Justin A. Cousino
General Counsel, Americas
Grammer AG
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Phone:
419-461-2587
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Email:
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Legal Counsel - Business Asset - Insight
When someone asks what I do as General Counsel, I generally say, "Jack of all, master of few." You have to be agile; ready and willing to learn. You will never know it all, but you do need to know where to go to find the answers/resolutions when needed.
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Being a businessperson and legal mind allows me to effectively counsel my in-house client, ensuring compliance while achieving operational goals shared equally as teammates rather than just attorney and client.
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I enjoy teaching, speaking, and also learning. Publicly sharing my story and lessons learned on this journey and getting to know people, on a personal level, which is an art that is becoming more and more difficult in our rapidly moving culture, brings me joy.
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EXPERIENCE
2019-Present
General Counsel, Americas
2015-2019
Corporate Counsel &
Human Resources Manager
Moriroku Technology North America/Greenville Technology, Inc.
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General Counsel of the North American operations of a publicly traded Japanese automotive parts manufacturer specializing in plastic injection molding.
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Assisted multi-site leadership in all legal matters affecting operations including, but not limited to, purchase and sale agreements with international customers and suppliers, intellectual property issues, and employment matters, including immigration activity. Reduced outside legal counsel spend by 40% in year one.
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Trained management and staff on legal issues including employment relations, harassment, discrimination, business ethics, confidentiality and effective communication.
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Met with officers and directors of the company to advise on all pending issues, and ensure company is following its by-laws.
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Communicated directly with foreign parent company’s legal department regarding any pending or potential legal issues.
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Directed the Human Resources department to maintain compliance with all employment laws, wellness and benefit plan compliance, and company policies.
2012-2015
General Counsel
Litter Corporation, Inc.
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Lead counsel for a Southern Ohio company that operates an alcoholic beverage distributor, a propane gas company, farming operations, a motor vehicle dealership, and a residential and commercial real estate entity.
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Drafted and negotiated all franchise and distributor agreements with national and international suppliers.
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Ensured compliance with all state and federal regulations.
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Lead all real estate transaction matters, including sales, lease negotiations, and tenant disputes.
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Managed all employment and workers’ compensation claims and complex customer issues.
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Advised the Board of Directors on all aspects of business including marketing, budgets and acquisitions.
2012-2015
General Counsel
Karr & Sherman Co., LPA
Lead counsel for a Southern Ohio company that operates an alcoholic beverage distributor, a propane gas company, farming operations, a motor vehicle dealership, and a residential and commercial real estate entity.
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Drafted and negotiated all franchise and distributor agreements with national and international suppliers.
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Ensured compliance with all state and federal regulations.
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Lead all real estate transaction matters, including sales, lease negotiations, and tenant disputes.
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Managed all employment and workers’ compensation claims and complex customer issues.
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Advised the Board of Directors on all aspects of business including marketing, budgets and acquisitions.
2019-Present
General Counsel and Secretary, Americas
Grammer AG, Americas Region
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With Operations in the USA, Mexico, Brazil and Argentina, I work with our headquarters in Germany to ensure global compliance in the Americas Region.
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From Labor issues to commercial obligations, I advise leadership in every area of business, including at the plant level.
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Integrated Toledo Molding & Die, Inc., into the Grammer group, consisting of 9 locations across the USA. Further merged former TMD subsidiaries into one operating entity in the USA.
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Streamlined legal reporting structure to ensure all operations are aligned in process, ensuring no gaps.
2015-2019
General Counsel &
Human Resources Manager
Moriroku Technology North America- Greenville Technology, Inc.
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General Counsel of the North American operations of a publicly traded Japanese automotive parts manufacturer specializing in plastic injection molding.
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Assisted multi-site leadership in all legal matters affecting operations including, but not limited to, purchase and sale agreements with international customers and suppliers, intellectual property issues, and employment matters, including immigration activity.
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Trained management and staff on legal issues including employment relations, harassment, discrimination, business ethics, confidentiality and effective communication.
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Advised Officers/Directors on all pending issues, and ensured company adheres to its corporate governance requirements.
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Communicated directly with foreign parent company’s legal department regarding any pending or potential legal issues.
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Directed the Human Resources department, maintaining compliance with all employment laws, wellness and benefit plan compliance, and company policies.
2012-2015
General Counsel
Litter Corporation, Inc.
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Lead counsel for a Southern Ohio company that operates an alcoholic beverage distributor, a propane gas company, farming operations, a motor vehicle dealership, and a residential and commercial real estate entity.
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Drafted and negotiated all franchise and distributor agreements with national and international suppliers.
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Ensured compliance with all state and federal regulations.
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Lead all real estate transaction matters, including sales, lease negotiations, and tenant disputes.
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Managed all employment and workers’ compensation claims and complex customer issues.
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Advised the Board of Directors on all aspects of business including marketing, budgets and acquisitions.
2011-2012
General Counsel
Innovative Management Group, LLC
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Sole counsel for a multi-state credit and lending service organization.
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Led corporate contracting functions, including the negotiation and documentation of all lending contracts, licenses, employment contracts, broker agreements, service agreements, and real estate contracts.
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Negotiated and drafted complex lease agreements with numerous real estate companies.
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Managed all matters of state and federal compliance, including licensing and regulatory issues.
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Maintained bankruptcy filings and proof of claims for all delinquent customers in multiple federal court districts.
2010-2011
Associate Attorney
Karr & Sherman Co., LPA
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Represented claimants and defendants at all levels of state court where action was instituted relating to claims of negligence, personal injury, insurance, breach of contract, discrimination, workers’ compensation, and products liability.
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Drafted Complex Summary Judgments, Affidavits, Summonses, Pleas, Counter-Claims, Appellate Briefs, Case Summaries and Settlement Agreements.
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Participated in the depositions of expert and lay witnesses.
EDUCATION
2007-2010
CAPITAL UNIVERISTY LAW SCHOOL
Columbus, Ohio
Juris Doctor
Cum Laude
Government Affairs Certificate
2002-2005
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THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY
Columbus, Ohio
Bachelor of Arts
Cum Laude
Mount Leadership Society
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Concentrations
Global Business Counsel
Executive Leadership
Public Speaking
Labor & Employment
Business Transactions
Ethics & Compliance
EXPERTISE
Business Counsel
As in-house counsel, you are the expert of your operations, its KPIs, and most importantly, its people. I enjoy, and thrive on, counseling operations in creative ways to stay, not only legally compliant, but increase returns. Business counsel is not a cost center, but rather a profit maximizer!
Manufacturing
The world of manufacturing presents legal and operational challenges like no other industry. Take hundreds of workers in one location running 24/7, add in personalities, customer requirements, business goals, and you have a plethora of potential headaches and roadblocks to achieving desired results. Having in-house counsel will, yes will, help you deal with, but most importantly, prevent legal headaches!
Labor Compliance
Whether you have union or non-union workforces, labor relations remain the same. The key to good labor relations is simple: training your front-line supervisors and continuously reinforce.
As a business, you win with people, they are your best asset! To ensure you retain these valuable assets, proper labor relations is critical. In-house counsel is key in training as they know the people and their pain-points.