The National Retail Federation passionately advocates for the people, brands, policies and ideas that help retail succeed. From its headquarters in Washington, D.C., NRF empowers the industry that powers the economy. Retail is the nation’s largest private-sector employer, contributing $5.3 trillion to annual GDP and supporting more than one in four U.S. jobs — 55 million working Americans. For over a century, NRF has been a voice for every retailer and every retail job, educating, inspiring and communicating the powerful impact retail has on local communities and global economies. 

NRF’s close-knit, high-performing legal department is seeking a motivated, resourceful and superbly organized Commercial Contracts Attorney to review, draft and negotiate a broad range of contracts that support our mission and operations. The successful candidate will work closely with various internal departments, external partners and vendors to ensure that all agreements align with legal and ethical standards while promoting our organizational goals. This role will be integral in ensuring that contract processes across the organization are efficient, legally compliant and standardized. This role offers the unique opportunity to apply legal skills and business judgement in service of the retail industry at-large, helping drive positive impact through practical legal guidance.  

Essential Functions 

Drafting, Reviewing and Negotiating Contracts: 

• Draft, review and negotiate a wide variety of commercial contracts, including but not limited to vendor agreements, licensing agreements, consulting contracts, non-disclosure agreements, collaboration agreements, marketing contracts and technology-related agreements (SaaS, cloud services, etc.). 
• Ensure contracts comply with applicable laws and regulations and are consistent with NRF’s tax-exempt status, purpose and mission. 
• Draft documents and clauses capable of supporting the full spectrum of all contract types.  

Risk Management: 

• Advise internal stakeholders on contractual risks, organizational policies, intellectual property concerns, data privacy and other relevant matters. 
• Identify potential legal issues in business transactions and provide solutions to mitigate risks. 

Legal Compliance: 

• Stay informed on changes in relevant laws and regulations (e.g., data protection and privacy) and ensure NRF's contracts and processes comply with these changes. 

Collaboration and Communication: 

• Collaborate across departments and with cross-functional teams, including finance, marketing, IT, and senior leadership, to negotiate favorable terms and ensure the smooth execution of contracts. 
• Provide clear, concise and actionable legal advice to internal stakeholders. 

Policy Development and Systems Management:  

• Develop and maintain standard contract templates, policies and procedures to ensure consistency and efficiency across the organization. 
• Establish best practices for contract review processes and contract management. 
• Maintain a system for tracking contracts and related documentation and manage a repository of all internal and external contracts. 

Training and Education: 

• Provide training to internal teams on contract management, risk mitigation and compliance best practices. 
• Support teams across the organization with contract initiation, implementation and closeout activities. 

Dispute Resolution: 

• Support dispute resolution and pre-litigation negotiations regarding contract interpretation and performance issues. 

• J.D. degree from an accredited law school
• Must be licensed to practice law in the District of Columbia 
• 2-3+ years of experience reviewing, drafting and negotiating a broad range of commercial contracts 
• Strong understanding of contract lifecycle management principles and how to effectively use CMS tools to streamline these processes 
• Proven experience creating and implementing contract policies, procedures and related training programs 
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to explain legal concepts to non-legal staff in a clear, concise and actionable manner 
• Excellent organizational skills, keen attention to detail and the ability to manage and prioritize simultaneous assignments in a dynamic, high-volume environment across multiple business functions  
• Demonstrated ability to build trusting relationships with stakeholders at various levels across the organization 
• Resourceful and proactive self-starter able to complete tasks and problem solve independently 
• Willingness to perform other duties as assigned 
• Ability to travel (at least 10%)