Senior Counsel, Transactions & Market Compliance

Overview

This Senior Counsel role in Transactions and Market Compliance serves as a senior legal expert, strategic advisor, and trusted partner to corporate development, supply chain, product development, finance, and other departments, as well as senior business leadership and operational teams.

The position focuses on proactive legal advice and counseling for major U.S. and cross-border transactions, including complex commercial arrangements, strategic alliances, and mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, and joint ventures across automotive and adjacent businesses.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage legal workstreams for domestic and international mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, carve-outs, minority investments, collaborations, and joint ventures—from strategy and diligence through negotiation, signing, closing, and post-closing integration.
• Lead the drafting, structuring, and negotiation of a wide range of complex commercial agreements and transaction documents, including purchase agreements, joint venture and shareholder agreements, supply, service, manufacturing, technology, strategic collaboration, licensing, and other business-critical agreements.
• Lead complex commercial transactions involving global supply chain, engineering, and manufacturing teams.
• Participate in senior-level planning and strategy development and negotiate directly with counterparties and joint venture partners worldwide.
• Balance legal risk with business goals by finding creative, compliant pathways to achieve business objectives.
• Counsel senior management (including officers and business unit leadership) on transaction risk, deal alternatives, governance, and execution strategy; prepare and present recommendations to executive leadership.
• Identify and champion responsible uses of artificial intelligence, automation, and legal technology to improve the speed, efficiency, consistency, and quality of transaction execution and legal service delivery, while maintaining sound legal judgment, confidentiality, privilege, compliance, and appropriate human oversight.
• Lead, manage, mentor, evaluate, and develop attorneys, paralegals, and other legal professionals by setting priorities, providing practical guidance, and fostering strong team performance.
• Coordinate cross-functional legal teams worldwide.
• Oversee outside counsel, including scope, staffing, budgets, and work product quality, with disciplined cost management.
• Develop and improve templates, playbooks, and precedent libraries to increase the speed, consistency, and quality of transaction execution.
• Support enterprise initiatives in electrification, software and connectivity, energy, autonomy, and government or defense-related programs.

Requirements

• Juris Doctor (JD) from an accredited law school.
• Active member in good standing of at least one U.S. State Bar (with the ability to register as in-house counsel if relocating).
• Minimum of 15 years of demonstrated and deep leadership experience in negotiating and drafting a wide range of significant complex commercial agreements and U.S. and global mergers and acquisitions and joint ventures/collaborations.
• Substantial experience leading complex commercial transactions relating to a global supply chain for manufacturing.
• Demonstrated experience negotiating and closing transactions with counterparties located outside the United States.
• Demonstrated experience working with and advising senior company management on significant legal and business matters.
• Demonstrated experience in a senior legal role leading, managing, mentoring, and developing a team of attorneys and legal professionals, including responsibility for team priorities, performance, work allocation, and professional development.
• Exceptional drafting, negotiation, and business judgment.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to translate complex legal concepts into clear, actionable, business-friendly advice.
• Strong interpersonal skills and professional maturity to advise, influence, and build trust with senior executives and stakeholders.
• Willingness and ability to travel domestically and internationally as business necessities require.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience providing legal support within the automotive or energy sectors.
• A combination of rigorous training at a major law firm and subsequent in-house corporate legal experience.

Location

Not specified in the provided description.