Assistant General Counsel
DATTCO, Inc. | New Britain, CT
About the Role
DATTCO, Inc. is a diversified, family-owned enterprise operating across passenger transportation, commercial vehicle sales and service, mobile refrigeration, collision repair, and related businesses throughout New England and New York. We are seeking an experienced business lawyer to support our Vice President and General Counsel. This role is an in-house legal resource for transactional, commercial, financing, corporate, and business operations matters and will work closely with the GC, executive team, and divisional managers across a broad range of practice areas.
This is a hands-on, fast-paced, high-variety role that requires strong execution skills, the ability to handle multiple matters simultaneously, and the professional confidence to exercise sound independent judgment when matters are time-sensitive and the GC is unavailable. It is well suited to an attorney who is comfortable engaging directly with business stakeholders, managing a varied workload, and making well-reasoned decisions as required.
Key Responsibilities
Contracts & Transactions
- Draft, review, and negotiate a wide range of commercial agreements, including passenger transportation contracts, dealer agreements, vendor agreements, sales agreements, and NDAs.
- Support financing transactions, including real estate and asset-based lending, from commitment letter through closing.
- Assist in the negotiation and documentation of business acquisitions and commercial real estate purchases and leases.
Corporate & Entity Management
- Maintain and manage legal structure across multiple affiliated entities, including formation, governance records, filings, and organizational documents.
- Support evaluation of business development opportunities, including acquisitions and new ventures.
Regulatory & Compliance
- Advise on compliance matters across business lines, including environmental requirements.
- Review and advise sales staff on RFP/bid submissions for passenger transportation services, commercial vehicle sales, and sales of related parts and services.
- Manage a small trademark portfolio, including maintenance filings and monitoring.
Litigation & Outside Counsel
- Serve as primary point of contact for outside counsel on transactional and corporate litigation, coordinating with the GC as needed.
- Manage outside counsel assignments within areas of primary responsibility, monitor engagement scope, and review invoices for accuracy and alignment with matter strategy.
- Assist in the management of material business litigation matters that intersect with corporate or transactional work, in coordination with outside counsel and the GC.
Stakeholder Engagement
- Develop and maintain working relationships with lenders, customers, suppliers, and landlords as needed to support transactions and ongoing business matters.
Qualifications
- J.D. from an accredited law school; admission to the Connecticut bar (or eligibility for admission).
- Minimum 4 years of experience in a transactional practice at a law firm or in-house environment. Attorneys with more experience who are drawn to a broad, autonomous in-house role are encouraged to apply.
- Comfort with contract drafting and negotiation across multiple subject areas.
- Exposure to corporate/entity formation, governance, commercial real estate, or financing transactions is a plus.
- Demonstrated ability to work in a fast-paced environment and exercise independent legal judgment and escalate appropriately.
- Ability to balance legal risk with operational realities and business objectives.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills; ability to translate legal issues into plain-language guidance for non-lawyers.
Preferred Background
Experience in any of the following is particularly relevant: transportation, dealership, fleet, or multi-location operations; franchise or dealer agreements; commercial lending; or environmental compliance.
Reporting
This position reports directly to the Vice President and General Counsel.
Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, protected veteran status and any other protected classes.