Director, Legal - Commercial
Summary:
Highland has an opportunity for a seasoned commercial counsel with an entrepreneurial mindset. This Director role reports to the General Counsel and supports our core business in driving revenue contracts with public agencies and transportation firms. The ideal candidate will have at least six years of legal experience, including law firm and in-house roles as well as supervisory experience. The candidate should be comfortable navigating strategic partnerships, drafting and negotiating a variety of commercial contracts, and supporting related financings. Experience in one or more of the following industry areas is strongly preferred: transportation, fleet leasing, or energy services (such as power purchase agreements, battery storage, or energy savings contracts).
The candidate will work in a fast-paced startup environment and will be comfortable taking on an array of matters. However, the primary focus in this role will be to collaborate with Highland’s sales and origination team and counterparties to drive the sales process from preliminary negotiations (or bid solicitation response) to executed contracts.
Key Responsibilities:
- Establish and manage key commercial alliances, including formal and informal partnerships and joint ventures;
- Serve as a thought partner to the executive team in ongoing development of commercial strategy and product;
- Lead deal structuring, navigating business and customer constraints to develop creative commercial solutions;
- Draft and negotiate transportation equipment services agreements;
- Oversee commercial contract product offerings, including updates and versioning of forms;
- Support market development team in crafting RFP responses for vehicle electrification-as-a-service and related requests;
- Draft and negotiate other contracts supporting sales (LOIs, teaming arrangements, license/lease agreements);
- Provide pragmatic, business-minded guidance on contract-related issues;
- Assist with pilot programs in product development and R&D;
- Support special and ancillary services projects, including stationary storage and other energy optimization solutions; and
- Supervise one or more attorney(s) and/or legal professional(s) in support of the above responsibilities.
- Support financing and M&A transactions, including collaborating with internal stakeholders on drafting matters, responding to due diligence inquiries, and managing outside counsel;
- Develop support materials and provide training to educate the sales and origination team members on contract terms and other legal issues;
- Support continued development of scalable contracting strategies and tools in coordination with legal operations and the commercial team;
- Tackle new areas of growth and product development; and
- Support other legal team members in a dynamic and collaborative environment.
Other responsibilities may include:
Required Qualifications:
- 8-10+ years as a practicing attorney
- JD with membership in at least one U.S. state bar (MA preferred)
- Excellent commercial negotiation and contract drafting skills
- Executive-level business acumen and judgment
- Exceptional accuracy and attention to detail
- Ability to work flexibly with a variety of internal and external stakeholders and to manage multiple matters simultaneously
- Prior experience supervising attorneys and/or legal professionals
- Legally authorized to work in the United States without current or future employer sponsorship
Preferred Qualifications:
- Industry experience in one or more of the following: transportation, fleet leasing, or energy services
- Prior experience executing in a fast-paced, high-ambiguity environment
- Ability and availability to work at least two (2) days a week in-office at the company’s Beverly, MA headquarters*
*For highly qualified candidates, fully remote work may be considered with periodic travel to Beverly HQ required.