Commercial Counsel

The opportunity: 

Flexport is a global leader in supply chain management and technology, moving at the pace of global commerce. Flexport’s Legal team is seeking additional commercial counsel to support several of our growing North America business teams. This lawyer will lead the negotiation of various commercial agreements and negotiations with the Company’s customers of its freight, customs, and trade finance products. This role will also support other business units’ commercial needs as necessary (including general commercial contracts and supporting new and expanding operational and product teams), provide generalist advice to the business, and support other legal projects such as geo-expansion, corporate governance, and transactions.

We are seeking a team player with a passion for supply chain and technology, independent work ethic, and problem-solving mindset that thrives in a fast-paced, changing environment. A proven track record of leadership and creative, business-minded legal support is a must.

You will:

• Work closely with the North America legal team to support business objectives by directly partnering with senior sales leaders, negotiating contracts with customers across all industries and segments in the United States who procure the Company’s freight forwarding, customs, and trade finance products and offerings.
• Support all customer and vendor contract negotiations globally (including in our EMEA and APAC regions as needed), and help develop legal structures for our geo-expansion.
• Support and coach sales teams at all levels on deal structure and contract negotiations.
• Smartly negotiate contracts, managing them through close, and protecting Flexport’s interests (including balancing its commercial objectives and liability risks).
• Update, monitor, and advise on Flexport’s trade finance business unit, including ensuring that contracts are streamlined and adapted to customer needs.
• Collaborate with leadership in Sales, Finance, Risk, Insurance, Compliance,  and Operations teams across the Company to close deals and review product launches.
• Support negotiation of commercial contracts of all types with various types of vendors (non-SaaS, G&A, various commercial) as needed to support other members of the commercial legal team.
• Work with our Business Technology and Demand / Sales Teams to aid in building, revising, and improving the current customer contract intake process flow.  Conduct internal training as needed.
• Serve as a trusted advisor and business partner across the Company by providing counsel for accomplishing Flexport’s overall business objectives, including the assessment of claims and complaints, management of disputes, and closure of open legal questions.
• Be willing to learn new areas of the business, master freight forwarding business, and support the legal team as a whole.

You should have:  

• JD and bar admission to practice in any US state.
• 4+ years of professional experience, preferably in-house.
• Experience in logistics or transportation and familiarity with applicable legal standards, maritime conventions (COGSA, Montreal, Warsaw, etc), and commercial contract law.
• Experience with negotiating contracts in logistics, ocean freight, international trade, shipping, maritime, transportation, freight forwarding, or supply chain.
• Familiarity with capital financing agreements and structures.
• Desire to expand to support additional business teams as required by Company growth.
• High focus on organized teamwork, knowledge of contract lifecycle management, workflows, data management, and AI use.
• Deep understanding of the legal issues pervasive in freight forwarding, trade financing, commercial global business, distribution and fulfillment, and supply chain generally, with the ability to offer support and recognize legal needs of business teams.
• Ability to interact with internal clients while addressing complex issues in an accurate, clear, and thorough manner. Ability to provide clear operational directions to protect legal interests.
• A passion for closing deals and getting work done.
• The ability to multitask, work on your own, and prioritize multiple, often competing for deliverables while managing expectations meeting deadlines.
• Outstanding interpersonal and communication skills and the ability to coordinate effectively and gain trust and confidence with personnel at different levels.
• Ability to work as a team member of the legal department in a scalable, autonomous and accountable manner, demonstrating flexibility across deal types and time zones.
• The ability to build relationships and to establish yourself as a trusted advisor and business partner across the Company.
• The willingness and drive to learn freight forwarding, customs brokerage, distribution and fulfillment, financing, and all other aspects of global supply chain logistics supported by leading technology.