Job Description

The Legal Secretary is responsible for managing, directing, and executing a wide range of high-level corporate, legal, and compliance obligations for the business and its subsidiaries. This position operates with a high degree of professional autonomy and independent judgment, serving as the strategic legal operations anchor and the primary administrative liaison to the General Counsel, Board Chair, and Corporate Secretary. The role is responsible for ensuring the Company maintains active statutory standing by leading corporate governance, managing complex litigation files, and maintaining multi-state contractor and corporate professional licensing systems.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Manages, organizes, and maintains the Legal Department’s digital and physical file management systems, document repositories, and master litigation databases to ensure absolute confidentiality, compliance, and retrieval efficiency.
• Directs and executes the administrative scheduling of company witness depositions, litigation calendars, and comprehensive discovery-related document collection, tracking, and compliance.
• Establishes and maintains the master construction claims calendar, tracking and auditing statutory lien and claim deadlines across multiple operating state jurisdictions to protect the Company's financial interests.
• Acts as a primary governance resource to the Board of Directors, independently taking meeting notes and drafting corporate minutes for quarterly and special meetings in partnership with the Corporate Secretary.
• Leads the preparation, synthesis, and distribution of comprehensive Board of Directors meeting materials, including executive agendas, corporate resolutions, orientation packets, and annual Board evaluations.
• Directs all logistics and event-planning operations for Board of Directors and executive leadership meetings, overseeing AV integration, offsite location contracts, catering, and lodging.
• Manages and monitors the Company's individual and company-level contractor licenses across state and local jurisdictions, ensuring constant compliance with qualifying agent requirements.
• Directs the filing and renewal of multi-state corporate registrations and engineering Certificates of Authorization (COA) with Secretaries of State and other professional licensing boards.
• Governs and maintains the Company’s verified registrations within major public and private compliance portals, including California DIR, SAM.gov, and regulatory entity databases.
• Reviews, identifies, and resolves complex licensing, corporate standing, or litigation anomalies independently, escalating high-risk matters to the General Counsel or Corporate Secretary with proposed solutions.

Position Requirements (Work Experience, Skills, Licenses, etc.):

• Proven background in corporate law, commercial litigation support, or complex regulatory compliance within a corporate or professional services firm.
• Familiarity with corporate governance protocols, board-level communication standards, and executive office operations.
• Extensive knowledge of multi-state contractor licensing boards, public works compliance registries (DIR/SAM), and corporate filing processes with various Secretaries of State.
• Demonstrated capability to analyze and interpret business entity formation documents, regulatory rules, and commercial contract terms.
• Exceptional project management, organization, and analytical skills, with a proven ability to prioritize critical, legal-deadline-driven workloads with zero margin for error.
• Outstanding written and verbal communication skills, including professional phone and email etiquette suitable for interfacing with C-suite executives, Board members, and public officials.
• Advanced technical proficiency in modern digital toolsets, including Google Suite (Gmail, Docs, Drive, Gemini) and Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint).
• Demonstrated ability to exercise absolute discretion, maintain strict confidentiality, and solve complex administrative and organizational problems independently.

Education and Experience

Required:

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Legal Studies, Public Administration, or arelated field; or equivalent combination of extensive legal and corporate secretary experience.
• Minimum of 5+ years of progressive experience in corporate legal departments, law firms, or high-level executive legal support.

Desired:

• Certified Legal Assistant (CLA), Certified Professional Legal Secretary (PLS), or Paralegal Certificate from an ABA-approved program.
• Desired: Previous background working in the construction, engineering, or heavy industrial services industry.
• Desired: Active Notary Public commission, or willingness to obtain one, and experience with corporate board portal platforms (e.g., Board Advantage, Smartsheet).

