General Counsel

Key Responsibilities

Strategic & Executive Leadership

- Serve as the principal legal advisor to the CEO, executive leadership team, and Board of Directors on legal, regulatory, governance, and business matters.

- Act as a strategic partner in evaluating business opportunities, growth initiatives, investments, and operational decisions.

- Participate as a member of the executive leadership team, contributing to strategic planning, enterprise risk management, and organizational decision-making.

- Provide practical, business-oriented legal guidance that balances risk mitigation with operational and commercial objectives.

- Advise leadership on evolving legal, regulatory, environmental, and industry developments that may impact the organization.

Corporate Governance

- Oversee all aspects of corporate governance and Board administration.

- Support the Board of Directors and its committees, including preparation and review of meeting materials, resolutions, governance documents, and corporate records.

- Maintain corporate organizational documents, bylaws, governance policies, and entity records.

- Ensure adherence to governance best practices and legal obligations across the organization.

- Develop and maintain governance policies and procedures that support organizational accountability and transparency.

Legal Operations & Enterprise Risk Management

- Evaluate and strengthen LES's overall legal infrastructure and risk management framework.

- Develop, implement, and maintain an enterprise-wide legal risk management strategy designed to identify, assess, prioritize, and mitigate potential exposures.

- Establish legal policies, procedures, reporting mechanisms, and internal controls to support compliance and effective decision-making.

- Manage all litigation, disputes, claims, investigations, and pre-litigation matters.

- Recommend litigation strategies, settlement positions, and resolution pathways to executive leadership.

- Select, manage, and evaluate outside counsel while controlling legal expenditures and ensuring quality outcomes.

- Develop legal department metrics, reporting processes, and performance measures.

Contracts & Commercial Transactions

- Conduct extensive review, drafting, and negotiation of contracts across all areas of the business.

- Oversee and manage the company's portfolio of third-party agreements, including:

- Customer agreements

- Vendor contracts

- Supplier agreements

- Procurement contracts

- Service agreements

- Leases

- Strategic partnerships

- Confidentiality agreements

- Ensure contractual provisions appropriately allocate risk, protect company interests, and align with regulatory requirements and business objectives.

- Lead negotiations involving significant commercial agreements and dispute resolutions.

- Establish contract management standards, templates, playbooks, and approval workflows.

- Monitor contract compliance, renewal deadlines, obligations, and performance metrics.

- Partner with business leaders to structure transactions and commercial arrangements that support growth while minimizing legal risk.

Mergers, Acquisitions & Strategic Transactions

- Serve as lead legal advisor for mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, and other strategic transactions.

- Lead legal due diligence efforts and identify transaction-related legal and regulatory risks.

- Structure transactions and draft, negotiate, and finalize definitive agreements.

- Coordinate and oversee external legal advisors, consultants, and transaction specialists.

- Advise executive leadership and the Board regarding transaction risks, regulatory approvals, integration requirements, and post-closing obligations.

- Provide legal support for financing transactions, capital raises, and major business investments.

- Support significant infrastructure, operational, and capital improvement projects.

Regulatory Compliance & NOV Prevention/Resolution

- Ensure compliance with all applicable federal, state, and local laws, regulations, permits, licenses, and agency requirements governing LES operations.

- Design, implement, and continuously improve enterprise-wide compliance programs, policies, training initiatives, monitoring protocols, and reporting systems.

- Establish compliance auditing and risk assessment programs to proactively identify and address potential issues before they become violations.

- Develop strong partnerships with operational teams across the organization by spending time in the field, at facilities, and alongside business leaders to understand operational realities and compliance challenges firsthand.

- Identify root causes of compliance vulnerabilities and implement practical, sustainable controls that reduce organizational risk.

- Lead all responses to Notices of Violation (NOVs), regulatory findings, enforcement actions, inspections, and agency investigations.

- Direct root-cause analyses, corrective action plans, remediation strategies, and long-term preventive measures.

- Serve as the primary legal liaison with federal, state, and local regulatory agencies.

- Oversee regulatory filings, permits, audits, inspections, investigations, and agency communications.

- Report regularly to executive leadership and the Board regarding compliance risks, open matters, remediation efforts, and regulatory trends.

Environmental & Operational Legal Support

- Provide legal guidance on environmental regulations, permitting obligations, waste handling requirements, transportation regulations, operational compliance, and related risk management matters.

- Partner with Environmental, Health & Safety (EHS), Operations, Fleet, and Engineering teams to promote a proactive compliance culture.

- Support environmental audits, corrective actions, and continuous improvement initiatives.

- Advise on emergency response, incident investigations, and environmental enforcement matters as needed.

Additional Legal Responsibilities

- Provide legal support regarding intellectual property, trademarks, confidentiality protections, and proprietary business information.

- Advise on data privacy, cybersecurity, information governance, and incident response matters.

- Support employment-related legal issues in partnership with Human Resources, including policy review, investigations, and labor and employment matters.

- Manage insurance programs from a legal and risk perspective, including coverage analysis, claim strategy, and carrier negotiations.

- Advise on real estate transactions, leases, property acquisitions, land use matters, and related environmental considerations.

- Support business continuity planning and crisis management initiatives.

Qualifications

Required

- Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from an accredited law school.

- Active membership and good standing with at least one U.S. state bar.

- Minimum 12+ years of progressive legal experience, including significant in-house and/or law firm experience.

- Demonstrated experience leading legal functions in complex, multi-state operating environments.

- Extensive experience negotiating commercial contracts and managing legal risk.

- Strong background in litigation management, regulatory compliance, and corporate governance.

- Experience advising executive leadership teams and Boards of Directors.

- Proven ability to influence business decisions while balancing legal and operational objectives.

Preferred

- Experience within environmental services, industrial services, transportation, logistics, manufacturing, waste management, energy, utilities, or similarly regulated industries.

- Experience managing mergers, acquisitions, and strategic transactions.

- Familiarity with environmental regulatory frameworks and agency interactions.

- Experience building or rebuilding legal and compliance programs.

- Prior General Counsel, Deputy General Counsel, or Chief Legal Officer experience.

Skills & Competencies

- Executive presence and strong business acumen

- Strategic thinking and sound judgment

- Exceptional contract drafting and negotiation skills

- Enterprise risk management expertise

- Strong leadership and influence capabilities

- Regulatory and compliance expertise

- Litigation management experience

- Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, operational environment

- Strong communication and Board presentation skills

- High integrity, discretion, and professionalism

Why Join LES?

This is a unique opportunity to establish and lead the legal function of a growing, mission-driven environmental services company. The General Counsel will have an immediate and meaningful impact on strengthening governance, reducing risk, driving compliance excellence, supporting strategic growth initiatives, and helping shape the future direction of Liquid Environmental Solutions.