Description:

Description:
Position: Director, Corporate Legal & Compliance (remote optional)

Compensation: Pursuant to Colorado regulations, if this job is performed in Colorado, the salary range is $175,000 - $180,000 plus bonus potential. Eligible to participate in the company benefits plan. We offer health, vision, dental, and pet insurance. We offer a 401(k) retirement plan, student loan assistance, licensing and continuing education reimbursement, parental leave, and housing allowances or gifts.

Reports To: General Counsel

Summary:
Cardinal Group Companies is a premier real estate investment, development, construction, marketing, and management company specializing in the acquisition, development, and management of multifamily and student housing properties throughout the United States.

This position will provide insightful, creative legal counsel to Cardinal's operating businesses to support their continued growth while managing legal-business risks. The Director will, among other things, focus on (1) lead negotiations of a variety of commercial contracts, (2) manage a full slate of outside counsel on litigation and other legal processes, and work cross functionally with our risk financing and insurance team (3) collaborate with cross-functional teams to develop enterprise risk management and compliance culture through training and other initiatives, (4) supervise the legal & compliance team, (5) identify, lead and own legal and compliance project management, and (6) administer and manage key legal and compliance platforms. As a part of the Legal & Compliance team, all team members also contribute to developing and maintaining legal and compliance frameworks to ensure consistency and improve and maintain quality at scale across the company.

Responsibilities (Including but not limited to):

Provide legal advice and assistance on a variety of commercial transactions. The Director will leverage substantive knowledge of market commercial contracting terms and strong negotiation skills to guide sales and operating teams through commercial contract negotiations. This position will lead the review, negotiation and drafting of key commercial contracts that make business possible and manage overflow resourcing and outside counsel.
Provide daily counsel to business units regarding issues, programs, and products. The Director brings to the table an understanding of the balance between business interests and legal risks and is able to spot and explain issues to non-legal teammates and find creative solutions to business-legal challenges. The Director should possess a willingness to learn and understand internal business, operational, financial, and technical matters to provide sound legal advice and risk analysis, while simultaneously assisting business clients in achieving their commercial objectives. A successful candidate is able to clearly and concisely identify and explain the ramifications of contractual terms to the business decision-makers and third parties during contract negotiations.
Manage outside counsel's work on litigation and disputes. The Director candidate is not required to have direct litigation experience but should be comfortable managing local counsel that provide legal support for Cardinal's operations across 40 jurisdictions. Litigation runs the gamut from routine to extraordinary disputes, coordinating with insurance professionals and tracking and reporting on matter status. A successful candidate will guide teammates and outside counsel to uphold the Cardinal value to “do the right thing” where conflict arises.
Develop and maintain legal forms, systems, and processes. A successful candidate will help the company do less with more by continuing the development and improvement of form documents, knowledge databases, and implementing AI tools and platforms to find efficiencies in legal systems and processes, including tech-enabled solutions.
Develop and execute training and resources to increase company-wide understanding and awareness of key legal issues and processes. The Director should be a good listener, who turns problems into opportunities to get creative and provide solutions to the business. This is also a position that will educate and mentor teammates, helping them learn how to navigate common legal issues and providing guidance on best practices.
Pinch-hit as needed: We are a growing Legal & Compliance team, so we all pitch in to enable the team to meet our mutual goals, pick up the slack, and celebrate the work of our teammates. The Director must adapt to changing initiatives and inputs and be willing to contribute as necessary to ensure the success of the team.

Qualifications:

JD from an ABA-accredited institution
Member of an applicable State Bar in Good Standing
7+ years of relevant experience practicing law, with special emphasis on:

Strong contracting background, with significant experience negotiating and drafting commercial service agreements
Strong understanding of managing the pieces and players in litigation (internal stakeholders, outside counsel, insurance reporting and claims management, clients and client counsel, etc.) and effectively translating the business impact of litigation into actionable and acceptable outcomes
Experience with real estate asset or property management or real estate services, a plus
Medium to large law firm experience and meaningful in-house experience, a plus - specifically looking for someone that can be a business leader and partner not just a lawyer
Self-directed, fast-paced work with the desire to grow into a leadership role

Cardinal Directors exercise broad decision-making authority within their function, are relied upon to translate priorities into strategic projects, and should expect to propose and manage to functional budgets
Excellent writing, drafting and verbal communications skills
Must be able to anticipate problems and issues and exercise independent judgment to make sound, justifiable legal decisions, and act in solving problems while knowing when and to whom to escalate issues.
Dedication to thorough, detail-oriented, and ethical work, with a willingness to seek help and ask questions when needed
Organizational, time-management and prioritization capabilities; able to manage high-volume workload independently, efficiently, on time and with minimal supervision
Intellectual humility, self-awareness, and accountability with the ability to work collaboratively, respectfully, and openly as part of a team
Ability to learn quickly and maintain stamina and good humor under pressure
Understand the Cardinal values and be able to demonstrate how you embody them in your approach to practicing law in-house
Puts the client first and dedicates time to relationship development. Seen by internal and external colleagues as a reliable, credible, and highly valuable resource.
Significant PC knowledge of Excel and Word applications is critical for this role, as well as ability to learn and adapt to new technologies.
Has a strong desire to learn the business and apply their legal training to support that business
Strong people management skills - can build, lead, mentor and continue to develop the team members
Applicants seeking remote designation must have at least one (1) year of demonstrable success working from home

Work Environment:
The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those a Team Member encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. Incumbents work both inside and outside of apartment buildings and in all areas of the property including amenities and have frequent exposure to outside elements where temperature, weather, odors, and/or landscape may be unpleasant and/or hazardous.

Physical Demands:
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by a Team Member to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the Team Member is regularly required to use hands to finger, type, handle, or feel and talk or hear. The Team Member is regularly required to stand; walk; reach with hands and arms, and climb, stoop, crawl, or squat. Incumbents must be able to physically access all exterior and interior parts of the property and amenities and must be able to work inside and outside in all weather conditions including, but not limited to rain, snow, heat, hail, wind, and sleet.

The Team Member must be able to push, pull, lift, carry, or maneuver weights of up to twenty (20) pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus.

Routine, travel may be required to assist properties as needed, attend training classes, business meetings, or other situations necessary for the accomplishment of some or all of the daily responsibilities of this position.

Equal Opportunity Employer:
This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to f