Senior Counsel

DLR Group is an integrated design firm with a promise to elevate the human experience through design. This fuels the work we do around the world and inspires our mission to improve the lives of our clients, our communities, and our planet. If this sparks your interest, you’re in the right place.

Position Summary:

We have an opening for a Senior Counsel to join our team!  

In this high-impact role, you will have an opportunity to advise teams across the firm on a wide range of legal matters. You will help develop and scale the firm’s claims and litigation management strategy, including as to employment matters. Additionally, you will support the firm’s lead transactional counsel in drafting and reviewing contracts, as well as supporting contract negotiations. As Senior Counsel you will help the firm navigate the complex frameworks that come with expanding into new geographies and sectors.

We're looking for a strategic thinker with deep experience in the design and construction industry including design-build projects that has familiarity working at a company with a global footprint. If you're a collaborative, proactive problem-solver who thrives in a fast-paced, team-oriented environment, this could be the role for you. Come join our dynamic legal team and play a key role in shaping the future of a global, award-winning design firm.

What you will do:

• Draft, review, and negotiate a wide range of contracts and agreements across all sectors and global geographies, ensuring alignment with firm objectives and risk tolerance
• Lead the firm’s claims and litigation efforts, including managing outside counsel and experts, develop legal strategy that places firm objectives as a priority while maximizing outcomes, and collaborating with insurers where applicable
• Develop, implement, and maintain the firm’s claims and litigation management processes, including policies and procedure for legal holds, electronic discovery, and other litigation and matter management systems
• Partner with Human Resources to navigate and support various employment-related matters associated with compliance, policies, and claims
• Collaborate with the legal team to build and continuously improve department processes, systems, and tools to support a scalable and efficient legal function
• Leverage experience working in a global, multidisciplinary environment to ensure legal support, tools, and strategies are scalable, consistent, and effective across offices and regions
• Provide legal guidance to project teams throughout the project lifecycle to mitigate legal risks, maximize project outcomes, and meet business objectives
• Lead firmwide legal education initiatives by developing and delivering training, curating a firm legal support page, and other avenues to connect with the firm fostering strong partnerships across the organization
• Work in partnership with outside counsel, experts and internal stakeholders to develop and provide practical legal guidance that meets business objectives

Required Qualifications:

• Juris Doctor (JD) from an accredited law school
• Active bar membership in good standing in at least one U.S. jurisdiction
• Minimum of 5 years of legal experience in the design and construction industry
• Proven ability to manage legal issues in cross-border business environments, including experience developing and delivering training to employees in legal matters, and establishing and implementing in-house legal team processes, policies, and procedures
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to convey complex legal concepts clearly and effectively
• Strong business acumen and practical judgment, with a strategic mindset that balances legal risk with business objectives
• High emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build trust and collaborate effectively across diverse teams and disciplines
• Ability to remain composed and solution-focused during high-stakes negotiations and dispute resolution
• Willingness to travel occasionally, as needed

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience working in both a law firm and in-house corporate legal department role
• Demonstrated experience supporting employment-related legal matters and advising on human resource compliance and claims

DLR Group is an integrated design firm delivering architecture, engineering, interiors, planning, and building optimization for new builds, renovations, and adaptive reuse projects.

We are 100% employee-owned: every employee is literally invested in our clients’ success. At the core of our firm are interdisciplinary teams engaged in every step of project lifecycles. Our teams champion true collaboration, open information sharing, shared risk and reward, value-based decision making, and proficient use of technology to deliver exceptional design. We are pursuing the goals of the 2030 Challenge, the ME2040, and the SE2050, and are an initial signatory of the China Accord and the AIA 2030 Commitment.

Through our values – commitment, creativity, environmental stewardship, fun, integrity, ownership, sharing, teamwork – we elevate the human experience through design, together.

DLR Group follows a four-day in-office work model, with employees having the flexibility to work somewhere other than the office on Fridays.

We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action/M/F/Veteran/Disabled employer.