Vice President, Legal

Our client, an industry-leading global organization is seeking a Vice President, Legal to join their legal team. This individual will be expected to be a leader within the organization and legal team, strategic advisor, and a jack-of-all-trades attorney.

Job Title:

Vice President, Legal

Reports to:

Executive Vice President \& Chief Legal Officer

Location/Work Mode:

Fort Worth, TX, 5 days per week in-office

Position Overview

The Vice President, Legal is a senior legal executive responsible for providing comprehensive legal leadership and strategic counsel across the enterprise. Reporting directly to the EVP \& Chief Legal Officer, this role oversees a wide-ranging legal portfolio, including commercial transactions, corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, privacy and data protection, intellectual property, litigation management, regulatory compliance, and enterprise risk.

This position partners closely with executive leadership and business stakeholders to support strategic objectives, manage risk, and ensure the organization operates with integrity, efficiency, and compliance in a complex and highly regulated environment.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Legal Leadership

• Serve as a key advisor to the General Counsel, executive leadership, and senior business partners on significant legal, regulatory, and risk matters.
• Provide clear, pragmatic, and business‑oriented legal guidance to support operational and strategic initiatives.
• Help establish legal department priorities, policies, and best practices that promote consistency, efficiency, and high‑quality legal outcomes.

Commercial \& Corporate Law

• Lead legal support for complex commercial transactions, including customer, supplier, vendor, logistics, manufacturing, outsourcing, and strategic partnership agreements.
• Advise on corporate governance matters, internal restructurings, intercompany arrangements, and enterprise initiatives.
• Support contract negotiation strategies, risk allocation, and dispute avoidance efforts.

Mergers, Acquisitions \& Strategic Transactions

• Oversee all legal aspects of mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, and other strategic investments.
• Manage legal due diligence, transaction structuring, negotiations, regulatory approvals, and post‑closing integration.
• Coordinate cross‑functional teams and external advisors to ensure timely and effective execution.

Litigation \& Dispute Management

• Oversee the organization's litigation and disputes portfolio, including commercial, employment, intellectual property, and regulatory matters.
• Develop and execute litigation strategies focused on risk mitigation, cost management, and favorable business outcomes.
• Manage outside counsel selection, performance, and spend.

Privacy, Data Protection \& Cybersecurity

• Provide leadership on privacy, data protection, and information governance matters, including compliance with evolving domestic and international privacy regimes.
• Advise on data use, technology deployments, cybersecurity incidents, and incident response planning.

Intellectual Property

• Oversee intellectual property strategy, including patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, licensing, and enforcement.
• Support innovation and technology initiatives while safeguarding proprietary and competitive assets.

Compliance \& Regulatory Matters

• Advise on compliance with applicable laws and regulations across operational, commercial, employment, safety, environmental, and regulatory domains.
• Support enterprise compliance programs, internal investigations, and remediation efforts.
• Collaborate with audit, risk, and compliance teams to strengthen governance and risk management frameworks.

People Leadership \& Development

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of attorneys and legal professionals.
• Foster collaboration, accountability, and professional growth within the Legal Department.
• Promote continuous improvement, efficiency, and knowledge sharing.

Qualifications

• Juris Doctor (J.D.) from an accredited law school and active license in good standing.
• 12\+ years of progressively responsible legal experience, including senior‑level in‑house and/or large law firm experience.
• Experience within the manufacturing or transportation industry is preferred.
• Broad expertise across commercial transactions, corporate law, M\&A, litigation management, compliance, privacy, and intellectual property.
• Experience advising senior executives in a complex, highly regulated organization.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities and lead sophisticated legal matters with sound judgment.