Mill is all about answering a simple question: how can we prevent waste? Less waste can save time, money, energy, maybe even our planet. And there’s no better place to start than food. Food waste is one of the most solvable climate problems facing us today. Plus, our trash really stinks. It’s gross, heavy, and our least favorite chore. At Mill we are striving to build a better environment for all, as we take on climate and kitchen change.
As Commercial Counsel, you’ll be the third member of the Mill Industries Inc. (Mill) legal team. You’ll be an integral part of an innovative company, working alongside a dynamic team and top-tier investors to tackle the devastating environmental impact of food waste by creating a first-of-its-kind product and service. The core of this role is drafting and negotiating commercial agreements to support the growth of our municipal and enterprise channels. As part of a start-up legal team, you’ll be nimble enough to also work on product matters (privacy, marketing compliance, product safety), corporate legal work, intellectual property, employment issues, and other matters, as needed. You should be genuinely interested in working on cutting-edge legal and policy issues at the intersection of technology and the environment. You also need to have the ability to operate independently in a fast-paced setting, strong organizational and communication skills, and a desire to rapidly learn and evolve.
What you’ll do:
- Report to the Mill GC and AGC, leading legal support for our partnerships team as it rapidly scales.
- Draft, review, and negotiate commercial contracts across the business, including creating new form agreements.
- Manage the development and improvement of legal and approval processes, workflow process improvements, company policies, internal training and guides, and templates to scale with the company as it grows. You will be asked to remove and simplify processes in addition to creating new ones.
- Identify and strategize about risks across the business in the near- and long-term, including issues related to working with municipalities and non-profits, marketing materials and promotions, and new product features and service models.
- Provide solution-oriented legal, regulatory, and strategic advice and direction to Business, Product, Marketing, Communications, Policy, Engineering, and Customer Support from the initial stages of project development to launch and beyond.
- Efficiently manage and work with outside counsel to support projects you manage.
- Ensure compliance with U.S. and international laws and regulations on privacy and data protection, competition, consumer protection, payments, product safety, and intellectual property.
- Build positive relationships across the company and with its external partners.
What you’ll need:
- 5+ years of law firm and/or in-house experience, or 3+ years in a commercial agreements practice group at a firm.
- JD from an accredited law school and state bar membership.
- Background as part of a start-up legal team or outside counsel to start-up legal teams.
- Experience drafting and negotiating commercial agreements, including creating and refining form agreements.
- Generalist skillset, and a willingness and ability to tackle problems outside your core expertise.
- Balance an attention to detail with the ability to work very quickly and operate with a pragmatic lens.
- Prior experience drafting and negotiating commercial agreements with enterprise customers and/or municipalities is a strong plus.
- Experience in supply chain/procurement, waste management, environmental compliance/policy, and/or consumer hardware products a plus.
- Interest in policy work around waste prevention, circular economy, GHG emissions reduction, and sustainable agriculture practices.
- Demonstrated business judgment, and the ability to analyze the costs/benefits of proposed resolutions to legal problems.
- Proven ability to build solid, trusting, and credible relationships, including working closely with engineering, product and business teams.
- Excellent writing, communication, and people skills.
- Hungry to learn every aspect of how a defining company is built.
The estimated base salary range for this position is $175k to $200k, which does not include the value of benefits or a potential equity grant. A wide range of factors are considered in making compensation decisions, including but not limited to skill sets, market conditions, experience and training, licensure and certifications, and business and organizational needs. At Mill, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for their role.
