Vice President, Legal - Commercial

WHO WE ARE

We’re not in the wing business. We’re in the flavor business. It’s been our mission to Serve the World Flavor since we first opened in 1994, and we’re just getting started. 1997 saw the opening of our first brand partner operated Wingstop location, and by 2002 we had served the world one billion wings. It’s flavor that defines us and has made Wingstop one of the fastest growing brands in the restaurant industry.

Above all else – our success is largely due to our people and our core values, or what we call The Wingstop Way of being entrepreneurial, service-minded, fun, and authentic. We believe having a strong people foundation centered on these collective values creates a crave-worthy culture and talented team, as well as ensures our brand is poised for accelerated growth. We all win together.

WHAT WE’LL NEED

The VP, Legal - Commercial leads Wingstop's enterprise commercial legal function and serves as a strategic advisor to leaders across the business. Reporting to the Chief Legal Officer, this leader enables growth by helping teams structure sound business solutions, move with appropriate speed, and manage legal and reputational risk across a technology-forward, highly franchised global restaurant brand.

This role owns the legal framework for commercial contracting and provides senior advice and oversight on employment, litigation, investigations, regulatory matters, and enterprise risk. The VP will bring practical business judgment to complex decisions, anticipate issues before they become barriers, and build a responsive, scalable legal model in partnership with Legal Operations and other Legal leaders. This is a hands-on, player-coach role: the VP will personally handle priority matters while building and leading a scalable operating model.

• Set and lead the commercial legal strategy, including enterprise intellectual property and brand legal strategy, and serve as primary legal partner to Supply Chain, Technology, Digital, Data and AI, Marketing, People, Finance, Operations, Development, and other corporate functions, providing practical counsel aligned with growth and enterprise priorities.

• Lead the drafting, negotiation, and governance of complex agreements involving suppliers and distribution, technology and SaaS, data and AI, digital and delivery, marketing and media, professional services, licensing, real estate, development, and other strategic relationships.

• Build a disciplined, risk-tiered contracting model with clear decision rights and escalation paths; partner with Legal Operations on templates, playbooks, self-service tools, contract lifecycle capabilities, workflow automation, and responsible AI-enabled legal delivery.

• Advise the People team and business leaders on escalated employment matters affecting GSC and company-owned operations, including performance, accommodations and leave, wage and hour, workplace conduct, reorganizations, separations, and franchisor or joint-employer risk.

• Own enterprise litigation, arbitration, administrative claims, subpoenas, and government inquiries, including early assessment, preservation, discovery, settlement, insurance coordination, and outside counsel; partner with the VP, Franchise & International Legal on franchise-related disputes.

• Lead sensitive internal investigations involving misconduct, employment, or compliance concerns, ensuring appropriate independence, documentation, escalation, and remediation in partnership with People, Internal Audit, Information Security, and executive leadership.

• Advise on commercial and operational regulation, including consumer protection, advertising, food safety and product issues, privacy and cybersecurity, accessibility, competition, and emerging requirements affecting digital platforms and artificial intelligence; coordinate with the appropriate Legal and Compliance leaders on enterprise-wide sanctions, anti-bribery, and related compliance-program matters.

• Strengthen enterprise risk management and crisis response by identifying emerging legal and reputational risks, establishing practical mitigation and escalation plans, and providing concise recommendations to the Chief Legal Officer and senior leaders.

• Lead and develop assigned legal professionals, including employment and litigation/risk resources as the organization evolves, and manage external counsel and providers to deliver timely, commercially grounded, high-quality, and cost-effective support across the enterprise.

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

• Juris Doctor degree from an accredited law school and active membership in good standing with at least one U.S. state bar.

• 12+ years of progressive legal experience, including substantial in-house or embedded business-partner experience; experience with a restaurant, QSR, hospitality, retail, consumer, technology, or other multi-unit and highly franchised business is strongly preferred.

• Deep experience drafting and negotiating a broad range of sophisticated commercial agreements, with the ability to identify the few issues that materially affect the business and resolve them efficiently.

• Demonstrated experience advising on employment and labor matters and overseeing litigation, investigations, regulatory inquiries, and outside counsel; familiarity with franchisor, joint-employer, and multi-state workforce considerations is preferred.

• Strong understanding of legal and regulatory issues relevant to a modern consumer business, including advertising, consumer protection, privacy, cybersecurity, digital commerce, data, and artificial intelligence.

• Commercial and financial acumen with the ability to understand operating priorities, evaluate tradeoffs, quantify or contextualize risk, and recommend practical paths forward rather than purely technical legal answers.

• Proven ability to influence executives and cross-functional leaders, navigate ambiguity, and remain composed and decisive in sensitive, high-stakes, or fast-moving situations.

• Experience building scalable legal processes and using templates, playbooks, metrics, workflow technology, automation, and responsible AI to improve service, consistency, and speed.

• Demonstrated ability to operate as a hands-on, player-coach leader, develop talent, and manage outside counsel, vendors, budgets, and service expectations with discipline.

• Excellent judgment, communication, and executive presence, with the ability to translate complex legal concepts into concise, actionable business guidance.

WHO YOU ARE 

No job is too small. You recognize that the real work happens in the restaurants, and everything we do should support their success. You stay humble, roll up your sleeves, and always look for ways to help. You learn from others and contribute wherever you can.

You care deeply about doing great work and driving results. You’re curious, ask questions, and seek out opportunities to improve. You don’t just point out problems—you bring solutions, ideas, and perspectives that move the team forward.

You take full responsibility for your work and see things through to completion. You aren’t afraid to fail because you know that failure is a part of learning and growth. You take action, move fast, and keep pushing forward.

You lead with empathy, respect, and emotional intelligence. You collaborate effectively, fostering a culture of trust and constructive feedback. You understand the importance of teamwork and ensure that your actions build others up rather than break them down.

You push yourself and others to be better. You embrace healthy conflict, knowing that great ideas and strong teams emerge from honest, constructive conversations. You believe that leaders create leaders and are committed to fostering a culture of growth, challenge, and continuous improvement.

BENEFITS

FLAVOR PERKS:

• Unlimited paid time off for exempt employees

• One paid volunteer day of your choice

• Competitive bonus structure for eligible roles

• Team member stock purchase plan

• Health savings or flexible spending account options

• 401k – (dollar for dollar on the first 3% and then 50 cents on the dollar for the next 2% for team member contributions up to 5% of eligible compensation)

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision benefits

• Basic life and AD&D insurance provided

• Pet insurance

• Education Assistance

• Wellness reimbursement program

• Paid maternity and paternity leave

FUN IS THE BEST FLAVOR:

• Lunch provided every Tuesday and Thursday in office

• Discount on Wingstop gift cards

• Onsite game room

Wingstop provides equal opportunities for everyone that works for us and everyone that applies to join our team, without regard to sex or gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, pregnancy, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, any service, past, present, or future, in the uniformed services of the United States (military or veteran status), or any other consideration protected by federal, state, or local law.