by-case decision-making.

• Advises the Board and executive leadership on fiduciary duties, governance standards, and corporate compliance. Maintains working expertise in the South Carolina Business Corporation Act and applicable multi-state corporate law. Supports governance processes that are rigorous yet practical, enabling timely and well-informed decisions. Acts as a steady legal presence in sensitive, high-stakes, or confidential matters.

• Advise leadership on corporate entity structure, alignment, and long-term organizational evolution. Support legal readiness for acquisitions, reorganizations, ownership transitions, and strategic partnerships. Maintain working fluency with financial statements and P&Ls to inform legal, contractual, and risk decisions. Provide hands-on guidance on equity-related matters, including equity offerings, ownership structures, and compliance with applicable Blue Sky laws across the Southeast.

• Establish and enforce enterprise-wide contract standards, review protocols, and escalation frameworks. Personally review and approve high-risk, non-standard, or strategically significant contracts and commercial agreements. Balance legal protection with commercial practicality, ensuring risk is understood and intentionally accepted where appropriate. Serve as a thought partner to leadership on risk-adjusted opportunity.

• Partner closely with HR leadership on compliance, policy development, and complex employee relations issues. Provide direct legal guidance on disciplinary actions, terminations, investigations, and workforce risk. Legal Function Leadership & Execution. Build, lead, and actively manage a scalable internal legal function, including Associate Counsel and Paralegal support. Define clear decision authority, escalation paths, and accountability within the legal function. Create legal systems and processes that reduce friction, increase consistency, and support operational efficiency. Foster a pragmatic, business-aligned legal culture, supportive, firm, and confident in setting boundaries when risk exceeds tolerance.

Qualifications & Experience

• Juris Doctor (JD) from an accredited law school. Active bar admission; South Carolina licensure or eligibility strongly preferred.

• 12+ years of progressive legal experience, ideally within A/E, construction, environmental, or professional services organizations.

• Demonstrated hands-on experience in litigation oversight, corporate governance, employment law, and commercial contracting.

• Proven experience advising CEOs, Boards of Directors, and senior leadership.

• Trusted legal counselor with strong judgment and executive presence.

• Confident and composed; willing to provide difficult or unpopular advice when necessary.

• High integrity, discretion, and professionalism.

• Business-minded with an understanding of financial and operational realities.

• Collaborative, pragmatic, and decisive.

Notice To Applicants

Background checks are carried out as part of any conditional offer made, including (but not limited to & role dependent) education, professional registration, employment, references and global watchlist screening. To be considered as an applicant, you must be authorized to work in the United States without current or future employer sponsorship and able to interview on site where the position is located.

Benefits

• Medical/Vision/Dental

• 401(K) with partial company matching.

• Life Insurance

• Short/long term disability

• Paid vacation

• Paid sick leave

• Eight (8) paid holidays

• Vehicle allowance (conditions apply)

• Employee Stock (Conditions apply)