Paralegal, Franchise Support

Rawlings Sporting Goods - St. Louis, MO

Full-time

St. Louis, MO

Sporting Goods, Hobby, Musical Instrument, Book, and Miscellaneous Retailers

About the position

The Paralegal, Franchise Support is a pivotal role within the legal department, primarily responsible for ensuring legal compliance and managing the contract lifecycle of franchise agreements. This position supports the growth of franchise locations both domestically and internationally while performing essential paralegal duties. The role requires a comprehensive understanding of franchise law and the ability to navigate complex legal documents and processes. In this position, the paralegal will prepare and revise franchise agreements, amendments, and related documents, ensuring that all legal documentation is accurate and compliant with applicable laws. The paralegal will analyze and summarize key contract terms, compiling pertinent information to support franchise growth and compliance. A significant aspect of the role involves facilitating the full execution of documents by franchisees, ensuring that executed originals are returned and filed appropriately. The paralegal will also manage the annual disclosure document update process, which includes developing a project plan, task list, and timeline. This involves preparing, updating, and maintaining disclosure documents for use in various jurisdictions, including the United States and Canada. The role requires delivering and tracking the distribution of Franchise Disclosure Documents and ensuring compliance with franchise agreements related to insurance and leases. Additionally, the paralegal will maintain centralized records for franchise agreement materials and manage correspondence on behalf of the legal department. The successful candidate will maintain high-quality relationships with internal clients and franchisees' legal contacts, ensuring effective communication regarding policy details. The role also includes refining processes and documentation to support consistent application of internal franchise documentation policies and undertaking special assignments such as research and analysis of franchise documents. The paralegal will draft, review, redline, and negotiate a variety of contracts and agreements, supporting the entire contract lifecycle from template development to execution and filing.

Responsibilities

• Prepare and revise franchise agreements, amendments, and related documents.
• Analyze and summarize key contract terms and compile pertinent information about franchise agreements to support franchise growth and compliance.
• Facilitate full execution of documents by franchisees and ensure executed originals are returned and filed appropriately.
• Manage the annual disclosure document (domestic and international) update and process, which includes developing a project plan, task and responsibilities list, and a timeline for the project.
• Prepare, update, and maintain disclosure document (domestic and international) and related documents for use in the United States, Canada, and other jurisdictions.
• Deliver and track distribution of Franchise Disclosure Documents.
• Ensure compliance with franchise agreements relating to insurance, leases, tri-party agreements; identify and manage or participate in the resolution of franchisee non-compliance.
• Maintain centralized records for franchise agreement materials and manage production of data or documentation upon request from auditors.
• Manage correspondence on behalf of the legal department to assist with franchise development, operations, or litigation matters.
• Maintain high quality relationships with internal clients to ensure applicable departments are working with current information regarding policies and franchise agreement information.
• Maintain high quality relationships with each franchisee's counsel or key legal contact to communicate with franchisees effectively and clearly regarding policy details.
• Assist in refining processes and documentation necessary to support consistent application of internal franchise documentation policies.
• Undertake special assignments, including research, review, and analysis of franchise documents.
• Draft, review, redline and negotiate a wide variety of contracts and agreements.
• Support contract lifecycles including template development, maintenance, management and roll-out; drafting, revising, redlining, and negotiating contracts; managing contract execution and filing, together with all phases of the contract management processes.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree and/or Paralegal Certificate or completion of paralegal degree program preferred.
• Minimum of 5 years of franchise paralegal experience. Candidates with in-house corporate legal department experience preferred, especially with a consumer products company.
• Advanced skill level with Microsoft Office Suite.
• Relentless attention to detail with the ability to process and execute multiple tasks simultaneously, ensuring a keep focus on completion of individual tasks without close supervision.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality at all levels (internally and externally).
• Strong organizational, analytical, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to prioritize, organize, and perform a challenging workload under tight deadlines.
• Proven dependability and flexibility regarding time management, work assignments, and deadlines.
• A keen ability to navigate 'getting to yes' while mitigating corporate risk and risk to revenue.
• Ability to function well and be comfortable in a high-paced and at times stressful environment.
• Strong written and oral communication skills.