Associate Corporate Counsel

VGM Groupa 100% employeeowned nationally recognized provider of business solutions and shared servicesis seeking an Associate Corporate Counsel who is eager to grow their career in a dynamic corporate environment. This role is an excellent fit for tenured attorneys looking to broaden their influence in an enterprise setting or earliercareer attorneys seeking accelerated development and a pathway toward senior inhouse leadership including potential advancement to Chief Legal Counsel.

Were hiring licensed attorneys in the Waterloo IA; Cedar Rapids IA; or Des Moines IA markets with experience in corporate law regulatory/compliance litigation support dispute resolution or related areas. As part of a growing legal team youll gain meaningful exposure to high-impact work across our diverse family of companies including:

• HR and employment matters
• Insurance and risk
• Mergers & acquisitions support
• Trademarks and IP
• Data privacy and information governance
• Corporate contracts and general business guidance

If you are motivated by continuous learning business partnership and the opportunity to shape and influence legal strategy over time we encourage you to apply.

Click to view more aboutVGM!

Position Summary

The Associate Corporate Counsel supports the Chief Legal Officer (CLO) and VGM Groups leadership team by delivering high-quality legal counsel ensuring compliance with applicable laws and regulations and helping proactively manage organizational risk. This role partners closely with the CLO on daytoday legal matters while gaining hands-on experience that contributes to longterm career growth within the department.

You will help protect company assets and intellectual property support new business initiatives and provide practical business-oriented legal guidance to leaders across the organization. The position offers broad exposure to legal processes that affect the rights obligations and operations of the companymaking it an ideal steppingstone for attorneys aspiring to senior inhouse roles.

Who Thrives Here

A successful Associate Corporate Counsel is a proactive relationshipdriven problem solver who enjoys navigating diverse legal issues collaborating across departments and identifying risks before they escalate. While the CLO sets enterprise strategy the Staff Attorney drives strong execution builds the foundation for future leadership and contributes to a high performing trusted inhouse legal function.

Reporting Accountability:Chief Legal Officer

Working Location:Waterloo IA Cedar Rapids IA or Des Moines IA and surrounding areas

Working Hours Classification:Full-Time Exempt

Key Responsibilities:

• Deliver timely accurate legal guidance to internal stakeholders on routine operational regulatory and contractual matters.
• Partner with departments across the enterprise to ensure legal considerations are appropriately integrated into projects initiatives and strategic plans.
• Prepare review and negotiate a wide variety of contracts and agreements to ensure compliance minimize risk and support business objectives.
• Conduct thorough legal research interpret statutes and regulations and prepare memoranda or recommendations to support decision-making.
• Assist the CLO in coordinating and overseeing disputed and litigated matters including counsel to business units and handling responses managing discovery drafting or reviewing pleadings and working with outside counsel.
• Help monitor compliance with applicable laws regulations and internal policies; identify potential areas of risk or noncompliance; and recommend corrective actions.
• Draft legal documents correspondence and internal summaries related to corporate governance compliance contracts and other legal topics.
• Review and update company policies to ensure legal accuracy operational clarity and alignment with current regulations.
• Proactively identify emerging legal risks and collaborate with business units to implement practical solutions that support compliant ethical operations.
• Assist with protecting the organizations intellectual property including managing trademarks confidentiality agreements and related filings.
• Support the CLO in managing relationships with external counsel providing necessary documentation tracking progress and evaluating outcomes.
• Maintain organized and accurate legal files case records contract databases and other documentation.

Key Qualifications:

• Juris Doctor (JD) from an accredited law school.
• Active license in Iowa required (or ability to become licensed).
• Minimum 35 years of experience practicing law preferably in combination of corporate regulatory compliance and litigation support or dispute resolution.
• Experience required in using legal research programs such as Westlaw and Lexis.
• Experience in contract drafting review and negotiation required.
• Prior in-house counsel experience or experience supporting corporate clients is highly preferred.

Knowledge & Skills

• Strong understanding of corporate law and regulatory compliance practices.
• Ability to interpret and apply statutes regulations and case law to real-world business situations.
• Excellent legal research analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Demonstrated ability to draft clear concise and accurate legal documents and correspondence.
• Skilled in balancing legal risks with practical business considerations.
• High attention to detail with strong organization and prioritization skills.
• Ability to manage multiple tasks and deadlines in a fast-paced environment.

Competencies

• Strong communication skills with the ability to explain legal concepts in simple actionable terms.
• Sound judgment and discretion in handling sensitive or confidential information.
• Collaborative mindset with the ability to build relationships and work cross-functionally.
• Proactive and solutions-focused approach to identifying and mitigating risks.
• Professionalism integrity and alignment with VGMs values.

Physical requirements

• Working at a physical desk moving about the office and facility as needed for work.
• Operation of office equipment and using technology efficiently such as computers phones misc. office equipment.
• Visual abilities include reading distance vision and peripheral vision.
• Occasional travel to meetings conferences and events.

Learn more about VGM Group Inc.:

Headquartered in Waterloo Iowa VGM is a 100% employee-owned company providing business and professional services to thousands of business customers across North America. Services include group purchasing commercial insurance management of healthcare services and networks in post-acute cases healthcare distribution direct to patient homes specialty consulting online education digital print and traditional marketing and more. VGM employs approximately 1700 people across 40 states and Canada with more than 1100 working in Iowa. VGM has been named the Top Workplace in Iowa on multiple occasions and is proud of its role in the communities in which it serves. For more information visit.

This job description reflects the general duties of the job but is not a detailed description of all duties which may be inherent to the position. Reasonably related additional duties may be assigned to the individual Associate.

VGM Group Inc. provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race color religion age sex pregnancy national origin disability genetic information military or veteran status sexual orientation gender identity or expression or any other characteristic protected by federal state or local laws.

This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment including but not limited to recruiting hiring placement promotion termination layoff recall transfer leaves of absence compensation and training.