Legal Counsel

As a member of a small, but dynamic, legal team, the attorney in this new position will be primarily focused on the critical litigation, compliance and franchise administration work associated with an established restaurant brand in an evolving business environment. Over time, there could be opportunities to work in additional areas within the legal department as well. The successful candidate will have a growth mindset and a passion for providing world-class legal support by collaboratively working across business units while consistently modeling Pizza Hut, LLC’s culture. 

 
Primary Job Functions:  

Litigation: Assist with the administration of routine litigation matters, including management of outside counsel and insurance counsel with strategic defense of litigation matters nationwide. Caseload will heavily focus on consumer protection, employment, personal injury, and real estate matters, but could also be as varied as patent infringement and data privacy litigation. This attorney supports the Directors of Brand Threat Litigation and Franchise Administration with the monitoring and management of any brand-threat and franchisee litigation. 

Responsibilities also include:  

• Drafting form discovery responses and reviewing pleadings prepared by outside counsel;  
• Drafting state/federal agency position statements, responses to AG and BBB complaints, and other formal requests for information; 
• Monitoring franchisee and other related litigation; 
• Overseeing Litigation Paralegal’s response to subpoenas, management of electronic discovery; and other essential Law Department functions; and 
• Other responsibilities as assigned. 

HR Compliance: Provide key legal support regarding HR processes, including compliance training, new hire applications and onboarding (including background checks) processes, performance management, and severance agreements. 

Responsibilities also include: 

• Reviewing training materials and other company documents for compliance with local, state, and federal laws; 
• Partnering with legal staff for sister brands to address evolving legal trends and develop and maintain consistent policies and procedures; and  
• Partnering with and counseling HR Business Partners regarding investigations and complex employee issues.  

Brand Enforcement: Assist with franchise administration team with brand standards enforcement and other compliance issues.   

Responsibilities include: 

• Coordinate enforcement efforts aimed at remediating franchise agreement and/or brand standards violations; 
• Lead annual updates to Pizza Hut brand standards designed to drive revenue growth, ensure franchise network uniformity, and improve customer experience, including drafting of standards, coordination with internal stakeholders and rollout to franchise system; 
• Provide legal guidance to cross-functional team of Brand leaders to create and implement solutions to systemwide or franchisee/licensee-specific enforcement issues; and 
• Guide business through any required store closures, including assistance with de-identification issues.  

Education: Juris Doctor Degree from an ABA accredited law school required

FACTORS OF SUCCESS NECESSARY:

Required:

• Licensed to practice law with a minimum of 5 years of general litigation experience in a law firm or in-house legal department
• Strong grasp of federal civil procedure
• Strong background in client counseling or other client-facing engagements
• Solution-oriented and collaborative mindset
• A team player and relationship builder, with the ability to adapt in a fast paced and rapidly changing environment