Associate General Counsel

Power your Thirst for More at DrinkPAK, where we revolutionize beverage manufacturing, driven by automation and sustainability. Together, through grit and innovation, we break new ground in record time by acquiring the most advanced technology and attracting the brightest talent. Our explosive growth and journey through uncharted territories offers unique career opportunities enabling passionate individuals to reach their full potential. To support our teams, we offer enriching lifestyle accounts, comprehensive benefits, formal development programs, and an energizing environment. Drive your success at DrinkPAK, where we refresh, hydrate and nourish the world and our employees alike.

POSITION DESCRIPTION: DrinkPAK is seeking a highly motivated, professional attorney to join our team as Associate General Counsel. The Associate General Counsel role reports directly to the Assistant General Counsel. The Associate General Counsel will provide timely, high-quality legal advice across a breadth of complex legal matters and will partner closely with business teams to enable efficient operations while managing legal risk. This role is ideal for an attorney with strong foundational experience in California employment litigation who is eager to develop a more comprehensive practice complemented by transactional, regulatory, intellectual property, and risk management work.

The Associate General Counsel will be responsible for identifying legal risks, supporting internal investigations, managing litigation, consulting on employment-related issues, and coordinating with outside counsel as needed. This role involves frontline operational legal work in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.  This position is designed to complement and support the Legal Team by handling day-to-day legal workstreams and escalating complex or strategic matters as appropriate.

BENEFITS: The well-being of our team members and their families is critically important to us. As part of this commitment, we offer:

• PPO medical, dental, and vision insurance for our employees AND their dependents, 100% paid by the Company

• A cell phone stipend

• Annual discretionary bonus

• 401(k) match program, pet insurance, life insurance, and more

LOCATION: The position is onsite based at DrinkPAK's headquarters in Santa Clarita, California. It is not remote.

TYPE: Full Time; Salaried / Exempt

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Conduct limited litigation in house, including prelitigation negotiation.

• Serve as a resource for employment law issue spotting, including wage and hour, leave laws, discrimination, retaliation, and termination-related risks.

• Support employment-related disputes and litigation by assisting with fact gathering, document collection, internal investigations, and coordinating with outside counsel.

• Manage and respond to employee records requests in compliance with California law.

• Serve as a strategic legal partner to managers and their teams by providing timely, proactive, strategic, best-in-class legal advice and support, considering the global objectives of the organization.

• Assist with implementation of legal processes and playbooks to improve efficiency, consistency, and risk management across the organization.

• Coordinate reporting requests and respond to inquiries from Senior Leadership on various topics.

• Serve as a key partner and legal subject matter expert to various operations teams.

• Provide operational implementation guidance, including input on issues pertaining to legal liability and/or exposure.

• Serve as first point of contact for standard form agreements, including master purchase agreements, master services agreements, terms and conditions, and nondisclosure agreements.

• Perform basic redlining and review of third-party agreements.

• Support contract process improvements, template maintenance, and internal guidance related to contract usage.

• Provide updates to senior leaders and business clients on changes in legal developments affecting the food and beverage manufacturing industry.

• Help maintain contract templates, clause libraries, and internal guidance materials.

• Help maintain master document repositories and control documents.

• Support internal training efforts on contracts, compliance, and other legal topics as appropriate.

• Assist Legal Team in identifying key strategic legal issues requiring attention from organizational leadership as appropriate.

• Work with outside counsel on various matters and ensure efficient and effective use of outside counsel.

• Coordinate with outside employment counsel on claims, demands, agency charges, and litigation, including assisting with strategy, information flow, and cost management.

• Work with Human Resources, Environmental Health & Safety, outside counsel, and insurance claims adjusters to manage and mitigate workers compensation claims.

• Manage and maintain a regulatory tracker, including monitoring deadlines and providing reminders to internal stakeholders.

• Assist with compliance-related inquiries and cross-functional information requests.

• Manage Certificates of Insurance (COIs), including requesting certificates, following up with vendors, and uploading and maintaining records in the Company’s tracking system.

• Prepare and support TN visa support letters and related documentation, coordinating with HR and outside immigration counsel as needed.

Please note this job description is not designed to contain a comprehensive list of activities, duties, or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without prior notice.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Required Juris Doctorate degree with admission to a state bar and the ability to work as in-house counsel in Southern California and 2-5 years of professional experience in a large law firm or corporate setting.

• Solid negotiation and communication skills (both oral and written). Ability to communicate legal issues in a clear and understandable manner. Strong work ethic and ability to independently manage large workload, multi-task, focus on critical priorities, and otherwise effectively meet business needs. Ability to produce high quality work under deadline pressures.

• Team player with demonstrable ability to build relationships both internally and externally. Strong organizational skills, detail oriented, innovative, strategic, self-motivated, and able to motivate others.

• A strong commitment to integrity and professionalism and demonstrated passion for excellence, conscientiousness, and transparency.

WORKING CONDITIONS

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.

• The employee frequently is required to talk and hear, in person, via video conferencing (e.g., Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, etc.), and telephonically.

• Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, and the ability to adjust focus.

• The employee occasionally is required to reach with hands and arms.

• The employee is frequently required to sit.

• The employee is occasionally required to stand and walk, including in both warehouse and manufacturing environments in which industrial vehicles are in use.

OUR VALUES 

Our company’s culture is guided by our shared values of Speed, Intensity, and Purpose. These values are demonstrated in the following ways based on the role within the organization. 

• Speed: Take the initiative to promptly identify and address potential issues or opportunities. Maintain a sense of urgency in your work, completing tasks efficiently. 

• Intensity: Remain resilient in the face of challenges and setbacks by possessing a positive attitude, persevering through obstacles, and demonstrating adaptability in your approach. 

• Purpose: Take ownership of your responsibilities, and value the input and skillsets of your peers by working together as One PAK.       

ABOUT DRINKPAK         
DrinkPAK is the premiere manufacturer of canned beverages in North America. As producers of the largest and fastest-growing alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage brands in the world, DrinkPAK provides full-service support for procurement, batching, processing, filling, packaging, warehousing, and distribution. Founded in 2020, DrinkPAK has revolutionized canned beverage manufacturing by offering extreme capacity and format flexibility through cutting-edge technology and a commitment to the best talent in the industry. For more information, visit www.drinkpak.com. 

Base Salary Compensation Range: $150,000 - $160,000