Paralegal

JOB TITLE: Paralegal

REPORTING TO: Associate General Counsel, Lactalis American Group

LOCATION: Chicago, IL

Lactalis USA is currently seeking a talented individual to join our US Legal team. This role is onsite in Chicago, IL.

Lactalis, the world leader in dairy, is a family-owned business with more than 85,000 pragmatic and ambitious professionals worldwide, committed to nurturing the future by providing healthy and delicious dairy products that bring people together every day. We offer an enviable range of dairy brands including Galbani®, Président®, Kraft® Natural Cheese, Cracker Barrel®, Black Diamond®, Parmalat®, Siggi’s®, and Stonyfield Organic® in addition to several brands imported from our affiliates in Europe.

At Lactalis, our core values of AMBITION, ENGAGEMENT, and SIMPLICITY are at the heart of everything we do. We are dedicated to building a safe, diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace and we know that our candidates come from many different backgrounds, cultures, and experiences. If you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job posting, we still encourage you to apply and share with us your STORY, your PASSION, and your EXPERTISE! 

You may be just the perfect candidate for this or other roles within our company.

From your PASSION to ours

This Paralegal will work closely with the Associate General Counsel (AGC) of Lactalis American Group (LAG) to support all LAG legal work, as well as with the Lead Counsel for Labor and Employment to support the Company’s position in all employee-related disputes. The position will report to the Associate General Counsel of LAG and will be based in Chicago. 

From your EXPERTISE to ours

Key responsibilities for this position include:

Lactalis American Group. (Approximately 50% of time) 

• Field initial questions from LAG stakeholders. Answer routine questions; forward non-routine questions to LAG counsel; and redirect non-legal questions
• Serve as marketing’s first legal contact for all marketing-related questions; escalate as necessary  
• Draft non-disclosure agreements and other routine agreements from Company NDA templates
• Upload completed contracts to Company’s contract management database
• Coordinate legal projects by maintaining project plan, tracking progress against goals
• Liaise with Engineering and Plant management on CapEx projects 
• Assist with preparation of corporate governance documents

Labor & Employment. (Approximately 30% of time)

• Prepare documents for production in response to personnel file requests, subpoenas, administrative agency charges, and class action complaints 
• Prepare draft discovery responses and other legal documents in coordination with internal stakeholders, under supervision of Lead Counsel for Labor & Employment
• Support compliance-related tasks at direction of Lead Counsel for Labor & Employment, including intake and proper distribution of legal documents and demands, updating documents for compliance with applicable law, and identifying potential process improvements

Other Functions. (Approximately 20% of time) 

• Other legal projects, as assigned, that are intended to benefit all Divisions within Lactalis USA

From your STORY to ours

Qualified applicants will contribute the following:

Education/Experience 

• Associate or bachelor’s degree. 
• 5+ years of paralegal experience in a law firm or in-house legal department, preferably at a CPG company.
• Paralegal certificate is a plus but is not necessary.
• Familiarity with marketing law, litigation and/or employment law is a plus but is not necessary.

Skills/Abilities

• Very strong computer skills with a high proficiency level in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. 
• Self-motivated and inspired to improve.
• Excellent organizational and communication skills. 
• Strong independent judgement.
• Able to work well within a team is necessary. 
• Skilled at communicating important concepts to all levels of management. 
• Must maintain strict confidence with respect to all Legal Department matters. 

Lactalis Heritage Dairy is an equal employment opportunity employer. We will not discriminate against applicants with regard to any legally-recognized basis including, but not limited to: veteran status, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, sexual orientation, and physical or mental disabilities.