Lawyer, Office of the General Counsel

Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP is one of Canada’s leading business law firms. Advising many of Canada’s corporate leaders, as well as U.S. and international parties with extensive interest in Canada, our more than 1,000 firm members are based in offices in Toronto, Montréal, Ottawa, Vancouver, Calgary and New York.

Osler prides itself on attracting and maintaining some of the brightest talent in the legal arena. Our lawyers, students, management and staff have created a unique firm culture which nurtures mentoring and the exchange of ideas. Osler is a dynamic and exciting place to further your career or carve out a new path.

Osler is seeking a conscientious and proactive lawyer to join Osler’s Office of the General Counsel. This is a multi-faceted role with many opportunities to do a variety of challenging work. This role will require strong negotiation and communication skills, and will involve working autonomously as well as part of a collegial and supportive cross-functional team, including the General Counsel, Assistant General Counsel and members of Osler’s risk, finance and information security departments. The successful candidate will report to the General Counsel.

Major Responsibilities:

• Dedicate approximately 50% of your time to the negotiation of Outside Counsel Guidelines (OCGs) and related client engagement documentation, including client guidelines, policies, codes of conduct, and RFPs. Liaising directly with Firm clients and the partners, risk analysts, and Firm subject matter experts involved in the OCG process, you will be responsible for negotiating, revising, and settling OCGs and for summarizing and communicating finalized client engagement terms to Firm stakeholders, including members of the Firm’s risk, billing, privacy and IS teams
• Support the Assistant General Counsel in the implementation of enhanced processes and procedures relating to the management of Outside Counsel Guidelines and Vendor Contracts
• Negotiate and draft agreements on behalf of the Firm, and provide internal business clients with advice on commercial agreements on behalf of the Office of the General Counsel
• Research legal and regulatory developments and draft memoranda
• Support the update, development, implementation and communication of Firm policies and procedures
• Support the delivery of risk related training to partners, associates and employees
• Support the delivery of solutions-focused advice relating to Firm operations and strategic projects for the Firm
• Contribute to risk team development, efficiency, and improvement
• Work collaboratively to deliver the highest quality of service
• Build and maintain superior relationships with internal stakeholders, clients, and business partners
• Contribute to high priority initiatives, including projects relating to privacy and incident management, policy governance, compliance and workflow improvement

Position Requirements

Education and Experience

This position requires a law degree and is a member of the Law Society of Ontario in good standing. Specific expertise and relevant experience in the following areas would also be considered an asset for this role: Insurance, Litigation, Privacy, Professional Ethics, Risk Management and/or Procurement.

Knowledge and Skills

• 3-4 years combined experience in a leading business law firm and/or in-house legal department
• Experience negotiating and drafting agreements and policies
• A highly responsive and service-oriented attitude
• Personal integrity and judgment, coupled with a strong work ethic
• Ability to organize, prioritize and manage deadlines
• Collaborative and able to develop and maintain strong working relationships with internal clients
• Ability to balance risk management and practical business judgement
• Excellent communication and drafting skills
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced environment, juggling priorities and dealing with large amounts of information efficiently and effectively
• Responsible, conscientious, proactive, motivated and a problem-solver, with the ability to successfully balance being a team player and working independently

For the safety of firm members and visitors, Osler is committed to complying with the recommendations of public health authorities, including with respect to adopting mandatory vaccination policies. Employment at Osler is therefore conditional on complying with any vaccination policies that Osler may adopt from time to time in response to the recommendations of public health authorities.

We are currently working in a hybrid work arrangement, which includes a requirement to work primarily in the office and flexibility to work remotely up to 2 days per week.

Accessibility and Accommodation

We thank all applicants for their interest in Osler; however, only chosen applicants will be contacted. Osler is committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment, and we welcome and encourage applications from people with disabilities and people with diverse backgrounds, identities, and cultures. Accommodations are available upon request for candidates in all phases of the selection process.

Background and Reference Checks

Please note that any offer of employment will be conditional upon background and reference checks, including a criminal record check, credit check, and employment and educational verifications.

If you have the required background with the ability to provide exceptional customer service and wish to work in one of Canada's leading law firms, please reply in confidence with a cover letter and résumé by the closing date.

No agencies or phone calls/emails please.