Associate Attorney

Overview

The organization is seeking an Associate Attorney to join its in-house legal team, reporting to the Legal Directors. This role involves reviewing and negotiating client engagement letters, managing NDAs and access letters, responding to RFPs, overseeing the legal department intake process, reviewing and negotiating commercial contracts, and providing day-to-day legal support to the Firm’s directors.

Responsibilities

• Review and negotiate client engagement letters based on the Firm’s templates, identifying professional services risk issues and advising professionals on acceptable positions and fallback language.
• Draft, review, and negotiate NDAs, including confidentiality and third-party access agreements.
• Respond to RFPs by reviewing legal and contractual requirements, completing legal sections, and coordinating with business teams.
• Manage and organize the legal department’s intake process using Smartsheet, including triaging, assigning, tracking requests, and maintaining accurate records.
• Review and negotiate MSAs, business associate agreements (BAAs), subcontractor agreements, government contracts, and other commercial contracts, identifying risks and recommending revisions.
• Provide legal support and guidance to the Firm’s directors on contract and engagement-related matters, escalating complex issues to the Legal Directors as appropriate.
• Assist with maintaining and improving contract templates, playbooks, and process documentation.
• Support and develop understanding of Artificial Intelligence tools and platforms, leveraging relevant use cases to increase efficiencies.

Requirements (Basic Qualifications)

• J.D. degree with current bar admission.
• 3 or more years of post-law school experience in contract drafting, review, and negotiation.
• Ability to independently review, respond to, and negotiate commercial agreements, including MSAs, BAAs, subcontractor agreements, and government contracts.

Preferred Qualifications

• Strong contract drafting and negotiation skills, including experience with engagement letters, NDAs, and MSAs.
• Clear, confident communication skills with the ability to advise professionals and engage effectively with clients, counterparties, and outside counsel.
• Ability to manage multiple matters and deadlines in a fast-paced environment with minimal supervision.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail, with comfort using workflow tools such as Smartsheet.
• Familiarity with HIPAA and data privacy requirements as they relate to BAAs is a plus.
• Ability to spot and escalate legal and risk issues specific to professional services engagements, including professional liability exposure.
• Ability to identify, explain, and balance business and legal risks.

Compensation & Benefits

• Not specified in the provided job description.

Location

• Baton Rouge (Preferred Location)