Legal Operations Coordinator

At Mennel, we believe in doing right and bringing our best to our people who are helping to feed the world. We promote teamwork and recognize the individual contributions everyone plays in the overall success of the company. 

JOB SUMMARY:  

In this role, you will help sustain Mennel’s tradition of excellence established in 1886 as well as support our food safety programs and mission to reliably deliver superior quality, uniformity, and service. 

The Legal Operations Coordinator will play a key role in enhancing the efficiency, organization, and effectiveness of the company’s legal department. This position bridges legal, business, and administrative functions by managing processes, tools, and workflows that support the delivery of legal services across the enterprise. The ideal candidate is detail-oriented, highly organized, and carries him or herself professionally while thriving in a family-oriented environment and expecting accuracy, discretion, and proactive problem-solving. 

PRIMARY WORK SHIFT:  

Standard company office hours, Monday – Friday, 8AM – 5PM. May vary, depending on workload. 

Corporate office location: Fostoria, Ohio 

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: 

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily with or without accommodation.  

Legal Intake & Matter Management 

• Serve as the first point of contact for internal legal requests and coordinate matter intake through enterprise legal management software (currently Filevine).
• Create, track, and maintain legal files and records for all active and archived matters.
• Monitor status of matters and ensure timely follow-up and closure.

Contract Lifecycle Management 

• Manage the end-to-end process for contracts, including intake, tracking, filing, and renewal notifications.
• Coordinate review and approval workflows across business units.
• Maintain the contract repository and ensure version control and audit readiness.
• Track key contract dates, deliverables, and obligations to ensure compliance.

Outside Counsel & Legal Spend Management 

• Process and review outside counsel invoices for compliance with billing guidelines.
• Track legal spend and assist with budgeting, forecasting, and vendor reporting.
• Support relationship management with law firms and other external partners.

Legal Technology & Process Improvement 

• Serve as subject-matter expert (SME) and administrator for Filevine (enterprise legal management/intake) and Filejet (entity management).
• Identify opportunities to improve data quality and workflow automation.
• Assist in evaluating and implementing additional legal technology tools as needed.

Legal Documents & Routine Agreements 

• Maintain templates and forms for standard agreements (e.g., NDAs, master supply/purchase agreements).
• Handle routine requests and process low-risk contracts up to the point of substantive legal review/redlines.
• Perform initial analysis and issue spotting for standard commercial contracts.

Corporate Governance & Compliance 

• Handle Assistant Secretary duties, including notetaking and preparing meeting minutes for board and shareholder meetings.
• Maintain corporate records and ensure compliance with state filings, entity management, and annual reporting requirements.
• Support General Counsel with multi-entity compliance coordination, ensuring consistent governance practices across all Mennel subsidiary and affiliate entities.
• Track compliance deadlines and coordinate timely filings with Filevine.

Legal Research & Administrative Support 

• Conduct routine legal research on regulatory and compliance topics under attorney supervision.
• Manage calendars, meetings, and travel arrangements for the in-house legal team.
• Assist with special projects and other duties as assigned.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES: 

This position has no supervisory duties. 

QUALIFICATIONS:  

The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required to perform this job. 

• Associate degree in legal studies, pre-law, or paralegal studies preferred
• Minimum of two (2) years paralegal experience or equivalent supporting a corporate legal department, law firm, or legal operations function.
• Certification or coursework in Legal Operations (CLOC, ACC, or similar) preferred.

KEY SKILLS: 

• Experience with contract lifecycle management (CLM)
• Proficient with enterprise legal management systems (Filevine, or similar).
• Working knowledge of corporate governance, compliance tracking, and records management.
• Strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and ability to manage multiple priorities.
• Ability to handle initial document review.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Discretion and professionalism when handling sensitive or confidential information.

Key Attributes for Success 

• Operational mindset: proactive in streamlining processes and implementing best practices.
• Collaborative communicator: works effectively with legal, finance, and business stakeholders.
• Tech-savvy: comfortable learning and managing new systems and data tools.
• Detail-oriented and reliable: ensures deadlines, records, and obligations are always met.

LANGUAGE SKILLS: 

Ability to read and comprehend simple instructions, short correspondence, memos, procedures and plans. Ability to write, complete checklists and other basic documentation and correspondence. Ability to effectively present information or data in one-on-one and small group situations to co-workers, supervisors, and managers. 

MATHEMATICAL SKILLS:  

Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals. 

REASONING ABILITY: 

Must use solid judgment when making decisions. Must have ability to quickly recognize and plan for changing work duties and events. 

PHYSICAL DEMANDS: 

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job: 

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit for extended periods, use hands and fingers for keyboard and computer work, and communicate verbally and in writing. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds (typically files, binders, or office supplies). Specific vision abilities required include close vision for document review and computer work. 

WORK ENVIRONMENT:   

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job: 

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly exposed to conditions that are typical to an office environment.