About Lactalis-Mainland Dairy

Lactalis is a French family-owned business founded in Laval in 1933. Today, it is the world’s leading dairy group, present in 50 countries employing around 85,500 people. It is home to some of the world’s best known global and international dairy brands, including Président, Galbani and Parmalat, and local brands including Pauls, OAK, and Cracker Barrel in Australia.

Lactalis-Mainland Dairy Australia operate 8 manufacturing sites producing well-loved brands including Perfect Italiano, Mainland, and Western Star.

Our passionate and talented team is committed to nurturing the future, unlocking new opportunities, and fostering innovation in nutrition and food.

The Opportunity

Reporting to the Associate General Counsel, this Legal Counsel provides pragmatic, commercially focused legal advice across a broad range of business activities.

Working closely with stakeholders across the organisation, you will help identify opportunities, manage legal risk and deliver practical solutions that support business objectives.

This is an excellent opportunity for a commercially-minded lawyer who takes initiative, enjoys variety, autonomy and partnering with the business to achieve real outcomes.

Key responsibilities include

- Drafting, reviewing and negotiating a broad range of commercial agreements, including procurement, supplier, customer, sales, consulting and service contracts
- Providing practical legal advice on contractual, commercial and operational matters across a large farm-to-consumer, end-to-end FMCG business
- Advising on Australian Consumer Law, competition and fair-trading matters




- Supporting marketing campaigns, promotional activities, product innovation and regulatory compliance initiatives
- Partnering with stakeholders across Procurement, Sales, Marketing, Finance, Operations/Industrial, and HR to deliver commercially sound outcomes
- Assisting with disputes, claims, litigation matters and external legal counsel engagement
- Supporting legal risk management, governance, policy development and compliance activities
- Building legal capability across the business through education, guidance and trusted business partnering
- Working closely with the Associate General Counsel to deliver work improvement initiatives

About You You are a commercially- focused legal professional who enjoys building strong relationships and partnering with stakeholders to solve problems. You take initiative, have excellent judgement, a pragmatic approach to risk and the confidence to work autonomously while managing competing priorities.

You thrive on variety, have a great sense of humour, and are comfortable with the use of technology and AI.

To succeed in this role, you’ll ideally bring:

- Bachelor of Laws (LLB or equivalent) and admission to practice as an Australian Legal Practitioner
- Current Victorian Practising Certificate,



or the ability to obtain one
- Minimum 5 years' post-qualification experience gained in private practice, in-house, or a combination of both
- Experience in commercial contracting, procurement and general commercial law
- Knowledge of Australian Consumer Law and commercial risk management principles
- Strong drafting, negotiation and stakeholder management capabilities
- Excellent communication skills with the ability to translate complex legal issues into practical business advice
- A willingness to learn
- Ability to lean into and take ownership of issues
- FMCG, manufacturing, food or consumer products industry experience will be highly regarded but is not essential

What We Offer

- Competitive remuneration and benefits
- Career development and internal opportunities across a global business
- A collaborative and supportive team environment where your work has genuine impact
- Exposure to a broad range of legal matters across a complex international business
- Flexible work arrangements and hybrid working opportunities
- A robust commitment to quality, innovation and sustainability
- Hybrid and flexible work arrangements
- A supportive and fun team environment

Based at our Richmond office, this role offers excellent career development, exposure to senior stakeholders and flexible ways of working, providing a balance of in-office collaboration and working from home. Please note that applicants must have full working rights for Australia to be considered.

We are politely declining recruitment agency support and approaches for this role.

📌 Legal Counsel (Richmond)
🏢 Lactalis - Mainland Dairy
📍 Richmond