General Counsel

Description

ROLE OVERVIEW

Steele Brands is seeking a commercially minded, hands-on General Counsel to lead legal strategy and execution across its growing portfolio of restaurant brands. As a trusted advisor to executive leadership, this leader will enable responsible franchise expansion, protect the enterprise, and deliver pragmatic guidance that balances risk and business opportunity.

The role is intentionally weighted toward franchise law, development, and franchisor/franchisee relationships (approximately 60%), with the remaining focus on employment law and broader corporate legal matters (approximately 40%). The General Counsel will partner closely with Franchise Development, Operations, and People & Culture while building scalable legal processes and effectively managing outside counsel.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Franchise Law, Development & Franchisee Relations | Primary Focus (~60%)

• Own legal strategy for franchise development, franchise sales compliance, operations, and the ongoing franchisor/franchisee relationship across the brand portfolio.
• Lead preparation, annual updates, and administration of Franchise Disclosure Documents (FDDs), franchise registrations, franchise and area development agreements, renewals, transfers, and related disclosures.
• Advise on federal and state franchise laws, disclosure timing, franchise sales practices, advertising funds, and system-wide initiatives.
• Partner with Development and Operations on new market entry, franchisee qualification, transactions, ownership changes, unit development obligations, and brand standards.
• Lead legal strategy for franchisee defaults, compliance notices, disputes, terminations, nonrenewals, enforcement, and negotiated resolutions, protecting the brand while maintaining productive partnerships.
• Advise on franchisor liability, franchisee independence, joint-employer exposure, and operational boundaries; establish practical guidance and training for field leaders.
• Support franchise-related real estate, intellectual property licensing, territorial rights, and commercial arrangements.

Employment Law & People Partnership | Core Focus

• Partner closely with the Chief People Officer and People & Culture team on sensitive employee relations matters, investigations, accommodations, leaves, performance management, and separations.
• Advise on federal, state, and local employment requirements, including wage and hour, classification, discrimination, retaliation, workplace safety, and multi-state compliance.
• Review and negotiate executive employment terms, offer letters, restrictive covenants, confidentiality agreements, severance arrangements, and employment policies.
• Guide organizational restructuring, reductions in force, acquisitions, integrations, and workforce transitions.
• Oversee agency charges, demand letters, employment disputes, and litigation, coordinating with outside counsel as appropriate.
• Distinguish the company’s employment obligations from those of independently owned franchisees and advise on related risk.

Corporate Legal, Governance & Risk Management

• Serve as a practical legal advisor to the CEO and executive team on growth strategy, enterprise risk, corporate governance, and major business decisions.
• Draft, review, and negotiate vendor, technology, licensing, supply chain, consulting, and other commercial contracts.
• Support mergers and acquisitions, diligence, integrations, entity matters, intellectual property, privacy, marketing, and restaurant regulatory issues.
• Oversee litigation strategy, outside counsel selection, budgets, and legal spend; personally handle matters appropriate for in-house resolution.
• Build scalable legal infrastructure, playbooks, contract templates, approval workflows, compliance training, and reporting as the organization grows.

Requirements

EXECUTIVE PROFILE & QUALIFICATIONS

• Juris Doctor (JD) from an accredited law school; active bar membership in good standing and ability to meet applicable in-house counsel registration requirements.
• 10+ years of progressive legal experience, including substantial franchise law experience and demonstrated multi-state employment law expertise.
• Experience advising a franchisor, ideally within restaurant, hospitality, retail, or another multi-unit consumer business.
• Deep familiarity with FDDs, franchise registration and disclosure, franchise agreements, franchisee disputes, and development transactions.
• Strong judgment on complex employee relations, employment compliance, and litigation risk.
• Prior in-house legal leadership or meaningful executive advisory experience; ability to operate as a lean, hands-on legal leader.
• Strong commercial negotiation, communication, relationship-building, and prioritization skills.
• Experience with acquisitions, multi-brand portfolios, real estate, and managing outside counsel preferred.

LEADERSHIP ATTRIBUTES

• Business-first legal judgment: makes risk understandable and offers actionable paths forward.
• Franchise partnership mindset: protects brand standards while navigating complex franchisee relationships.
• Hands-on ownership: combines strategic counsel with detailed execution.
• Trusted, discreet collaborator: earns confidence across executive, field, and People teams.
• Builder mentality: develops simple, scalable processes in a fast-changing environment.

SUCCESS IN THE ROLE

• Franchise growth is supported by timely, consistent agreements, disclosures, registrations, and sound risk decisions.
• Franchisee issues are resolved effectively while protecting brand integrity and commercial relationships.
• Employment risks are proactively managed through strong partnership with People & Culture.
• Leaders receive responsive, practical counsel and outside legal spend is managed responsibly.
• The legal function scales with the business through clear standards, tools, and governance.