Senior Legal Counsel (Northfield, IL)

Job Summary

Medline is seeking an experienced commercial lawyer to provide a variety of legal services for clients across Medline’s business. This role will primarily focus on customer- and supplier-facing relationships, corporate relationships, and M&A activity, and provide sophisticated commercial counseling across key business initiatives. This role partners closely with senior leadership to enable growth, manage legal risk, and drive sound, commercially practical decision-making.

Job Description

MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES

• Serve as a point of intake for the Legal department for commercial relationships, assessing for commercial advisory and risk management purposes.  Draft and negotiate commercial agreements and provide ongoing legal guidance on complex customer and vendor relationships.  Advise on contracting strategy, negotiation posture, and risk tolerance aligned with business priorities.
• Translate legal risk into clear, actionable business guidance to support informed decision‑making.
• Counsel clients on risk mitigation strategies within the attorney’s purview.  Negotiate and resolve related disputes prior to litigation.
• Participate in legal aspects of mergers, acquisitions, and other strategic transactions from inception through post‑closing integration.  Participate in due diligence processes, identify material legal, regulatory, and commercial risks, and propose practical mitigation strategies.
• Draft, review, negotiate, and interpret transaction documents, including but not limited to, LOIs, purchase agreements, transition services agreements, and other related documents.  Support successful post‑transaction integration by advising on governance, compliance, customer contracts, and operational transition issues.
• Act as a trusted advisor to senior leadership on legal implications of strategic initiatives and corporate growth plans.
• Contribute to enterprise risk management by proactively identifying legal and regulatory issues and developing scalable solutions.

MINIMUM JOB REQUIREMENTS

Education

• Juris Doctor degree.

Certification / Licensure

• Member of a state bar in good standing.

Work Experience

• 5 or more years of post-law school experience at a law firm and/or in-house at a corporation.

Knowledge / Skills / Abilities

• Strong background in commercial contracting and advising businesses on complex legal and operational issues.
• Experience leading M&A transactions, including acquisitions, divestitures, and strategic investments, with demonstrated outcomes such as successful deal closings, risk mitigation, and smooth post‑closing integration.
• Proven ability to balance legal risk with business objectives and provide practical, solutions‑oriented advice.
• Excellent negotiation, drafting, and communication skills, with the ability to engage effectively with senior executives.
• Process-oriented doer, capable of conceiving of, executing, and completing large-scale projects involving various stakeholders.
• Intense curiosity, ability to quickly learn the business and assess risk. -Responsive, resilient attorney with sound judgment.
• Excellent communication, interpersonal skills, capacity to influence and build consensus. 

Medline Industries, LP, and its subsidiaries, offer a competitive total rewards package, continuing education & training, and tremendous potential with a growing worldwide organization.

The anticipated salary range for this position:

$177,000.00 - $266,000.00 Annual

The actual salary will vary based on applicant’s location, education, experience, skills, and abilities. This role is bonus and/or incentive eligible. Medline will not pay less than the applicable minimum wage or salary threshold.

Our benefit package includes health insurance, life and disability, 401(k) contributions, paid time off, etc., for employees working 30 or more hours per week on average. For roles where employees work less than 30 hours per week, benefits include 401(k) contributions, paid time off, as well as access to the Employee Assistance Program, Employee Resource Groups and the Employee Service Corp. For a more comprehensive list of our benefits please click here.

We’re dedicated to creating a Medline where everyone feels they belong and can grow their career. We strive to do this by seeking diversity in all forms, acting inclusively, and ensuring that people have tools and resources to perform at their best. Explore our Belonging page here.

Medline Industries, LP is an equal opportunity employer. Medline evaluates qualified individuals without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, neurodivergence, protected veteran status, marital or family status, caregiver responsibilities, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws.