This role is office hybrid and based in Louisville, Kentucky.
What The Role Is
Under the supervision of the General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer, this role will provide oversight of the Legal function in the Company and comprehensive legal counsel, support and risk analysis on a variety of topics across the enterprise. The individual in this position will act as the primary manager for all legal counsel worldwide, provide advice to field sales and marketing on regulatory trade practice compliance unique to the alcohol beverage industry, act as the primary legal liaison to the Human Resources Department on corporate personnel and Union matters, advise certain divisions of sales and marketing on all subject matters, draft, negotiate, and review various types of commercial transactions and company contracts, serve as primary counsel for certain operating subsidiaries, liaise with industry trade groups and company lobbyists on government and regulatory affairs, lead internal investigations and act as primary contact in the event of external investigations, support disputes and litigation, review product labels and serve as primary counsel to the Regulatory Compliance Department, advise on domestic distribution contracts and relationships, liaise with outside counsel, and work on special projects as assigned.
The ideal candidate will have strong alcohol beverage industry experience and excellent analytical skills, the ability to navigate complex state and federal regulatory statutes that govern the production and sale of alcoholic beverages, excellent communication skills to allow effective interactions with regulators, direct reports, and team members, ability to work collaboratively and manage numerous projects simultaneously, and ability to provide real-time advisement and work independently to meet quick deadlines.
How You Will Spend Your Time?
- Oversee and manage legal counsel team members
- Oversee and manage the Company’s trade practice compliance process, policy, and procedure
- Act as the Company team leader to build relationships across sales and marketing and drive effective trade practice compliance practices across the organization
- Interpret legislation, laws, rulings, and regulations, and advise Company on legal rights, remedies, and options, particularly as it relates to disputes and litigation
- Engage on and stay abreast of proposed regulatory changes and government affairs topics related to trade practice compliance, including through work with spirits industry trade groups, to proactively provide guidance to the Company and internal clients
- Lead company initiatives to improve processes and ways of working across departments and create collaborative solutions to reduce Company risk and execute and support Company strategy
- Act as the primary Company legal liaison to all state and federal alcohol regulatory agencies
- Draft, review, and negotiate company contracts, requests for proposals, and other legal documents to align with company strategy while ensuring risk mitigation and compliance with regulatory requirements
- Act as the primary advisor and business partner to certain divisions of sales and marketing, the Regulatory Compliance Department, certain operating subsidiaries, and to Human Resources to advise on various personnel and Union matters and act as co-lead to advance HR policy, procedure, and process
- Manage litigation and claims
- Review product labels for compliance with federal and state beverage alcohol and other applicable laws and regulations
- Supports the General Counsel to provide legal support to executive and senior leadership of the Company as needed on a wide variety of projects
- Manage other duties and special projects as assigned by General Counsel including acquisitions and divestitures, internal investigations, discovery, and other general corporate matters
Who You Are…
- Bachelor’s Degree required
- J.D. or LLM required from an ABA-accredited law school
- Current Bar License in Kentucky or a from a state with reciprocity with Kentucky
- Minimum 10 years of experience working as an attorney required with a law firm or in-house, with specific experience in the alcohol beverage (or other food and beverage) industry strongly preferred; labor law experience also preferred
- Minimum 5 years of experience managing a team, preferably including practicing attorneys
- Excellent people leader skills
- Strong oral and written communication skills
- Strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and problem-solving skills with a commitment to meeting deadlines
- Ability to manage a heavy workload and prioritize multiple projects with competing deadlines
- Self-starter with ability to work autonomously while functioning well in a collaborative team environment
- Ability to understand general business operations, issues, and dynamics beyond the scope of basic legal issues
- Ability to identify and synthesize legal issues simply and communicate effectively with members of other departments to support business functions
- Excellent computer skills, with proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook
Physical Requirements
While performing duties of job, employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; use hands and fingers to handle, or feel objects, and use of computer; reach with hands and arms. Employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 20 pounds.
Benefits
- Paid Vacation
- 11 Paid Holidays
- Health, Dental & Vision eligibility from day one
- FSA/HSA
- 401K match
- EAP
- Maternity/Paternity Leave
Heaven Hill and its affiliates are committed to fostering a diverse workforce as an Equal Employment Opportunity company. We invite applications from candidates of all backgrounds, without regard to race, religion, color, sex, sexual orientation, natural origin, gender identity or expression, age, disability, veteran status or any other legally protected characteristic.
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