ACCO Competencies:

• Proactivity/Initiative Recognizes what needs to be done and accomplishes it in a manner appropriate for one’s level/position and with minimal supervision.
• Perseverance Shows wherewithal to fight for difficult goals despite challenges and to bounce back from adversity.
• Motivation/Dedication Commits to excellence in pursuing unselfish goals. Initiates action with collective goals, takes responsibility, and shows personal humility.
• Technical Curiosity/Willingness to Learn Interest in seeking out new experiences, knowledge, and candid feedback; demonstrating an openness to learning and change.
• Insight The ability to gather and make sense of information that suggests new possibilities.
• Engagement Shows a knack for using emotion and logic to communicate a persuasive vision and connect with people.
• People Skills Is approachable and gains the mutual trust and respect of others. Understands people’s strengths & weaknesses and actively seeks to understand other perspectives.
• Communication Fosters open, honest, candid and respectful communication. Effectively assesses, defines and communicates issues in a timely manner, both written and verbal.
• Teamwork The ability to effectively work toward common goals with others by supporting, encouraging, and sharing information in an authentic and approachable manner.
• Big Picture Understands and contributes to the organizations’ short- and long-term business strategy. On a personal level has independently developed a vision for short- and long-term career success.
• Problem-Solver Ability to identify, analyze, and solve problems in support of personnel, group, department, or organizational objectives.
• Execution Effectively takes a vision and translates into action by including the right people. Identify and remove barriers, when possible, to achieve results. Demonstrates appropriate compromise, effective time management, prioritization practices and holds team members (including themselves) accountable for their performance/conduct.
• Professionalism Respectfully observes and challenges the status quo with intent for improvement. Can take direction, accept feedback, and take full responsibility for their actions. Lead by example through positive influence and ethical leadership with consideration of the entire organization.

Job Responsibility Level:

No direct reports

Travel Requirements:

Travel required 10-30% of the time to other office locations.

Hours:

This is an exempt position. Workdays are scheduled from Monday through Friday. Typically, work hours begin and end between 7:00 am and 5:00 pm as scheduled with the position's supervisor. Work outside of regular hours may occasionally be necessary to meet business needs.

Physical Demands:

(The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.)

• Must frequently lift and/or move up to 10 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move up to 20 pounds.

• Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision and ability to adjust focus.

• Prolonged sitting.

• Frequently required to reach with hands and arms.

• Occasionally required to stand; walk and stoop, kneel, crouch.

Competitive Wages:

$90,000 to $122,000 Annual Salary. Applicants please note that actual compensation is determined by several factors that are unique to each candidate, including but not limited to job-related skills, depth of experience, certifications, relevant education or training, and specific work location, among others. The offered wage or salary is only one aspect of an employee's total compensation.

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Why join ACCO? ACCO Engineered Systems is one of the largest mechanical contractors in the country. Since 1934, owners and builders have selected ACCO to design, install, and maintain more than 250,000 mechanical projects. ACCO is dedicated to the design, fabrication, installation, maintenance and service of commercial and industrial HVAC, refrigeration, plumbing, process piping, and building automation systems. Whether your project is a low or high-rise office building, a shopping mall, hospital, semi-conductor fabrication facility or pharmaceutical manufacturing plant…ACCO can design, build, install, and maintain a mechanical system to meet your needs.

Here at ACCO, we are a part of something bigger. Just ask our customers: California Academy of Sciences, L.A. Live, and San Francisco 49ers Stadium. While we have been around for 80+ years, we continue to grow at a dynamic pace. And we are looking for talented individuals to join our team.

What's great about working at ACCO is that we’re a big enough company to be the leader in HVAC mechanical contracting in California and the Southwest U.S., but as a 100% employee-owned ESOP, we’re a private company with a family-oriented feel. Several of our employees have worked at ACCO for twenty-five, thirty, and even over forty years! Together, the employees of ACCO are comprised of intelligent, dedicated, and entrepreneurial team members who put customers first and enjoy what they do.

ACCO IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER AA M/F/V/D.

We proudly hire U.S. Military Veterans, and those qualified are encouraged to apply.

Equal Employment Opportunity is The Law.|Pay Transparency Nondiscrimination Provision

ACCO will consider qualified applicants with criminal histories for employment.