General Counsel

About Us:

BW Design Group is a fully integrated architecture, engineering, construction, system integration, and consulting firm committed to helping our clients realize their most critical goals from Strategy to Commercialization. As the only firm born from a manufacturing technology company to become an independent and fully integrated firm, we combine deep domain expertise in the manufacturing environment with an approach that is built to serve the dynamic needs of our clients. Rooted in our distinct culture of Truly Human Leadership, we cultivate the leaders who will define tomorrow and partner with our clients in the food & beverage, life sciences, industrial, and advanced technology industries to build the future of manufacturing and technology.

 

Barry-Wehmiller is a diversified global supplier of engineering consulting and manufacturing technology for the packaging, corrugating, sheeting and paper-converting industries. By blending people-centric leadership with disciplined operational strategies and purpose-driven growth, Barry-Wehmiller has become a $3 billion organization with nearly 12,000 team members united by a common belief: to use the power of business to build a better world.

 

Job Description:

Design Group General Counsel

Design Group | Head Office | Legal + Risk Management Department

About Us

Barry-Wehmiller Design Group is the only professional services firm born from a manufacturing technology company to become an independent and fully integrated Architecture + Engineering + Construction company building the future of manufacturing and technology.  As one of the largest design-build firms in the United States, we shape the built environment for manufacturing and technology by enabling clients to realize capital strategies in the Food, Beverage, Life Sciences, Advanced Technology, Data Center, and Electric Vehicle/Battery Markets, creating value for our shareholders, professionals, clients, suppliers, and communities.

Design Group Legal + Risk Management

Design Group’s Legal + Risk Management group’s mission is to position our project teams to offer, win, and validate client trust in our firm of exceptional creatives, makers, and problem-solvers. 

Legal + Risk Management is responsible for contracts, insurance, licensing and governance, risk management strategy, general legal counsel, and dispute resolution.  We are biased towards action on the left side of the Paulson Curve and collaborating with project teams and clients to drive high value and high impact decision-making to obtain greater certainty of outcome for our clients and their business plans.  Design Group Legal + Risk is aligned with Barry-Wehmiller Group’s global Legal + Risk group.

Position Description

The Design Group General Counsel has responsibility and oversight for the firm’s legal and risk management functions.  The successful candidate will bring a unique and sophisticated understanding of professional design practice, construction management, and design-build delivery to align with our vertically integrated project delivery business model.  While the General Counsel will be a design and construction lawyer first and foremost, the successful candidate will also be a business leader, and keen observer of the AEC industry landscape and trends. 

Leadership & Responsibilities

• Provide legal and risk thought leadership and counsel to the Executive Team and business leaders.  Collaborate closely with Barry-Wehmiller Group legal, risk, and finance teams in alignment with global Barry-Wehmiller policies and practices.
• Represent Design Group in identifying, preventing, negotiating, handling, and settling disputes, lawsuits, charges, enforcement actions, and claims.
• Support client development and winning work through proactive contract development and interfacing directly with clients, client legal teams, or our internal client development teams.
• Oversee the Legal Group’s review and negotiate consulting, design, engineering, engineer-procure-construct, design-build and construction management contracts, subcontracts, bids, equipment and hardware supply contracts, review and modify industry standard (AIA, EJCDC, ConsensusDocs, DBIA) and client-drafted contracts.
• Counsel teams on project selection criteria, appropriate project delivery methodology, and aligning with the firm’s commercial, legal, and risk management objectives.  
• Provide project teams with counsel during project delivery, including providing project-level contract guidance and support (contract compliance, interpretation, subcontract alignment, notice requirements, close-out procedures) from kickoff to final completion.
• Oversee strategy and compliance for firm-level profess