In-House Counsel - Contracts and Risk Management

Job Description

Job Description

About the Company

Galloway & Company, Inc. is a people-first company where collaboration, innovation, and career growth are at the heart of everything we do. You will grow personally and professionally with a supportive culture, flexible work environment, and strong focus on leadership development. You'll also work on diverse, impactful projects alongside multidisciplinary professionals who are passionate about making a difference. At Galloway, you're not just building communities — you're building a fulfilling career.

About the Role

Galloway and Company, LLC seeks a Corporate Counsel, Contracts and Risk Management, to provide practical, business-driven legal advice and support for architectural and engineering design services across multiple U.S. jurisdictions.

The Corporate Counsel protects the interests of Galloway and advises leadership on strategies to eliminate or minimize exposure to risk and liability. This role focuses on reviewing, drafting, negotiating, and managing professional services agreements, subconsultant agreements, teaming agreements, design-build subcontracts, confidentiality agreements, purchase orders, contract amendments, lien-related documents, pre-claim/loss prevention, legal notices, payment documentation, and risk-sensitive project correspondence.

This position partners closely with Galloway’s leadership, project managers, principals, finance, operations, business development and marketing, and outside counsel on key contract risks and to support timely contract execution. Further, this person will protect payment rights including lien rights, reduce contract risk, and guide the firm through disputes involving scope, fees, delay, indemnity, limitation of liability, standard of care, consequential damages, insurance, and project closeout.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities Contracts

• Draft, review, revise, and negotiate professional services agreements for architectural, engineering, planning, surveying, construction administration, and related consulting services.
• Review and negotiate owner or prime contractor-generated agreements, public-sector contracts, design-build subcontracts, subconsultant agreements, teaming agreements, master service agreements, and confidentiality agreements.
• Advise internal stakeholders on key contract risks, including indemnity, standard of care, limitation of liability, consequential damages, insurance, termination, and payment timing.
• Develop and maintain fallback language, contract templates, playbooks, and negotiation checklists for recurring agreement types.

Liens, Lien Waivers, Payment Rights, and Collections Support

• Advise on lien-right preservation, notice requirements, lien waiver language, payment application support, and collection strategies across multiple states.
• Review and revise conditional and unconditional lien waivers, final payment releases, and related closeout documents.
• Partner with finance, accounting, and project managers to evaluate unpaid invoices, disputed fees, retainage, and other project collection issues.
• Help the firm avoid inadvertent waiver of payment rights through overly broad release language or problematic owner-required forms.

Claims, Dispute Avoidance, and Risk Management

• Serve as a primary legal advisor on potential claims and pre-claim loss-prevention matters, working with leadership, project teams, insurance brokers, and outside counsel to reduce the likelihood of formal claims or litigation.
• Draft and review claim responses, demand letters, notices of default, and reservation-of-rights letters.
• Serve as the firm’s primary point of contact for outside counsel and manage outside legal matters, including litigation and claims.
• Track recurring claims patterns and recommend improvements to contract language and project controls.

Project Delivery Support

• Advise on legal risks associated with design-bid-build, design-build, progressive design-build, CM/GC, and other project delivery structures.
• Review design-build subcontracts and prime design-build agreements for flow-down obligations and indemnity issues.
• Advise on architect and engineer roles during construction administration, including RFIs, change orders, and project closeout.
• Collaborate with insurance and risk management teams on contract insurance requirements and professional liability coverage.

Policies, Training, and Legal Operations

• Develop and deliver internal training for project managers, principals, and business development teams on contract review, lien-right preservation, and claims prevention.
• Create practical job aids, including contract review checklists, lien waiver guidance, and notice templates.
• Maintain awareness of laws, regulations, and industry practices affecting professional services contracts, lien rights, and professional liability.
• Assist with special projects, including acquisitions, client contract audits, and enterprise risk assessments.

Responsibilities

Legal and Technical Skills

• Strong knowledge of contract law, construction law, lien law, payment claims, professional services agreements, and risk allocation affecting architects, engineers, consultants, owners, contractors, and design-builders.
• Ability to review complex agreements quickly and identify material business and legal risks.
• Strong drafting skills, with the ability to convert legal analysis into clear, practical, enforceable contract language.
• Ability to negotiate effectively with sophisticated clients, contractors, attorneys, public agencies, developers, and institutional owners.
• Ability to balance legal risk, project realities, client relationships, insurance requirements, and business objectives.
• Sound judgment in distinguishing routine contract issues from high-risk matters.

Competencies

• Business Acumen
• Risk Judgment
• Contract Precision
• Client Service Orientation
• Collaboration
• Negotiation Effectiveness
• Problem Solving
• Professional Integrity
• Attention to Detail
• Adaptability
• Teaching and Coaching
• Accountability

Qualification

Required

• Juris Doctor degree from an accredited law school.
• Active license to practice law in at least one U.S. jurisdiction.
• 15+ years of relevant legal experience in construction law, design professional contracts, commercial contracts, professional liability, real estate development, or AEC-related legal matters.
• Experience drafting, reviewing, and negotiating professional services agreements, construction-related contracts, subconsultant agreements, or design-build agreements.

Preferred

• Prior in-house legal experience with architecture, engineering, construction, development, infrastructure, environmental consulting, or professional services firm.
• Experience supporting multi-state operations.
• Experience with AIA, EJCDC, DBIA, ConsensusDocs, owner-generated, public-sector, or design-build contract forms.
• Experience with professional liability insurance, claims reporting, and carrier coordination.

Supervision

• Reports to the Chief Operating Officer, serving as a senior individual contributor.
• Works closely with principals, project executives, project managers, finance, accounting, business development and marketing, operations, human resources, and administrative teams.

Working Conditions

• Occasional meetings or visits with clients, partners, prime contractors, or other external agencies to discuss, review, and resolve legal matters on behalf of Galloway.
• Ability to travel to other offices, project sites, mediations, client meetings, or professional events.

Minimum starting salary is $155,000 annually, with bonus opportunity.

Beyond Base Salary

We’ve cultivated a culture rooted in collaboration, growth, and innovation . Here’s what you can expect:

• 100% employer-paid benefits , setting a high standard in the industry
• Opportunities for biannual performance bonuses and profit sharing
• A workplace culture that emphasizes internal promotion, mentorship, and career advancement
• Nationally recognized as a great place to work—thanks to our outstanding teams and commitment to quality

All applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States. Galloway does not sponsor H1-B or other work visa petitions . Pre-employment and ongoing drug screening is required.

Galloway & Company Inc. is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.