C.H. Guenther & Son

Vice President, Associate General Counsel

San Antonio, TX (CH Guenther) Full time
The Vice President, Associate General Counsel serves as a senior executive legal leader and strategic advisor to the General Counsel, executive team, and business leadership. This role is responsible for providing enterprise-wide legal guidance across commercial transactions, employment and labor, regulatory compliance, litigation management, corporate governance, M&A, privacy, and risk management.
As a key member of the senior leadership team, the VP, Associate General Counsel balances risk mitigation with commercial enablement, builds scalable legal infrastructure, and drives proactive legal strategy aligned with the company’s long-term growth objectives. This role requires executive presence, sound business judgment, and the ability to influence decision-making at the highest levels of the organization.

Executive Responsibilities

Strategic Business Partnership

  • Serve as a trusted legal advisor to executive leadership and senior management.
  • Provide forward-looking, risk-calibrated counsel that supports growth initiatives and operational priorities.
  • Anticipate emerging legal and regulatory developments and position the organization accordingly.
  • Partner cross-functionally with Commercial, HR, Finance, Operations, Compliance, and IT to align legal strategy with enterprise objectives.
  • Operates with substantial autonomy and exercises independent judgment in high-impact, high-visibility matters.

Core Areas of Responsibility

Commercial Contracting & Strategic Transactions

  • Lead negotiation of complex, high-value enterprise customer agreements, including pricing structures, rebate and incentive programs.
  • Structure and negotiate capital equipment transactions and other material commercial arrangements.
  • Oversee reseller, distributor, supplier, vendor, consultant, independent representative, and confidentiality agreements.
  • Establish scalable contracting standards, playbooks, approval frameworks, and risk thresholds.
  • Drive contracting efficiency while maintaining disciplined risk management.

Employment & Labor

  • Advise executive leadership and Human Resources on employment strategy, workforce risk, executive employment matters, and policy development.
  • Oversee internal investigations and resolution of employee claims, including discrimination, retaliation, harassment, and wage-and-hour matters.
  • Direct strategy regarding restrictive covenant enforcement and related competitor disputes.
  • Manage outside counsel in employment litigation and agency proceedings.

Litigation, Arbitration & Dispute Management

  • Oversee the company’s domestic and international litigation portfolio.
  • Develop dispute strategy aligned with business objectives and financial risk tolerance.
  • Manage outside counsel, budgets, insurance carriers, and litigation reserves.
  • Lead early case assessments, litigation holds, witness preparation, and settlement strategy.
  • Provide executive updates regarding material disputes and risk exposure.

Regulatory & Compliance

  • Provide strategic guidance on regulatory matters.
  • Support FDA-regulated activities, including marketing review and quality-related compliance matters.
  • Oversee responses to government audits, inquiries, and investigations.
  • Provide antitrust and competition law guidance for strategic and commercial initiatives.
  • Strengthen and support enterprise compliance programs.

Privacy, Data Security & Cybersecurity

  • Provide legal oversight of enterprise data protection, cybersecurity, and privacy programs.
  • Develop and maintain privacy frameworks, including HIPAA-related compliance.
  • Lead legal response to cybersecurity incidents and data breach matters.
  • Partner with IT and Compliance to implement training and governance protocols.

Corporate Governance & Entity Management

  • Support board and committee governance processes, materials, and strategic initiatives.
  • Oversee corporate entity structure and maintenance for U.S. and international operations.
  • Support internal investigations and governance-related reviews.
  • Contribute to enterprise risk management initiatives and governance frameworks.

Mergers, Acquisitions & Strategic Growth

  • Lead or support mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, and strategic investments.
  • Direct legal due diligence processes and manage transaction counsel.
  • Oversee regulatory review processes and post-closing integration matters.
  • Provide legal analysis to support strategic growth initiatives.

Real Estate

  • Oversee negotiation of commercial real estate purchases and leases.
  • Support construction, facility expansion, and strategic footprint planning.

Intellectual Property

  • Manage outside counsel on trademark and patent matters.
  • Protect company intellectual property in connection with product launches and commercial operations.
  • Ensure appropriate confidentiality and proprietary protections across agreements.

Insurance & Enterprise Risk

  • Oversee multi-entity insurance programs and broker relationships.
  • Manage claims, coverage disputes, and coordination with carriers.
  • Contribute to enterprise-wide risk assessment and mitigation strategies.

Legal Operations & Infrastructure

  • Build and scale legal department infrastructure, including contract lifecycle management systems, policy frameworks, and governance protocols.
  • Establish risk-based review thresholds and approval workflows.
  • Oversee ethics and compliance reporting mechanisms, including hotline administration.
  • Drive operational excellence, process improvement, and legal spend optimization.

Qualifications

  • Juris Doctor (J.D.) from an accredited law school.
  • Active bar membership in good standing.
  • 15+ years of progressive legal experience, including significant in-house leadership experience.
  • Demonstrated executive-level expertise across commercial contracting, litigation management, employment law, regulatory compliance, and corporate transactions.
  • Experience in FDA-regulated or healthcare-related environments strongly preferred.
  • Proven ability to advise C-suite leadership and influence strategic decision-making.
  • Track record of managing outside counsel and controlling legal spend.
  • Strong business acumen and pragmatic, solutions-oriented judgment.

Leadership Competencies

  • Enterprise-level strategic thinking
  • Executive communication and influence
  • Risk-based decision-making
  • Cross-functional leadership
  • Crisis management and sound judgment under pressure
  • Operational discipline and process development
  • High ethical standards and professional integrity

Expectations:

  • Will demonstrate, promote and exemplify the Company’s Core Values.

At C.H. Guenther, we value transparency in compensation. By providing the salary range for this role, we aim to promote fairness and help candidates make informed choices about their career. The salary range for this role is:

$1.00 - $1,000.00

Actual compensation may vary based on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience, as well as geographic location.

C.H. Guenther & Son will never offer or pay a wage or salary that is not compliant with applicable local, state, or federal pay laws, including minimum salary thresholds.

We also offer a variety of benefits, including health and disability insurance, retirement savings options, flexible spending accounts, employee assistance programs, educational assistance, parental leave, paid time off, and company-paid holidays.

For additional information about our company, go to www.chg.com.

C.H. Guenther & Son and its subsidiaries are E-Verify participating employers.

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All offers of employment are contingent upon successful completion of the pre-employment screening process which includes a drug screen and review of criminal background and other records as required.

AA/EEO/Drug-Free Employer