Senior Legal Counsel Job Description

The Section of the Forfeiture Program

The Chief of the Forfeiture Program at the Chief of the AFMLS is the principal policy maker for the program and he provides guidance and input on the wide array of legal and policy questions. The Section Chief, the Deputy Assistant Attorney General, and the Assistant Attorney General have to consult with the Section Chief about legal and policy questions relating to statutes administered by the Section and the status of important cases and initiatives. Counsel on legal issues relating to the investigation or prosecution of complex money laundering cases, asset forfeiture cases, and cases involving financial institutions, including where necessary and appropriate, reviewing proposed court orders and motions, and rendering advice as to strategy and evidence problems.

The Section's liaison is with the Office of the Solicitor General, Criminal Appellate, and the appellate sections of other litigating divisions. Reviewing and opines on draft briefs helps Department advocates in advance of precedent setting oral arguments, and provides Section input on the most sensitive and complicated legal issues facing the money laundered and asset forfeiture programs. The person must have a J.D. degree, be licensed and authorized to practice as an attorney under the laws of any State, territory of the United States, or the District of Columbia, and have at least ten years of legal experience.

The Senior Lawyer: Communication Skills in Legal Documentation

Knowledge: The Senior Lawyer is responsible for keeping the department and the business informed on new laws, regulations, and industry trends that affect the business as well assisting with the development of policies and training as necessary. The candidate will have experience working in a legal corporate capacity providing legal advice on a vast set of general corporate matters.

A suitable candidate will demonstrate vast experience working on governance issues and experience working at all levels of management consulting with senior business leadership and stakeholders. The Senior Lawyer will demonstrate good communication skills in both written and verbal form. The Senior Lawyer position is a sensitive one that requires that the occupant convey instructions clearly to collaborating personnel across the business as well as to the business's partners and governing bodies.

Managing risk and cost: the role of external lawyers in business

Responding to increased pressure on legal costs whilst managing risk requires a deep understanding of what drives the cost base and influences the profit line of the business. In-house legal counsel need to initiate proposals for cost reduction and identify appropriate benchmarks to measure efficiency. The challenge for an in house lawyer is to ensure that the balance between cost efficiency and effectiveness is not too high.

External lawyers and in-house legal counsel are important. The development of a close working relationship with preferred legal advisors can be a significant opportunity for in-house legal teams, as it can help save both time and money. GCs need to be influential in the board and their value needs to be recognised by the board.

GCs can add value by encouraging a better understanding of non-financial risk. They should be able to provide context to every legal decision made through their knowledge of the staff and company objectives. Lawyers add value to their business by providing a responsive service, delivering technical know-how in a way that has a significant impact on the business, and providing commercially astute advice.

The General Counsel of a Large-Scale Legal Firm

The general counsel is the one who tries to assure the company is following the law. The general counsel is becoming more and more of a go to for advice that goes beyond legal compliance. A proposed course of action may cause problems for the company.

The general counsel is expected to spot these issues and have a view about them. The general counsel may be asked to give her opinion people. General counsel's role as a partner to senior management creates tensions.

General counsel must have the ability to make clear-eyed professional judgments and to have the ability to raise issues with the appropriate decision-maker if they raise issues of compliance with the law. That would be desirable. The legal staff will want to be seen as part of the team with the business people so that they can be comfortable with the lawyers.

The general counsel should be given a reporting line up the chain to keep the legal staff independent. Building the structure is not enough. The general counsel has to make sure that the communication of information works well and that the legal staff trust each other.

The general counsel in reporting to the board has the same tensions as the senior lawyer in the business division. The senior lawyer works with the division head daily and wants the head to think of him as a member of the team. The general counsel has to be aware of the tension and make it as easy and safe as possible for the senior counsel to discharge his responsibilities.

The Roles of Legal Secretary and General Counsel at Crowdstrike

At Crowdstrike, Paul Shinn is the Chief Legal Officer and Cathleen Anderson is the General Counsel. Both of them are high-level leadership roles, but they have different roles at Crowdstrike. A legal secretary is a person who works for a legal team.

A legal secretary is an administrative assistant that helps coordinate legal tasks. A legal secretary is a person who does case research, prepares legal paperwork, and completes other office tasks. A Chief Compliance Officer is a person who is in charge of creating policies and procedures to mitigate risks and ensure compliance.

A Chief Compliance Officer is responsible for communicating policies and training employees. A Chief Compliance Officer is responsible for monitoring compliance. A legal analyst is a person who does legal research.

General Counsel: A Key Tool for Legal Executives

Brian Woram, executive vice president and general counsel, said that being effective means being someone who is both a good attorney and also someone who has an appropriate influence on the overall activities of the business. Legal executives must develop other attributes such as greater knowledge of the business to truly distinguish themselves. The more attorneys know about an industry, the better they can advise a company in the context of a business issue, and the more they can give pure legal advice.

General counsel are often the go-to advisors for CEOs and boards on laws and regulations, ethics, and risk, and they are often retained by organizations. General counsel have broader knowledge and skills that they use in leadership discussions. General counsel can show that they are interested in more than just legal issues if they show broader thinking.

Legal talent is recognized for being business minded. Lawyers must take it upon themselves to show that they are not risk averse. It can help if you give explanations in plain English and business terms.

In-House Legal Counsel: The role of a Sole Regional Lawyer

Lawyers and other legal professionals can be split into two groups depending on their employer. In-House Counsel are the type of lawyers who work for their employer and not for their clients, as opposed to lawyers who work for multiple clients and earn money for their firm. The specifics of each In-House Legal Counsel role varies greatly depending on their employer.

An In-House Counsel may be working for an international organisation but also be the sole legal advisor of a start-up fintech, because businesses of all sectors and sizes require legal advice and risk management. Sole Counsel are similar to an In-House Counsel in that they are the only Lawyer employed by the business and they must come up with innovative ways to solve legal problems. A Sole Regional Counsel is a Lawyer who is part of an organisation's larger legal team and who is the sole adviser in a specific location, office or division.

To become an In-House Counsel, you will need to be a Solicitor and specialize in a practice area such as commercial contracts, intellectual property, data protection or corporate law. You can make your first move into an In-House Counsel role once you have a couple of years of PQE. The scope of their position is the most important difference between a General Counsel and a Chief Legal Officer.

The Chief Legal Officer job responsibilities are more than just the legal function of the business. They view the work of the legal department in terms of how it intersects with the objectives and performance of the business. CLOs have more access to the board of directors than a General Counsel.