MCS Automation
Vice President of Legal & Compliance
Edina, MN · Exec
Sponsorship not specifiedDetected 6 hours ago
ComplianceHRCorporate LawResearchLeadershipMentoring
About the role
- The role reports directly to the CEO and offers a clear path to Chief Legal Officer as the company grows.
- This is a high intensity role with long hours and some travel.
- This is a 100% on-site role based in our Edina office.
Responsibilities
- Legal & Organizational Strategy: Partner with company leadership and client executives as a strategic advisor, providing legal insight on major decisions and long-term planning across the businesses we support.
- Develop and maintain deep, current expertise across our multi-state regulatory landscape.
- Corporate Governance & Compliance Programs: Architect, draft, and implement comprehensive governance and compliance frameworks across a large portfolio of client entities. Maintain audit readiness at all times.
- Legal Team Leadership: Manage the attorneys, paralegals and legal operations professionals to plan workload, prioritize across clients, and deliver high-quality work ahead of deadlines.
- Real Estate & Transactional Law: Lead real estate and transactional work on behalf of a leading cannabis real estate fund that delivers turnkey operational facilities to licensees - including acquisitions, leasing and subleasing to tenant-operators, and the agreements that support facility delivery, in partnership with the construction and facilities team.
- Labor & Employment: Partner with Human Resources on complex labor and employment matters affecting our clients' workforces, including union dynamics, training, and sensitive employee relations.
- Litigation & External Counsel: Oversee litigation strategy and manage outside counsel on behalf of our clients, with rigorous control of scope and spend.
- Our team partners with leading operators across cultivation, manufacturing, distribution, and retail to deliver world-class expertise in legal, finance, analytics, marketing, HR, and technology.
- This is a demanding role with significant impact - ideal for an attorney who wants to build, lead, and grow alongside a high-performing company in a major emerging industry.
Requirements
- Demonstrated success managing and developing legal operations teams.
- Deep multi-state regulatory compliance experience in cannabis - or a comparably regulated, multi-state industry (alcohol, pharmaceuticals, gaming, tobacco, or retail franchises). Direct cannabis experience is strongly preferred.
- Franchising or other multi-entity systems experience a plus, particularly building replicable governance across many entities.
- Exceptional attention to detail and the ability to manage many priorities simultaneously.
- Strong people- and process-management skills, sound judgment, and the confidence to make and own decisions.
Nice to have
- Juris Doctor with active bar membership in good standing (Minnesota admission or ability to obtain promptly).
- 8+ years of legal experience, including senior in-house leadership.
- Deep multi-state regulatory compliance experience in cannabis - or a comparably regulated, multi-state industry (alcohol, pharmaceuticals, gaming, tobacco, or retail franchises).
- Direct cannabis experience is strongly preferred.
- Experience serving multiple operators or working in a management services, professional services, or multi-client environment strongly preferred.
- Multi-unit or multi-state retail legal experience strongly preferred - high-volume leasing, zoning and municipal approvals, and labor matters across jurisdictions.
- Genuine enthusiasm for technology and AI in legal practice.
- The highest ethical standards.
Skills
- retail, manufacturing, cultivation, transportation, and delivery.
- It is not a hybrid or remote position, and candidates seeking that flexibility should not apply.
- What Makes This Role Different
- This work rewards someone who is detail-obsessed, decisive, and energized by responsibility.
- Maintain audit readiness at all times.
Compensation
- Please submit salary requirements with your application. Compensation and benefits is commensurate with experience.
- Please submit salary requirements with your application.
Benefits
- Compensation and benefits is commensurate with experience.
Company info
- Minnesota Cannabis Services is a cannabis management and professional-services company. We deliver legal, compliance, operational, and corporate support to cannabis clients across Washington, Oregon, Iowa, Minnesota, Florida and Puerto Rico. Our clients span the full value chain: retail, manufacturing, cultivation, transportation, and delivery.
- Position Summary
- We are seeking a Vice President of Legal & Compliance to lead the legal and compliance function we deliver on behalf of our clients across all markets. This is the senior most legal role in the organization, with full responsibility for legal strategy, regulatory compliance, corporate governance, risk management, and leadership of an in-house legal team that includes attorneys, paralegals and legal operations professionals that serve our client portfolio.
- The role reports directly to the CEO and offers a clear path to Chief Legal Officer as the company grows. This is a build-and-operate position for an attorney who wants genuine authority and meaningful impact across a fast growing, heavily regulated industry.
- Minnesota Cannabis Services is a cannabis management and professional-services company.
- We deliver legal, compliance, operational, and corporate support to cannabis clients across Washington, Oregon, Iowa, Minnesota, Florida and Puerto Rico.
- Our clients span the full value chain: retail, manufacturing, cultivation, transportation, and delivery.
- At Minnesota Cannabis Services, we're not just building businesses - we're building the people who make them great.
- We're looking for professionals who take pride in their work, move with purpose, and thrive in fast-changing environments.
- At Minnesota Cannabis Services, we believe great teams are built on trust, initiative, and follow-through.
- Here, you'll be part of a high-performing culture that values precision, reliability, and continuous improvement.
- Every project is a chance to grow your skills, strengthen your leadership, and contribute to something that matters.
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