Paralegal / Legal Assistant

Minnesota Cannabis Services (MCS) is the premier consulting, staffing, and technology partner for the cannabis industry — helping cultivators, manufacturers, distributors, and retailers launch and scale across one of the most highly regulated markets in the country. Our Legal & Regulatory Services team supports a portfolio of clients ranging from social equity licensees and startups to established operators and multi-state enterprises.

As a Paralegal / Legal Assistant, you'll be the operational backbone of our Legal & Regulatory team — owning the day-to-day flow of entity filings, leases, contracts, licensing files, and regulatory submissions on behalf of our clients. This is a high-trust, high-ownership position for someone who has worked inside a business legal department, who knows how to partner with non-lawyer stakeholders, and who can be trusted to put a clean, complete, deadline-driven package in front of a state regulator.

We're looking for someone who wants to help set the professional standard for the cannabis industry by being the person clients, attorneys, and regulators can rely on.

• →Prepare and submit documents to state and local regulators on behalf of clients — licensing applications, renewals, ownership disclosures, change-of-information filings, audit responses, and ad hoc agency requests. Track every submission to completion.
• →Maintain entity filings for clients across multiple states: formation documents, annual reports, registered agent records, officer/director updates, good-standing certificates, and foreign qualifications.
• →Manage client lease files end-to-end: organize executed agreements, track key dates (commencement, options, renewals, terminations), coordinate landlord consents and estoppels, and surface obligations before they become problems.
• →Draft, redline, and route NDAs, vendor agreements, leases, and routine commercial contracts for attorney review — working directly with client stakeholders who need them signed.
• →Own the contract lifecycle management (CLM) workflow: intake, naming conventions, executed copies, renewal calendars, and surviving obligations across the client portfolio.
• →Track state and local cannabis licensing files: build and maintain renewal calendars, prepare disclosure packets, assemble exhibits, and coordinate signatures across multiple business units and jurisdictions.
• →Utilize Legal ERP Software to track, deadline calendars, and reporting dashboards that give attorneys, clients, and leadership real-time visibility into licensing status, contract pipeline, entity standings, and regulatory deadlines.
• →Communicate clearly and professionally — in writing and on the phone — with clients, state agency personnel, outside counsel, landlords, vendors, and internal teams. You'll often be the first voice or written word a client or regulator hears from MCS on a matter.
• →Conduct practical legal research on regulatory, employment, real estate, and commercial matters and translate findings into clear, client-ready summaries for attorneys.
• →Coordinate e-signature workflows (DocuSign), signature blocks, exhibits, and pre-signature checklists.
• →Support litigation, subpoena response, and litigation hold administration — coordinating with outside counsel rather than running the matter yourself.
• →Maintain strict confidentiality, attorney-client privilege, and document retention standards.

You've worked in-house and you understand the difference. You know the "client" is the business — not a billable matter — and you've learned to balance legal rigor with commercial pragmatism.

You're a strong writer and a confident communicator. You know that a clean cover letter to a state regulator, a well-organized exhibit list, and a follow-up email that anticipates the next question can be the difference between a license issued on time and a deficiency notice. You're equally comfortable explaining a corporate filing requirement to a first-time founder and trading edits on a lease with an experienced landlord's broker.

You're detail-obsessed, accountable, and discreet, and you treat every document like it's going to be reviewed by a regulator or a court. You hold yourself to the highest standards of accuracy and integrity, embrace technology to move work faster without losing precision, and take pride in being the person the legal team — and the clients — can rely on.

• Bachelor's Degree and/or paralegal certificate (or equivalent experience)
• 2+ years of legal assistant or paralegal experience in-house at a corporate legal department (highly preferred over law firm experience); experience at a regulatory agency or in a regulated business operations role also considered
• Demonstrated experience preparing and submitting documents to state regulators or government agencies (licensing filings, renewals, disclosures, compliance reports, or similar)
• Hands-on experience maintaining entity filings, leases, and contracts across multiple entities or business units
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills — comfortable corresponding directly with regulators, clients, landlords, and outside counsel
• Comfort working directly with business stakeholders (operations, HR, finance, procurement) and translating legal requirements into business-friendly guidance
• Experience operating without the structured support of a law firm environment — you've owned CLM intake, managed entity records, or run renewal calendars on your own
• Detail-oriented, highly organized, and comfortable working under pressure across competing client priorities and regulator deadlines
• Professional discretion and commitment to confidentiality
• Proficiency in G-Suite, Microsoft Excel, Adobe Acrobat, and project tracking systems like Monday.com and Asana
• Must be willing to work 100% on-site in our Edina Headquarters
• Successfully pass a pre-employment criminal background check