Head of Legal Operations & IP

About Us

Clean Nutra is one of the fastest-growing health and wellness brands in the world, with 200+ product SKUs across Amazon, TikTok Shop, Walmart, and DTC. Behind the scenes, we operate a complex ecosystem of trademarks, suppliers, manufacturers, and global e-commerce channels that demands a tight, scalable legal and IP infrastructure to protect our brands and support hyper-growth.

Our mission is to build a lean, tech-enabled legal function that protects the company like a top-tier law firm but runs with the speed and efficiency of a modern e-commerce operator — using AI, structured processes, and smart outsourcing instead of bloated legal spend.

We’re looking for a Head of Legal Operations & IP to build and own this function end to end.

Role Overview

The Head of Legal Operations & IP will serve as the primary in-house legal leader for Clean Nutra and its related entities, with a focus on trademarks, contracts, brand protection, and outside counsel management.

You will be responsible for personally handling core legal work where appropriate, while also building and managing a small, efficient network of outsourced resources (offshore paralegals and specialized law firms). You are comfortable getting your hands dirty and executing work yourself when needed, but you also think in systems and know how to leverage AI and process to keep the total “core legal” spend (internal + external) disciplined and efficient.

Core Responsibilities

Legal Operations & Outside Counsel Management

• Own the intake, triage, and management of all legal matters across the organization.

• Determine which matters can be handled directly, delegated to offshore paralegals, or escalated to outside counsel.

• Build and maintain a matter and spend tracker across litigation, IP, corporate, and enforcement work.

• Use GPT and other tools to summarize legal bills, categorize time entries, and identify inefficiencies or overbilling.

• Develop and maintain billing guidelines, engagement terms, and preferred rate structures with law firms.

• Provide clear, practical summaries and recommendations to leadership on key legal issues and tradeoffs.

Trademarks & Global Brand Protection

• Prepare and file U.S. trademark applications, responses to Office Actions, renewals, assignments, and maintenance filings.

• Coordinate with foreign counsel on international trademark strategy, Madrid filings, oppositions, and cancellations.

• Manage trademark watch services and assess the risk of new conflicts, escalating only when necessary.

• Maintain a clear global IP portfolio by brand, class, and jurisdiction aligned with product and channel strategy.

• Partner with product and marketing teams to clear and protect new brand and product names before launch.

Contracts: Suppliers, Manufacturers, Quality & HR

• Own templates and playbooks for supplier and vendor agreements, quality and manufacturing agreements, and employee/contractor documents.

• Draft, review, and negotiate commercial contracts, including supply, manufacturing, quality, NDAs, influencer/affiliate, and collaboration agreements.

• Work with HR on offer letters, confidentiality agreements, IP assignment agreements, and other employee-related documentation.

• Build and maintain a contracts library and database with key terms, obligations, and renewal dates.

• Ensure that contracts reflect real-world operational practices and regulatory expectations in the supplement and e-commerce environment.

Brand Enforcement, Takedowns & Platform Actions

• Lead IP enforcement and brand protection efforts across Amazon, Walmart, TikTok, Shopify, and other platforms.

• Draft and submit takedown notices, IP complaints, and cease & desist letters for counterfeiters, hijacked listings, and infringing content.

• Coordinate with outside counsel for escalations involving platform disputes, high-risk matters, or litigation.

• Maintain a centralized enforcement log tracking infringers, actions taken, timelines, and outcomes.

• Work closely with internal e-commerce teams to ensure fast, consistent enforcement on high-value listings.

Corporate & Regulatory Coordination

• Coordinate with corporate, tax, and regulatory counsel on entity structure, IP holding arrangements, and corporate maintenance.

• Support regulatory and labeling initiatives by translating external legal guidance into clear internal requirements and processes.

• Use GPT and internal templates to convert complex legal opinions into concise, actionable plans for operations, marketing, and finance.

AI, Systems & Offshore Team Management

• Design AI-first workflows for drafting, reviewing, and organizing legal documents and correspondence.

• Use GPT to generate first drafts of NDAs, contract language, memos, and routine responses for your review and refinement.

• Recruit, train, and manage offshore paralegals (e.g., in the Philippines) to handle repeatable tasks efficiently.

• Create SOPs, checklists, and templates so that recurring legal work is standardized, auditable, and scalable.

• Continuously refine processes and team structure to keep total core legal spend (internal + external) within targeted ranges while improving coverage and speed.

Qualifications

• J.D. from an accredited U.S. law school.

• Active bar membership in at least one U.S. jurisdiction (in good standing), with eligibility to serve as in-house counsel.

• 6+ years of post-J.D. experience in a legal role (in-house, law firm, or hybrid) with significant exposure to IP/trademarks and commercial contracts.

• Hands-on experience managing U.S. trademark filings and portfolios; experience coordinating with foreign counsel is strongly preferred.

• Strong contract drafting and negotiation skills across supplier, manufacturing, quality, and employment/contractor agreements.

• Familiarity with e-commerce platforms (Amazon, Walmart, Shopify, TikTok, etc.) and their IP/brand enforcement mechanisms.

• Demonstrated experience managing outside counsel and legal budgets, with a focus on efficiency and value.

• Comfort working in a fast-moving, entrepreneurial environment with high volume and shifting priorities.

• High level of comfort using AI tools (e.g., GPT) and working with offshore teams to amplify your output.

• Exceptional communication skills — able to translate legal risk into clear, practical guidance for non-lawyers.

Key Outcomes

• Material reduction and optimization of external legal spend while maintaining or improving protection and compliance.

• A clean, up-to-date global trademark portfolio aligned with current and future brand and product strategy.

• Standardized contract templates and playbooks in active use across supplier, manufacturing, HR, and marketing relationships.

• A repeatable, metrics-driven enforcement system for marketplace takedowns and brand protection with clear ROI.

• All key legal matters tracked with clear ownership, deadlines, and next steps, with regular, actionable updates for leadership.

• A lean legal operations “machine” — combining your own execution, AI, and a small outsourced team — that keeps total core legal costs (salary plus routine counsel/paralegal spend) within targeted ranges while supporting growth.