The Associate General Counsel will provide legal advice, counsel, and services regarding a wide range of activities. Primary responsibility will be to support Dairyland in supply chain, cooperative law, spent nuclear fuel claim processing, and new business opportunities including large generation and transmission project development without significant oversight or supervision. Responsible for managing major contractual transactions and litigation without significant day to day supervision. Provide legal advice and counsel to Dairyland staff and leadership at all levels, and the Dairyland Board of Directors.
ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:
Assist General Counsel and Deputy General Counsel in developing Dairyland strategic direction on legal processes and procedures, and in managing outside legal counsel.
Provide legal support and advice to Dairyland management and staff on legal consequences or risks as they relate to Dairyland business, compliance and regulatory activities.
Draft and review a wide variety of contracts and other legal documents, negotiate modifications as necessary, and d obtain necessary approvals, as appropriate, without significant oversight or supervision.
Team participant in the strategic development of energy transactions including new nuclear.
Review state and federal statutes and regulatory dockets; prepare and file comments, petitions, applications, interventions, and other documents, as needed, with appropriate governmental agencies.
Provide legal support and guidance to Dairyland with respect to litigation and/or settlement with the federal government (DOE/DOJ) for damages related to operation and maintenance of Dairyland’s Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation at the LACBWR Facility including management and oversight of outside counsel and other consultants retained by Dairyland to support such litigation and/or claim.
Manage legal activities in certain divisions of the organization. Draft legal letters and other legal communications documents.
Provide legal advice to Dairyland staff, and as needed for Dairyland’s governing boards, on both policy level and operation level matters on an ongoing basis. Provide training to Dairyland staff on substantive legal topics, agreements and programs, as needed.
Assist the General Counsel and Deputy General Counsel in developing and growing internal legal services’ portfolio.
Prepare budgets for extensive transactional matters and ongoing litigation and assure that, to the extent practicable, those matters are conducted within budget.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
Education & Experience: Juris Doctorate Degree from accredited law school. Must be in good standing with a U.S. state bar and willing and qualified to seek admission to the bar in Wisconsin at the earliest opportunity required. Minimum of six (6) years of active legal practice in the area(s) of electric/public utilities, energy, regulatory compliance, corporate, cooperative, or real estate law. Experience in the state of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa or Washington D.C. preferred.
Knowledge and Skills:
Direct experience in one or more of the following areas and working knowledge of the other areas: Electric/public utilities, cooperative law, energy law, commercial transactions/commercial law, real property law/real estate transactions, environmental permitting/environmental law, and general business and corporate law.
Strong contract drafting and negotiating skills, paying close attention to details.
Possess strong critical thinking, interpretation, problem-solving, and analytical skills. Must be capable of reading, analyzing and interpreting complex documents, and responding effectively. Must be capable of accurately assessing needs and guiding others in determining and developing strategies.
Superior communications skills with the ability to interface effectively with individuals at all levels, both internally and externally.
Strong listening, reasoning, influencing and facilitating skills.
Ability to complete a high volume of work with a consistently high standard of quality.
Ability to uphold the highest standards of discretion and confidentiality and adhere to the Wisconsin Rules of Professional Conduct.
Physical Demands: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk or hear. The employee frequently is required to stand/sit; walk; use hands/fingers to handle or feel; and reach with hands and arms. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
Dairyland is proud of its history as a pioneer in rural electrification. The generation and transmission cooperative formed in 1941, bringing light and power to the homes and farms in “America’s Dairyland.” Specifically serving rural communities and countryside, Dairyland continues to ease work conditions and improve quality of life for residents by delivering a safe, reliable supply of energy in its four-state service territory.
