General Counsel

Korn Ferry is conducting a confidential search for a commercially minded and pragmatic General Counsel to establish and lead their legal function of a growing organization.

Reporting to the Chief Executive Officer and serving as a member of the executive leadership team, the General Counsel will be a trusted advisor on the legal, strategic, and operational matters shaping the organization’s future. This individual will build practical, scalable legal capabilities while helping the business strengthen its infrastructure, improve consistency, and support continued growth.

This is an uncommon opportunity to build a legal function while advising senior leadership on commercial matters, corporate transactions, governance, compliance, risk management, and organizational transformation.

The Client

Our client is an established, private equity-backed national distribution company focused on continued growth and organizational transformation. The company offers a commercially focused and collaborative environment where leaders can influence strategy, strengthen enterprise capabilities, and help shape its future.

Key Responsibilities

• Serve as a trusted legal and business advisor to the Chief Executive Officer and executive leadership team.
• Establish a scalable legal operating model aligned with the organization’s strategy and evolving needs.
• Lead legal support for commercial agreements and other business arrangements.
• Develop efficient contracting processes, templates, escalation protocols, and dispute-resolution practices.
• Support corporate transactions through due diligence, negotiation, execution, and integration.
• Help harmonize policies, contracts, legal entities, and operating practices across the organization.
• Manage litigation, claims, commercial disputes, employment matters, and outside counsel relationships.
• Partner with Human Resources on workforce matters, investigations, employee relations, and employment litigation.
• Develop appropriate governance, compliance, intellectual property, and legal entity management frameworks.
• Support the organization’s technology and business-transformation initiatives.
• Use technology, automation, and AI-enabled tools where appropriate to improve legal service delivery.

The Ideal Candidate

The successful candidate will be a versatile legal executive who combines sound judgment with strong commercial instincts. This individual will be comfortable operating at the executive level while remaining willing to take ownership of important legal and business matters.

Ideal experience includes:

• Broad legal leadership across commercial contracting, corporate transactions, litigation, employment law, governance, compliance, intellectual property, and enterprise risk.
• Experience advising a complex organization with multiple business units or operating locations.
• Meaningful experience supporting transactions and organizational integration.
• Strong commercial judgment and an ability to manage risk without introducing unnecessary complexity or slowing business execution.
• Demonstrated success building scalable legal processes, contracting standards, governance frameworks, and organizational infrastructure.
• The ability to determine when matters should be managed internally and when specialized external expertise is required.
• A practical, hands-on leadership style grounded in accountability, collaboration, humility, and personal ownership.
• The credibility to build trusted relationships with executives, operational leaders, Human Resources, Finance, and external advisors.
• A Juris Doctor degree and admission to practice law in at least one U.S. jurisdiction.
• Prior experience as a General Counsel is attractive but not required.

Why Consider This Opportunity?

The General Counsel will have the opportunity to shape a legal function, work directly with senior leadership, and influence important decisions across the organization. The position offers a compelling combination of strategic visibility, operational involvement, and enterprise-building responsibility.

The organization values integrity, accountability, collaboration, sound judgment, and leaders who are willing to contribute at both the strategic and practical levels. The successful candidate will help create a durable legal foundation while enabling informed, timely, and commercially responsible decision-making.

Compensation: $350-450k bonus LTI

Location: Seattle, WA

510818733