Counsel, Mergers & Acquisitions

Job Summary

Lincoln Electric's Legal organization is seeking a dynamic, business-minded attorney to serve as Counsel, Mergers & Acquisitions within the Corporate Legal team. Reporting to the Corporate Associate General Counsel, this role is responsible for providing strategic legal counsel across the full lifecycle of mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, restructuring transactions, investments, and other strategic initiatives. The Counsel will partner broadly with Corporate Development, Finance, Tax, Human Resources, Compliance, business leaders, and external advisors to support transaction planning, due diligence, negotiation, closing, and post-close integration. This role will help ensure legal and regulatory risks are identified and appropriately mitigated while enabling efficient execution and successful integration of acquired businesses.

Job Responsibilities

• Advise Strategy and Corporate Development, business leaders, and legal partners on mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, restructuring transactions, investments, and other corporate development matters.
  
• Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders, including deal teams, legal and financial advisors, investment bankers, and regulatory authorities, to support compliant and effective transaction execution.
  
• Draft, review, and negotiate complex transaction documents, including confidentiality agreements, letters of intent, purchase and merger agreements, subscription and shareholder agreements, transition services agreements, and related ancillary documents.
  
• Lead legal due diligence activities to identify, assess, and mitigate potential liabilities, including corporate, commercial, regulatory, employment, intellectual property, litigation, compliance, and governance risks.
  
• Serve as legal project manager throughout the transaction lifecycle, coordinating input from internal legal specialists, cross-functional partners, and outside counsel to meet transaction objectives and timelines.
  
• Lead the legal workstream for post-close integration, partnering with Human Resources, Finance, Tax, IT, Compliance, and business teams to support an orderly transition and alignment with applicable laws, regulations, and Lincoln Electric policies.
  
• Advise on legal aspects of integration planning and execution, including governance structures, delegated authority, entity management, contract migration, policy harmonization, intellectual property, regulatory commitments, litigation matters, and compliance controls.

Job Responsibilities, Continued

• Partner with Human Resources and business leadership on workforce integration matters, including employment obligations, organizational restructuring, leadership transitions, retention arrangements, employee communications, labor and employment compliance, and related change-management considerations.
  
• Identify and escalate integration-related legal, regulatory, employment, and operational risks; develop practical, business-oriented solutions that balance risk management with transaction objectives and commercial realities.
  
• Monitor and support post-close obligations, including transition services, earn-outs, indemnification matters, regulatory commitments, employee-related obligations, and other transaction requirements.
  
• Develop and maintain standardized transaction and integration processes, playbooks, checklists, governance practices, and post-close tracking mechanisms to improve consistency, efficiency, and risk management.
  
• Provide guidance and training across Lincoln Electric on M&A matters and the ongoing governance and management of joint ventures and equity investments.
  
• Manage outside counsel and other legal service providers, including scope, performance, spend forecasting, and budget oversight.
  
• Stay current on developments in M&A, corporate, securities, competition, and other laws and regulations relevant to the company's strategic transactions.
  
• Manage and mentor legal professionals, as assigned, fostering a collaborative, accountable, and high-performance culture.

Qualifications

Education and Licensure

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university and Juris Doctor (JD) from an accredited law school.

• Active license to practice law and good standing in at least one U.S. jurisdiction.

Required Experience

• Minimum of 5 to 7 years of progressive post-JD legal experience in mergers and acquisitions, corporate transactions, or a related area.

• Demonstrated success leading or materially supporting complex M&A transactions from initial assessment through closing.

• Ability to travel up to 10%, including occasional international travel.

Preferred Qualifications

• Substantive experience with cross-border M&A, divestitures, joint ventures, equity investments, corporate restructurings, and post-merger integration.
• Experience advising on post-close legal integration, including governance implementation, entity management, contract transition, policy harmonization, workforce matters, compliance controls, and change management.
• Prior law firm experience strongly preferred; in-house experience within a global industrial or manufacturing environment is beneficial.
• Working knowledge of corporate finance, tax structuring, treasury or cash management, transfer pricing, and joint venture governance as they relate to strategic transactions.
• Demonstrated ability to partner effectively with legal and non-legal executives, present recommendations, influence decisions, coach stakeholders, and provide direct, practical feedback.
• Strong strategic planning, project management, organizational, and influencing skills, with the ability to coordinate complex work across functions, geographies, and time zones.
• Strong executive presence and communication skills, including the ability to distill complex legal and business issues into clear, actionable recommendations.
• Business-minded and commercially pragmatic, with sound judgment and the ability to balance legal risk with business objectives.
• Highly responsive, collaborative, and service-oriented, with the ability to perform effectively in a fast-paced, high-pressure environment and earn trust with experienced corporate development and M&A professionals.
• Global mindset and strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities, with the ability to evaluate qualitative and quantitative information and translate findings into workable solutions.
• Commitment to developing talent and contributing to a collaborative, inclusive, and high-performance legal organization.