Associate Attorney

Role: Entry-Level Attorney - Associate Attorney (0-2 years)

Location: Fayetteville, AR (On-site)
Department: Legal
Employment Type: Full-time
Reports to: Senior Commercial Counsel

About Garver

Garver is an employee-owned engineering, planning, and environmental services firm supporting aviation, transportation, buildings, federal, water and wastewater services; surveying; advisory services; and construction administration services. Our Legal team partners closely with technical, business, and project teams to help the company deliver high-quality professional services while managing legal and contractual risk.

Position Summary

Garver is seeking an entry-level attorney to support a broad range of corporate and commercial legal needs. This role is well-suited to a recent law school graduate or early-career attorney who is eager to build a strong foundation in contract review and drafting, risk management, and practical in-house counseling in a professional services environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Review, draft, and negotiate a variety of commercial agreements, such as professional services agreements, subconsultant agreements, NDAs, teaming agreements, and vendor contracts.
• Manage contract placement throughout the entire contract life cycle (review, negotiation, executive review, and closeout)
• Support project teams with contract interpretation, compliance questions, and issue-spotting throughout the project lifecycle.
• Assist with internal legal guidance on topics such as insurance, indemnity, general risk mitigation, and records/confidentiality obligations.
• Help maintain and improve contract templates, playbooks, document libraries, and internal guidance documents.
• Contribute to continuous improvement efforts, including training materials and process enhancements for contract intake and approvals.

Qualifications (Required)

• J.D. from an accredited law school.
• Active bar membership in at least one U.S. jurisdiction (or currently awaiting Bar results).
• Strong legal writing and drafting skills, with attention to detail.
• Ability to communicate clearly with non-lawyers and work collaboratively with cross-functional teams.
• Sound judgment, strong organizational skills, and the ability to manage multiple deadlines.
• Capacity to sustain high-quality performance during peak demand periods and time-sensitive review cycles.
• Strong commitment to maintaining strict confidentiality and applying prudent judgment in handling sensitive information.
• Comfort working in Microsoft Word with tracked changes.

Qualifications (Preferred)

• Exposure to commercial contracting, construction law, engineering/professional services, procurement, and/or government/federal contracting.
• Familiarity with risk allocation provisions (indemnity, liability caps, warranties, insurance requirements).
• Internship/clinic experience in-house or in commercial transactions.

What Success Looks Like

• Produces clear, practical contract markups aligned with company risk tolerances.
• Builds trusted relationships with project managers, procurement teams, and leadership.
• Learns quickly, asks thoughtful questions, and escalates issues appropriately.
• Improves consistency and speed of contract review through templates and playbooks.
• Comfortable with a structured, extended onboarding and learning period, and willing to learn Garver's contracting practices before operating independently.

Grow With Us

Garver offers its employees programs such as company-paid professional memberships, company support for industry licenses and continuing education opportunities that foster a progressive atmosphere. Garver provides the tools, resources, and environment to develop leaders, stimulate ideas, and accomplish projects. By offering highly competitive salary packages, attractive benefits, and a comprehensive wellness program; Garver walks the talk when it comes to work-life balance.

Founded in 1919, Garver is an employee-owned multidisciplined engineering, planning, and environmental services firm with more than 1,000 employees across the United States. Offering a wide range of services focused on aviation, buildings, construction, enterprise solutions, federal, survey, transportation, water, and wastewater, Garver sits in the top 100 of the Engineering News-Record's prestigious Top 500 Design Firms list and is consistently recognized as a best firm to work for. Learn more at GarverUSA.com.

Garver is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees. Our employment practices are based upon an individual's capabilities and qualifications without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other category protected by law.

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