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Contracts Counsel

Charlotte, North Carolina, United States; Raleigh, North Carolina, United States

McAdams is a full-service land planning, landscape architecture, civil engineering, transportation, and geomatics firm located in North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, and Florida. We seek to partner with our clients to create meaningful experiences through inspired design. Our employees are what make McAdams different. We bring experiences to the forefront of everything we do, and to do that takes special people.

Position Overview 

The Contracts Counsel serves as McAdams’ in-house legal advisor for contract matters, supporting risk management and business operations across all service lines. Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer, this role is responsible for supporting the creation, negotiation, and ongoing management of various agreements, ensuring alignment with regulatory, insurance, and business requirements. The Contracts Counsel works closely with project teams, corporate teams, McAdams’ leadership, and external partners to protect the firm’s interests and promote project success. 

Key Responsibilities 

  • Lead the end-to-end management of all general business and project-related contracts and agreements. 
  • Collaborate with corporate and operational leadership to create new agreement templates and revise existing templates as needed. 
  • Develop and maintain legal criteria for all standard agreement types, incorporating legal, insurance, and regulatory guidance. 
  • Research state-specific or client-specific legal and regulatory requirements for contract terms; ensure that all existing contracts meet these requirements. 
  • Partner with insurance brokers and risk management partners to ensure contract language aligns with insurance requirements. 
  • Review incoming client-provided contracts and client-requested redlines to McAdams’ standard agreements; flag high-risk language and recommend revisions. 
  • Collaborate with corporate and operational leadership to support contract negotiations with clients, subcontractors, and other business partners upon request. 
  • Review and approve subconsultant agreements to ensure flow-down of relevant prime contract obligations; partner with McAdams’ Accounting team to validate insurance certificates and other compliance-related documentation; manage subconsultant agreement expirations and renewals. 
  • Partner with corporate stakeholders to ensure all executed contracts are properly stored according to McAdams’ document retention policies. 
  • Support the pre-claims process by identifying contract-related factors in potential disputes or incidents. 
  • Provide legal support, third-party counsel, and professional liability resources during disputes or claims against the firm or its professionals. 
  • Provide training and resources to project managers, business development, and leadership on contract best practices. 
  • Maintain a database of past contract reviews and negotiated fallback positions. 
  • Analyze trends in redlines, claims, and negotiations to identify areas for process improvement. 
  • Partner with McAdams’ corporate teams to automate or enhance parts of the contract workflow using available tools. 
  • Maintain awareness of industry best practices and regulatory changes affecting contract management. 

 Skills + Experience  

  • Juris Doctor (JD) from an accredited law school and an active license to practice law in at least one U.S. jurisdiction required 
  • 3–7 years of legal experience, ideally including in-house counsel or law firm experience focused on construction, engineering, or professional services contracts; experience in construction and design litigation desirable 
  • Expertise in risk assessment and allocation (e.g., indemnity, limitation of liability, force majeure); demonstrated ability to identify and escalate high-risk clauses and propose alternative solutions. 
  • Experience partnering with insurance carriers for agreement management and claims processing 
  • Multi-state contract management experience 
  • Demonstrated ability to draft, review, and negotiate contracts with owners, prime consultants, subconsultants, and vendors 
  • Ability to provide practical legal advice to project teams and leadership in a timely, business-oriented manner 
  • Exceptional communication and collaboration skills across varying internal and external audiences 
  • Demonstrated ability to translate complex legal concepts into understandable terms for non-legal audiences 
  • Proficiency with Microsoft 365  
  • Experience with contract lifecycle management (CLM) systems/tools (such as DocuSign, Adobe Sign) a plus. 

Work Environment + Physical Demands 

The characteristics described below are representative of those encountered while performing the essential functions of this position. When properly requested and when feasible (without undue hardship to the company), reasonable accommodations will be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions. 

  • Work will primarily be in an office setting with limited opportunities to be exposed to adverse environmental conditions. 
  • Work will be primarily working with fingers by picking, pinching, typing, and grasping often with repetitive motion.  
  • Must have visual acuity for viewing a computer screen, the ability to talk, hear and sit for extended periods of time. 
  • Must be able to carry, lift and push/pull up to 5 pounds frequently and up to 30 pounds occasionally.  
  • Additional physical duties may be required as necessary. 

McAdams is an equal opportunity employer.  All qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without regard for race, color, religion, gender (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, or gender identity), national origin, age, disability, genetic information, veteran's status, or any other legally protected status.

If you need assistance with our online application system process, please contact the Human Resources Team at 919.361.5000 or hrteam@mcadamsco.com. 

Please read these notices for important information regarding applying for work with McAdams.

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