Associate General Counsel

General Counsel Opportunity

Excellent opportunity for a General Counsel with a very successful regional financial institution. This role combines regulatory advisory responsibilities with legal support for lending operations, deposit operations, and special assets and other departments. The successful candidate will serve as a key liaison with federal and state banking regulators, provide legal counsel on a wide range of regulatory and transactional matters, and act as a strategic partner to senior leadership and business units across the bank.

Responsibilities:

• Serve on a team of Regulatory Relations professionals managing relationships with the Federal Reserve, CFPB, FDIC, and other state or federal banking departments.
• Collaborate with Risk Management to manage all verbal and written communications with regulators, including during continuous supervision and formal examinations.
• Provide legal guidance on regulatory, risk, compliance, and governance matters affecting the bank’s operations and strategic initiatives.
• Identify and communicate key regulatory themes, trends, and updates across the organization especially for legal ramifications and implications.
• Draft comprehensive, high-quality legal analyses and materials for internal and external stakeholders, including regulators and executive leadership.
• Maintain effective reporting and communication routines to ensure enterprise-wide understanding of regulatory issues for legal ramifications and implications.
• Provide legal support to management committees, business units, and senior leadership on regulatory and legal risks.
• Provide day-to-day legal support for Commercial, Consumer, and Community Lending teams, including loan structuring, documentation, lien perfection, and third-party agreements.
• Advise on all deposit products (commercial and consumer), including treasury management services and deposit account control agreements.
• Support the Special Assets team on loan workouts, foreclosures, receiverships, and bankruptcies.
• Draft and review forbearance agreements, loan modifications, demand/default letters, and manage outside counsel relationships.
• Assist with complex lending transactions, including tax credit deals, bond transactions, and loan syndications.
• Identify opportunities to improve efficiency through standardized documentation and legal processes.
• Assist the bank and collaborate with division managers and other for miscellaneous legal issues such as subpoenas, security issues, fraud issues, internal investigations, etc.
• Assist, if necessary, in litigation and court proceedings
• Other duties as assigned or as needed

Requirements:

• J.D. from an ABA-accredited law school.
• Active member in good standing with a state bar (preferably New Mexico and Texas).
• Minimum of 7–10 years of legal experience in a financial institution, major law firm, or U.S. banking regulator.
• Demonstrated experience with federal banking laws and regulations, including exposure to federal banking agencies.
• Experience with litigation and court proceedings
• Strong understanding of commercial and consumer loan and deposit documentation, secured transactions, and regulatory compliance including collateral, UCC, etc.
• Experience with privacy, cybersecurity, payments, wealth management, and/or fintech is a plus.