Legal Counsel

Legal Counsel

About ESA:

The Electrical Safety Authority (ESA) is a not-for-profit, public electrical safety regulator. Established in 1999, as one of the successor companies to the former Ontario Hydro, ESA’s mission is to improve electrical safety for the well-being of the people of Ontario.

About the Role:

Reports to: Senior Legal Counsel, Corporate and Corporate Secretary

Legal Counsel Responsibilities

• Timely and expert contract drafting (e.g. MSAs, consulting services, IT, non-disclosure agreements, service agreements) with an awareness of emerging business issues impacting same (e.g. cybersecurity).
• Collaborate with and provide advice and counsel to other departments, including Operations, Regulatory, People & Culture, Finance, Communications and Stakeholder Engagement and IT, on relevant legal, corporate, governance, and related matters.
• Provide research and draft opinions and documents as required directly for clients or in support of/as supervised by Senior Counsel.
• Interpret ESA’s constating legislation; its bylaws and Administrative Agreement.
• Draft and interpret requirements of Policies; including research of best practices, advise on privacy matters.
• Support departments in a full range of procurement processes including RFP review.
• Review and interpret case law, statutes, regulations and orders that relate to the organization’s activities independently or in support of Senior Counsel, role may also involve litigation/prosecution support as required.

Corporate Secretary Responsibilities

• Prepare for and attend the agenda meetings and meetings of the Board of Directors and its committees.
• Take minutes, draft and review materials to be provided to the Board of Directors and its committees.
• Take charge of action tracking for the Board of Directors and work with senior management to ensure timely closure and reporting of actions.
• Monitor corporate governance developments and assist the Board of Directors in tailoring governance practices to meet its needs. Manage and update Board cycle calendar.
• Manage relationships and provide guidance to senior staff/business areas on governance best practices and Board of Directors and Committee requirements.
• Actively participate in the development and upkeep of Board documents including the Board Charter, Code of Conduct, Terms of Reference, Workplans, and governance precedents.
• Coordinate education and strategic planning sessions for the Board.
• Educate and advise internal business stakeholders on relevant corporate governance legal and compliance issues.
• Identify, review and where appropriate implement improvements to processes / procedures / systems related to corporate governance.
• Communicate with third parties, when required, on behalf of the organization, including with other Delegated Administrative Authorities

Qualifications:

• Membership in good standing with the Law Society of Ontario
• A minimum of 3-5 years post-call experience as in-house counsel or as a lawyer in private practice specializing, to the greatest extent possible, in Corporate/Commercial law and Administrative/Regulatory Law
• Experience working as/with corporate secretary and/or Boards of Directors.
• Experience advising on general corporate and governance matters and an understanding of best practice and emerging issues in relation to same

Additional Information

If you are interested in applying for this opportunity, please visit our to our careers site at www.esasafe.com/careers and click on the “apply to ESA now” link.   We thank you for your interest in ESA. If your application is selected for further processing you will be notified by email.

Please be advised that in relation to all job postings on this webpage, accommodation for persons with disabilities is available throughout the recruitment process upon request in accordance with requirements under the Human Rights Code and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act.

August 28, 2019