Senior Legal Counsel

Company: First Federal Bank
Location: Youngstown
Posted on: March 20, 2023

Job Description:

If you are a job seeker with a disability and require a reasonable accommodation to apply for one of our jobs, you will find the contact information to request the appropriate accommodation by visiting the following page:Position Reports to: Chief Legal OfficerPosition Summary: -This position is responsible for assisting the Chief Legal Officer in legal matters arising from all aspects of the Premier's activities, with particular focus on legal and policy matters related to bank products and services, supervision and regulation, contract management, and litigation management. Remote/hybrid arrangements are available however individual must be located in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, or Pennsylvania with a preference to individuals within the geographic areas of these states where Premier has offices. Occasional/limited travel to Premier offices may be required.Characteristics we are looking for:--- Adept at recognizing and evaluating legal risk arising from business decisions and operations and advising and working with various business units. ---- Familiar and experienced with banking/financial services and operations with a working knowledge of applicable banking and consumer compliance regulations.--- Partner with business units to provide sensible and practical legal advice and develop integrated solutions/responses that consider our operations/systems and employee experiences.--- Focused on the doing the right thing for the company, our internal clients, and our customers.--- Thrives in a fast-paced environment with multiple internal clients and a wide-range of legal questions and issues.--- Interested and experienced in building legal department systems and employee tools/training materials.--- Excellent organization, prioritization, and multitasking skills, practical and effective problem-solving skills, strong analytical, negotiation, and communication skills.--- Ability and drive to take ownership of projects and tasks.--- Comfortable with working outside of your traditional experience areas and willing to learn and research new areas.--- Ability to comfortably and confidently operate in a constantly changing environment--- Creative thinker with strong problem-solving skills.--- Thorough and detail-oriented, able to prioritize, and juggle multiple projects and demands.Duties and Responsibilities:--- Prepare review, negotiate, and manage broad range of company contracts (for example, purchasing/supply contracts; professional services agreements; software (SaaS), licensing arrangement, leases, real estate related, etc.) for all areas of Premier. ---- Draft and review legal and other corporate policies, including those related to Premier's regulatory compliance, credit, operations, employees, governance programs, and data/information security, privacy and retention policies. --- Work with the CLO to manage and coordinate actual or threatened litigation with outside counsel. Activities will include review of complaints, responsive pleadings, discovery and responses to discovery requests, protective orders, reviewing documentation for relevancy and attorney-client privilege, and litigation reporting efforts.--- Investigate or assist in the investigation of complaints, administrative hearings or actual or threatened litigation or claims against the Premier.--- Support branch, deposit and lending functions in customer matters, issue identification/remediation, policies and procedures, product development, development and review of customer agreements, forms and disclosure, compliance questions, and general advice.--- Support commercial, mortgage and retail lending teams, including loss mitigation and collection efforts, on loan transactions, loan structuring, documentation questions, customer matters, issue identification/radiation, product development, compliance questions, and general advice.--- Provide legal counsel and support on bank and compliance regulatory requirements.--- Serve as subject matter expert for issues relating to legal process (e.g., subpoenas, garnishments, levies).--- Assist in responding to and resolving regulatory exams, audits, legal area risk assessments, compliance reviews, SOx control certifications, etc.--- Assist in mergers, acquisitions and dispositive transactions, including due diligence, definitive agreements, disclosures and closings ---- Serve on and attend management and/or board committee meetings and draft and/or prepare minutes of such meetings as requested.--- Legal research and analysis on issues or new legislation and regulation; Maintain current knowledge and keep informed of industry-specific regulations and ensure that appropriate legal and compliance strategies are in place.--- Additional potential responsibilities related to the Premier's corporate functions may include: preparing or reviewing SEC filings, including beneficial ownership reporting, corporate governance, finance/accounting matters, and employment and benefits related matters. ---- Manage outside counsel and oversee the work-product of outside counsel; ensure outside counsel receive complete and organized information necessary to perform their work; liaison between outside counsel and business partners to ensure practical application and implementation of advice.--- Manage ad hoc and "out of the blue" projects as requested.Education, Certification, License and Experience:--- Position requires a Bachelor's degree and a Juris Doctorate from an accredited law school. --- Member of Ohio bar in good standing or ability to become authorized Corporate Counsel within 6 months of joining.--- Preferred minimum of 3-5 years of relevant banking/financial institution legal representation experience.--- Preferred minimum of 3-5 years of in-house experience.--- A minimum of 6-8 years as a licensed practicing attorney.This job operates in a professional office environment. Work is normally performed in a typical interior work environment which does not subject the employee to any hazardous or unpleasant elements. -Physical Requirements:The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to speak or hear, stand or sit for long periods of time, open filing cabinets, walk, stoop or bend, use hands to handle or feel and reach with hands and arms. The employee must frequently lift and/or move up to 10 pounds, occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds and complete tasks requiring manual dexterity. Ability to drive a vehicle for travel is required for the position.Premier Financial Corp is an Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity employer. We consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, religion, color, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or any other legally protected status.The above statements are intended to describe the essential functions of the job and the qualifications of the person assigned to it. They are not intended as an exhaustive list of all job duties, responsibilities and requirements. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change or new ones may be assigned at any time with or without notice. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. This job description does not constitute a contract of employment. Employment is "at will" and may be terminated at any time.

Keywords: First Federal Bank, Youngstown , Senior Legal Counsel, Accounting, Auditing , Youngstown, Ohio