Location: Scottsdale, AZ (Hybrid – minimum 3 days/week in office)
Employment Type: Full-Time
Legal Reports To: Chief Operating Officer
*****Build the Legal Function. Shape the Future of the Firm.
Cornerstone Advisors is seeking a Corporate Counsel to build and lead our internal legal capability as we continue to grow. This Scottsdale-based hybrid role is ideal for a contracts-focused attorney with 5–8 years of law firm experience who is ready to step into a strategic, high-impact in-house position within a professional services environment.
This is not an employment law role. It is a commercial contracts and legal infrastructure role designed for a business-minded attorney who wants to institutionalize legal systems, modernize contract frameworks, and enable executive leadership to move quickly and confidently.
You will serve as the firm’s primary internal legal resource, partnering directly with the COO and executive leadership to define standards, reduce risk, and build scalable legal infrastructure that supports long-term growth.
What You’ll Do….
Commercial Contracts & Risk Management:
- Draft, review, redline, and negotiate MCSAs, NDAs, SaaS agreements, SOWs, vendor agreements, engagement letters, and related commercial contracts
- Advise on indemnification, limitation of liability, IP ownership, data usage, AI provisions, confidentiality, and termination rights
- Lead repapering efforts to modernize legacy agreements
- Develop standardized templates, fallback language, and negotiation playbooks
- Legal Infrastructure & Operating Protocols:
- Define legal operating defaults for recurring risks
- Build structured decision-making protocols outlining risk positions, rationale, intended outcomes, and ownership
- Create and maintain a centralized contract database with exception tracking
- Identify negotiation friction points and implement structural improvements
- Evaluate and implement AI-enabled contract review tools
Governance & Outside Counsel Management:
- Provide practical, business-focused legal guidance to leadership
- Triage legal issues and determine when outside counsel engagement is appropriate
- Manage relationships with third-party law firms
- Support acquisition initiatives in collaboration with outside counsel
Required Qualifications:
- Juris Doctor (JD) from an accredited law school
- Licensed and in good standing with at least one U.S. state bar
- 5–8 years of legal experience, ideally with a strong law firm background
- Significant experience negotiating complex commercial agreements
Preferred Experience:
- Professional services or management consulting environment
- SaaS and technology-enabled services agreements
- Non-reliance and third-party reliance limitation agreements
- AI-related contractual considerations
- Modernizing legacy contract frameworks
- Exposure to M&A coordination or acquisition support
- Building legal systems from the ground up
EEO STATEMENT
Cornerstone Advisors provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, or genetics. In addition to federal law requirements, our firm complies with applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment in every location in which the company has facilities. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.
Skills Required
- Juris Doctor (JD) from an accredited law school
- Licensed and in good standing with at least one U.S. state bar
- 5-8 years of legal experience, ideally with a strong law firm background
- Significant experience negotiating complex commercial agreements
What We Do
The Cornerstone Advisors team defines success by how well we improve the strategies, technologies and operations of our clients – and how well this translates into improved financial performance. Having worked with hundreds of national and international financial institutions, Cornerstone professionals have developed an expertise in how banks and credit unions operate and the best practices that enable high performers to succeed. We have also developed a comprehensive understanding of the technology providers that serve the financial services industry – what works, what doesn’t, and how an organization can best leverage its technology dollars. Formed by some of the financial industry’s most respected strategy and technology consultants, Cornerstone’s goal is to continue building an advisory firm that is legendary for the value we bring to financial services clients. Simply put, Cornerstone’s industry knowledge is unmatched, and our “no nonsense” approach to closing the gap between strategy and reality can help institutions improve their competitive position in the market. From strategy to execution – Cornerstone Advisors.
