Senior Counsel

Overview

This role involves ensuring compliance with evolving laws and regulations related to privacy and artificial intelligence. The position advises corporate departments and business groups on a broad range of privacy and security issues and manages outside counsel when necessary. It collaborates with senior leadership to oversee legal department initiatives, develop team processes, procedures, and policies, and assists with supervising, mentoring, and training attorneys and other legal team members.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain expertise in data use and protection laws, including state privacy laws, AI regulations, consumer protection laws, HIPAA, GDPR, and other global privacy laws.
• Provide leadership and guidance on complex legal matters, anticipating and mitigating potential privacy issues across corporate groups, client engagements, and third-party relationships.
• Support the data privacy and compliance team in implementing measures to comply with applicable data privacy laws, including data mapping, reviewing Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs/DPIAs), and advising on security incidents or data breaches.
• Support merger and acquisition activities related to privacy and security, including due diligence and integration efforts.
• Lead and oversee various legal initiatives, projects, and functions as a subject matter expert and trusted partner.
• Advise on data privacy, legal risk identification, and mitigation efforts, including implementing privacy-by-design principles.
• Serve as a resource to legal, data privacy, compliance, IT, and business teams on privacy matters such as regulatory inquiries, certification requirements, compliance efforts, acquisitions, integrations, and business development.
• Elevate privacy issues to senior department leadership and partner with them to escalate matters to company leadership as appropriate.
• Participate in supervising, mentoring, work allocation, and training of senior associate attorneys, associate attorneys, and support staff, including recruiting and onboarding.
• Collaborate with multi-functional transactional teams (corporate, business operations, marketing, IT, vendor compliance, governance, human resources) on privacy policies and procedures.
• Partner with internal attorneys and legal operations to create, refine, and update contract templates and other forms.
• Develop and conduct general and role-specific privacy trainings and presentations for employees, corporate groups, and management.

Requirements

Education and Experience

• Juris Doctor degree from an ABA-accredited law school.
• Seven (7) or more years of related work experience.
• Member in good standing of at least one State Bar or the District of Columbia Bar.
• Experience preparing, drafting, reviewing, and negotiating contracts with minimal supervision.
• Experience advising on domestic and global privacy laws, regulations, and frameworks.
• Five (5) or more years of privacy or product counseling experience, ideally with both in-house and law firm exposure.
• Experience supporting employee benefits and advising on ERISA and HIPAA/privacy compliance is preferred.
• CIPP/US or CIPP/E certification is preferred.

Skills

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to be clear and persuasive.
• Strong planning, organizational, and prioritization skills, capable of managing multiple high-priority projects.
• Ability to provide practical, business-oriented legal guidance to non-lawyer company representatives.
• Leadership and mentoring abilities.
• Advanced analytical, problem-solving, and time management skills.
• Demonstrated business acumen and ability to inspire trust and confidence with senior management.
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to establish professional relationships with internal clients, management, and legal colleagues.
• Strong contract drafting and negotiation skills.
• Good judgment, including sound business judgment.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office products.

Compensation and Benefits

The organization offers comprehensive, high-quality employee programs designed to meet employees’ needs now and in the future, including a very competitive financial package.

Location

Information about the specific location is not provided in the job description.