Description:
The Deputy General Counsel plays a vital role on our legal team by providing timely, coordinated, and thoughtful legal advice on a wide variety of regulatory, compliance, and risk-management matters, grounded in applicable laws and tailored to the Bank's business needs. The role requires proven leadership and management skills, along with the agility, flexibility and a sense of urgency and ownership that's essential to executing on a small legal team in a highly regulated space. This position reports directly to the Chief Legal & Risk Officer and interacts regularly with executive leadership, the board of directors, and our fintech clients' legal and compliance teams.In this role you will:
- Efficiently respond to requests for legal guidance with clear, risk-balanced recommendations considering regulatory pronouncements and state and federal law
- Review contracts from Bank product and service providers using consistent/approved language wherever possible and ensuring regulatory requirements are met
- Review and negotiate contracts with BaaS Partners and advise the Bank on potential concerns and operational considerations on legal issues (card network rules, payments, crypto, consumer protection, privacy, and other relevant laws and rules)
- Oversee preparation and submission regulatory filings for the Bank and holding company
- Provide legal support and guidance for our Banking-as-a-Service programs, both during initial due diligence and throughout ongoing program management
- Support the Enterprise Risk Management team in preparing for, responding to and engaging in risk assessments, regulatory exams and audits, including researching findings, owning remediations and management action plans from start to finish
- Review policies and technology used within the Bank's legal department, and seeks ways to streamline tasks and create a more efficient workflow
- Liaise with outside counsel as needed to ensure efficient assignment and completion of legal tasks within defined budgets
- Have deep expertise and interest in statutes, regulations, and interpretations applicable to consumer and commercial lending and banking, including but not limited to, TILA (Reg Z), EFTA (Reg E), GLBA (Reg P), FCRA (Reg V), TISA (Reg DD), UDAAP/UDAP, ESIGN Act, TCPA/TSR, CAN-SPAM, the Bank Secrecy Act, AML, USA PATRIOT Act, and OFAC, along with applicable corporate governance regulations (e.g., Reg O, Reg W) and data security rules and guidelines (e.g., PCI DSS, Safeguards Rule)
- Ensure the organization's risk management policies and strategies comply with applicable regulations, rating agency standards, and strategic imperatives of the organization, assisting with audits/exams, risk assessments and business continuity planning
- Foster compliance with, monitor and support the Bank's vendor management program
- Utilize Legal department software tools to track legal projects and tasks, and regularly reports on key indicators for the department
- Provide training regarding legal and compliance matters to Bank employees and Board of Directors
- Promote honest and open communication throughout the Bank
- Provide efficient, enthusiastic, and professional service to internal and external clients
- Nurture a team-oriented, compliance culture across all delivery channels and departments
Qualifications:
- Bachelor's degree preferably in business administration, finance, technology, or a related field
- Juris Doctor degree from accredited law school
- 7 to 10 years legal experience in either a law firm or in-house legal department
- Prior work experience in the financial services industry or fintech industry
- Sound operational knowledge of financial institutions
- Strong organizational skills with experience in managing multiple time-sensitive projects simultaneously
- Strong judgment, instincts and analytical skills
- Willingness to take on new challenges in a fast-paced startup environment
- Commitment to creative problem-solving within a complex and evolving regulatory framework
- Excellent interpersonal skills including oral and written communications
- People management experience
