Corporate Counsel
Location:ย Remote or atย theย firmโs Scottsdale, Arizona headquartersย
Employment Type:ย Full-Timeย
Department:ย Legalย
Reports To:ย Chief Operating Officerย
Build the Legal Functionย and Own the Outcome:
Cornerstone Advisorsย isย seeking a senior Corporate Counsel to stand up and scale our legal function. This is a high-impact role for an experienced attorney who hasย operatedย in,ย or closely alongside,ย consultingย or professional services firms and understands the pace, risk profile, and commercial complexity of our business.ย
You will serve as the firmโs primary internal legal resource, partnering directly with the COO and executive leadership. This role is expected toย participateย as a member of the firmโs Operating Committee, contributing to enterprise-level decision making on risk, governance, and growth.ย
This is not a traditional in-house support role. You will build, own, andย operateย the firmโs legal capability,ย setting standards, reducing risk, and enabling the business to move faster with confidence.ย
We are looking for someone with the judgment, credibility, and hands-on orientation to lead,ย while still doing the work.ย
Whatย Youโllย Own:
Commercial Contractsย Strategyย andย Riskย Leadership:ย
- Draft, review, redline, and negotiate MCSAs, NDAs, SaaS agreements, SOWs, vendor agreements, engagement letters, and related commercial contractsย
- Own positions on liability, indemnification, data use, IP, AI-related provisions, and confidentialityย
- Redesign and modernize template agreements, including a full refresh of the firmโs MSAย
- Develop practical risk frameworks that balance protection with commercial velocityย
Legal Infrastructure & Operating Protocols:ย
- Build the firmโs legal operating model from the ground up (playbooks, templates, approval frameworks, escalation paths)ย
- Establish contracting standards, fallback language, and negotiation guardrailsย
- Implement scalable systems for contract management, exception tracking, and knowledge captureย
- Identifyย and deploy tools (including AI-enabled solutions) to improve review speed andย consistencyย
Enterprise Risk, Data, and Governance:ย
- Lead end-to-end risk assessments across key business activitiesย
- Establish and refine data use policies, privacy considerations, and client-related data practicesย
- Create structured approaches to risk identification, documentation, and mitigationย
- Participate in Operating Committee discussions, advising on enterprise risk, commercial strategy, and governance decisionsย
- Serve as a trusted advisor to leadership on enterprise risk decisionsย
Diligence, Transactions, and External Coordination:ย
- Lead legal readiness for client and partner diligence requests (data rooms, documentation, response coordination)ย ย
- Support M&A and strategic initiatives in partnership with external counselย ย
- Act as the firmโsย central pointย of coordination with outside law firms and third-party advisorsย ย
- Ensure consistent quality, cost discipline, and alignment across external partnersย
Required:ย
- J.D. and active bar membershipย
- 9โ15+ years of legal experience, with a mix of law firm and in-house exposureย
- Direct experience in or supporting consulting / professional services firmsย
- Deep experience structuring and negotiating complex commercial agreementsย
- Proven ability to design and stand-up legal frameworks, not justย operateย within themย
- Demonstrated credibility partnering with executives and contributing at the operating committee levelย
Highly Valued:ย
- Experience standing up or significantly evolving a legal function from scratch or near-scratchย
- Strong familiarity with data usage, privacy, and AI-related contractual considerationsย
- Experience leading diligence processes and supporting transactionsย
- Comfortย operatingย as a โplayer-coachโ in a fast-moving, non-bureaucratic environmentย
- Modernizing legacy contract frameworksย
- Exposure to M&A coordination or acquisition supportย
- Building legal systems from the ground upย
Whatย Success Looksย Like (first 6-12 months)ย
- Rebuilt and standardized core client agreements (MSA, NDA frameworks)ย ย
- Clear, adopted firm-wide negotiation positions and playbooksย ย
- Established risk assessment and data governance baselinesย ย
- Improved speed, consistency, and confidence in contractingย ย
- Trusted advisor status with executive leadershipย
Why This Role:
This is a rare opportunity to define how legal supports and accelerates the business, not justย reviewsย it.ย Youโllย have direct influence on how the firm manages risk, engages clients, and scales.ย
EEO STATEMENTย
Cornerstone Advisorsย providesย equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, or genetics. In addition to federal law requirements, our firmย complies withย applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment in every location in which the company has facilities. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.ย