Overview

Gilbane Building Company is seeking an experienced in-house construction attorney to serve as Senior Legal Counsel supporting the Midwest-West Division (Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana) and Next 150 Construction Services, LLC, a wholly owned self-perform site services subsidiary of Gilbane, which provides comprehensive construction site services including temporary utilities, equipment, logistics, safety services, and related operational support. This role is responsible for end-to-end legal support on construction projects and divisional operations including commercial contracting, claims and dispute avoidance and resolution, risk management, training, compliance and cross-functional counseling. The ideal candidate is a proactive, business‑minded construction lawyer with the ability to work in a fast‑paced, field‑driven environment, to balance risk with practical solutions, and to influence outcomes across field operations, project management, estimating, preconstruction, procurement, safety, finance, and executive leadership.

This position will be an integral part of the Legal Department that supports Gilbane Building Company and its subsidiaries. The attorney in this position will report to the Vice President, Deputy General Counsel.

Possible locations for this position are Gilbane’s Chicago, Milwaukee, or Indianapolis office.

Who are we?  

As a Top-10 ENR Contractor, Gilbane is a family-owned business with 45 offices that has been shaping communities since 1870. Consistently recognized as one of the most reputable construction management firms in the country, Gilbane is committed to delivering projects safely and on-time. You will have the opportunity to build schools, labs, hospitals, corporate offices, sports arenas and more! 

We are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles. 

Who Are You? 

You are someone who acts inclusively, showing empathy and treating others with respect and dignity in order to uphold Gilbane’s core value of Caring and “People First” workplace culture. You seek to listen in order to understand and can convey information clearly. You’re a strong problem solver who can identify, prioritize, and implement alternatives for solutions, and you demonstrate adaptability by collaborating with others and supporting team members to achieve excellence. A self-starter who shows passion, commitment, and ownership all while delivering on business outcomes and driving results. You’re someone who identifies opportunities for new and improved ways of doing things that result in value-add solutions.  

Your core values match Gilbane’s: Integrity, Caring, Teamwork, Toughmindedness, Dedication to Excellence, Discipline, Loyalty, and Entrepreneurship.

What’s in it for you?  

Gilbane offers employees multi-dimensional training opportunities through a number of resources. While managing your responsibilities to projects, you will be able to enroll in trainings through our award-winning Gilbane University to build leadership and technical skills. In addition, you would work with an experienced team which provides you with the opportunity to learn new industry skills every day. You will protect and promote the interests of both Gilbane and the client in all matters as well as demonstrating the personal characteristics of a developing leader.

Responsibilities

The Senior Legal Counsel will provide hands-on advice in the following practice areas for the Company, among others:

Construction Contracts & Commercial Transactions

• Draft, review, and negotiate a wide range of agreements: owner/CM agreements (CMAR/CM‑at‑Risk, CM as Agent, GMP, Design‑Build), design consultant agreements, subcontracts, purchase orders, equipment rental/lease agreements, master supply agreements, NDAs, teaming and JV agreements, and professional services agreements.
• Draft and negotiate self-perform trade agreements, including equipment rental/ownership, demolition, selective interior trades, and labor-intensive scopes typical of Next 150 operations.
• Structure, negotiate, and update contract templates, playbooks, and clause libraries, ensuring alignment with corporate standards and insurance/risk requirements.
• Support public and private sector procurement, bid protests, prequalification, and compliance with RFP/RFQ requirements, including small/diverse business participation.

Claims, Dispute Avoidance & Resolution

• Guide project teams on claim preservation, notice requirements, changes, delay/acceleration/disruption, differing site conditions, constructive changes, defective work, backcharges, and pass‑through claims.
• Manage pre‑dispute processes (issue escalation, negotiation, mediation, DRBs) and oversee outside counsel for litigation, arbitration, and surety matters as needed.
• Handle lien and bond claims, subcontractor defaults/terminations, and recovery strategies.
• Develop practical protocols for claims documentation.

Risk Management, Safety, Training & Compliance

• Partner with Risk/Insurance to ensure appropriate insurance strategies are utilized based on project risk profile.
• Counsel on licensing, permitting, mechanic’s lien/bond compliance, prevailing wage, certified payroll, and other public procurement rules.
• Advise on craft labor issues in coordination with HR and Senior Legal Counsel/Employment and Labor (union agreements, project labor agreements, jurisdictional disputes, classification and prevailing wage).
• Develop self-perform SOPs, risk-mitigation workflows, and operational best practices to support the strategic growth of Next 150.
• Collaborate with Safety on OSHA/MSHA compliance, incident response, and post‑incident reviews.
• Lead training programs for project teams and self-perform field leadership on contract compliance, claims preservation, documentation standards and operational risk management.
• Support ethics/compliance initiatives.

Qualifications

The ideal Senior Legal Counsel will possess solid academic credentials from a top tier U.S. law school and approximately 8 years of legal experience counseling businesses in the practice areas listed above, including at least 3 years of relevant in-house experience. In particular, the ideal candidate will have relevant experience as in-house counsel for a medium-sized or large construction company, will be familiar with public and private contracting for institutional, commercial and residential projects, including developer projects and will possess a demonstrated ability serve as a trusted advisor to field superintendents, project executives, and division leadership, balancing legal risk with operational challenges. Experience supporting self-perform trades or craft labor operations is a distinct plus.

Travel

The applicant must be willing to travel on occasion, sometimes with short notice. The travel required for the role is estimated at approximately 25%.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & ABILITIES 

• Strong communication skills
• Ability to communicate effectively and clearly with clients, project teams, and other departments
• Understand organizational and managerial structure related to operations management and projects
• Experience reviewing, negotiating, and drafting construction contracts and related documents
• Proven negotiation skills with the ability to secure favorable terms
• Strong analytical skills and collaborative problem solver
• Highly organized with the ability to manage multiple tasks and projects simultaneously
• Flexible and able to adapt to changing priorities and demands
• Knowledge and understanding of complex legal issues and concepts and ability to explain such concepts to all levels of the enterprise
• High level of accuracy and attention to detail
• Excellent organizational and time management skills
• Proficient user of Microsoft Office software and Contract Lifecycle Management software and similar products
• Ability to work collaboratively with internal teams and external partners
• High ethical standards and integrity

Salary to be determined based on factors such as geographic location, skills, education, and/or experience of the applicant, as well as the internal equity and alignment with the team.

The pay ranges from $185,000.00-$260,000.00 plus benefits and retirement program.

Gilbane is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, color, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, protected veteran status, or disability status.

Note to Recruiters, Placement Agencies, and Similar Organizations: Gilbane does not accept unsolicited resumes from agencies. Please do not forward unsolicited agency resumes to our jobs alias, website, or to any Gilbane employee. Gilbane will not pay fees to any third party agency or firm and will not be responsible for any agency fees associated with unsolicited resumes. Unsolicited resumes received will be considered property of Gilbane and will be processed accordingly.