Law Clerk
WELCOME TO VCNA!
St Marys Cement, part of Votorantim Cimentos North America (VCNA).
As the North American operations of Votorantim Cimentos, a global building materials and sustainability solutions leader in 11 countries, we are helping to make a positive impact and are transforming our world. We have a culture built on solid partnerships, long-lasting relationships, and opportunities for those who want to learn, grow and be part of a diverse and dynamic culture.
With solutions that include cement, ready-mix concrete and aggregates, we help to build homes, highways, hospitals, buildings, bridges, and schools across the Canadian and U.S. Great Lakes region and Northeast United States. Our commitment to excellence can be seen in those who invest and believe in what we do, those who share their lives with us, those who trust in our deliveries and those committed to innovation and a sustainable future.
Every day, we have the chance to accomplish something new and you're invited to be part of it.
WHAT IS THE OPPORTUNITY?
The Law Clerk plays a key role in the VCNA Legal Department by providing legal support to the VCNA in-house counsel
WHAT WILL YOU DO?
Corporate Secretarial:
- Primary responsibility for Canadian companies (Ontario and Quebec) with some secondary support of US Paralegal for US entities on occasion and some support for joint ventures
- Minute books and corporate records, including:
- preparing shareholders and Board resolutions;
- maintaining minute books (soft and hard copies) and share ledgers;
- preparing officer's certificates;
- obtaining good standing certificates;
- completing annual filings, annual resolutions and change notices;
- maintaining and updating officer and director reports;
- updating and circulating corporate structure charts
- Respond to information requests from VCNA’s auditors to provide information for quarterly and annual audits or regulatory audits
- Co-ordinate and respond to VCNA’s parent companies (Luxembourg and Brazil) to provide corporate information as requested
- Assisting with corporate re-organizations and intercompany financings, issuance of dividends and distributions
- Prepare and maintain information regarding corporate ownership and monthly updates to internal structure charts.
- Draft various board and shareholder resolutions and officer’s certificates independently in some cases (e.g. changes to officers and directors) and working with legal counsel (internal or external) in other cases
- Provide other corporate legal support as required to Corporate Secretary (General Counsel) and other legal team members
Contracts Administration/Transactional Support:
- Assist VCNA counsel and outside counsel with a variety of transactions
- Maintain corporate property ownership summary records
- Together with Legal Assistant and rest of legal team, arrange for execution of contracts and resolutions, within delegated authority. Follow-up to ensure timely return for processing through various stages. Distribute executed contracts to various parties. Create reminders for contract extensions, renewals, expiry, etc.
- Tracking of parent company approvals, deadlines, and step plans for requisite financial transactions.
- File Management and internal / external organization, execution and distribution of all required transactional documents
- Creation of closing agendas, step plans and compilation of full closing sets for transactions. Maintain and update VCNA Legal/Financing transaction summaries chart and binder
- Post-closing mapping/tracking of parties’ obligations.
Contract Review (dependent on experience and/or ability to develop requisite skills):
- Review a variety of types of simple agreements, under supervision of legal counsel, including the following:
- Prepare NDAs using VCNA precedents and review NDAs from third parties
- Review of banking administrative documentation (e.g. new bank accounts, investment accounts)
- Prepare VCNA’s Ontario farm leases, which are annual and based on a template, and maintain a table of the current farm leases
General / Administrative Responsibilities:
- Due diligence (compiling VCNA’s records if VCNA is a vendor or assisting in due diligence if VCNA is a purchaser)
- Know Your Client Requests from banks and other financial institutions
- File creation and accurate input of data into file management system
- Draft correspondence for issues involving Leases, Licences, Royalty Agreements and other types of agreements.
- File Management in Prolaw (electronic legal matter system) and some hardcopy files.
- Open new matters and sub-matters; maintain matters by populating tabs, filing, updating fields as needed, generating reports, reminders and closing matters.
- Process company-wide requests for certificate of insurance, by contacting VCNA’s insurance broker, and reviewing certificates for accuracy
- File Competitor Contact Forms or other competition compliance activities
- Provide support as part of the VCNA legal team for ongoing or new compliance requirements and programs
- May provide occasional litigation support, including potentially assisting the Credit & Collection team with active collection matters (litigation clerk skills not required)
- In the event you have fluency in French, English/French translation review of legal communications
- This job has some supervisory responsibilities of students working in the Legal Department and in some cases providing instructions for certain legal work being performed for VCNA by outside counsel or paralegals.
WHAT DO YOU NEED TO SUCCEED?
- Graduation from an accredited Ontario or Quebec Paralegal, or Law Clerk program with at least three to five years of related experience and/or training, ideally within a medium to large law firm or in-house; or equivalent combination of education and experience.
- Proficient with MS-Office and MS-Teams Suite (PowerPoint, Excel, Word, Vizio)
- Familiarity with legal matter management software applications and other legal technology (e.g. DocuSign) is beneficial.
- Demonstrates excellent judgment and professionalism when dealing with internal and external clients
- Strong organizational and time management / multi-tasking skills Strong language (written/verbal) and communication skills
- Strong attention to details as well as analytical and problem-solving skills with creative thinking
- Strong desire to learn and ability to adapt to a changing work environment
- Ability to learn and keen interest in learning new tools and practices (including legal and contract management software applications)
- Should be proficient in English
- Fluency in French would be a strong preference, due to company’s Quebec operations
WHAT'S IN IT FOR YOU?
- Being part of VCNA is being part of building famous landmarks such as Toronto's CN Tower, Roy Thompson Hall, Maple Leaf Gardens and the Darlington Nuclear Station and Ryerson Centre, St. Regis Chicago and 150 N. Riverside, Louis High-Speed Rail in Chicago and more
- Opportunities to collaborate with teams around the globe and growth opportunities in different areas
- Training, professional development
- Tuition reimbursement/assistance
- Competitive wages, vacation and holiday time
- Medical, dental, vision, disability and life insurance
- RRSP and DC (CAN) and 401K (U.S.)
- Lifeworks Employee Assistance Program (EAP): confidential support for you and your family (CAN)
- Educational scholarship program for dependents of regular salaried employees.
- Fertility drug coverage
- Paid Maternity Leave Top Up
- Hybrid work model for certain positions
OUR PEOPLE
We care about people - all people. At VCNA, we take safety, health and wellness seriously. We're dedicated to giving our employees a safe workplace, our neighbors a safe environment and our customers a high-quality and safe product. Safety first -and always!
Our VC Way reflects who we are, inspiring us to unite our culture and be our best: Our Way of Being: ethical and respectful, Our Way of Working: together with excellence and Our Way of Thriving: with the courage to transform.
INCLUSION AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYMENT
We have a results-oriented culture that values being open, honest, and authentic. It's part of our DNA. We are continually expanding our diverse and inclusive team by providing opportunities for everyone, regardless of race, ethnicity, age, gender, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability or economic status - a workplace where you can express your individuality and be your best self!
Job Type: Full-time
Benefits:
- Company pension
- Dental care
- Employee assistance program
- Life insurance
- Paid time off
- Vision care
- Wellness program
- Work from home
Schedule:
- 8 hour shift
- Day shift
- Monday to Friday
Supplemental pay types:
Ability to commute/relocate:
- Toronto, ON M4G 3W9: reliably commute or plan to relocate before starting work (required)
Experience:
- Corporate Law: 1 year (required)
- Contract review: 1 year (required)
- Minute Books: 1 year (required)
Language:
Work Location: Hybrid remote in Toronto, ON M4G 3W9
