Assistant General Counsel

FARMER MAC • Washington, DC

1d • $250,000 - $275,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

Farmer Mac (Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation) was established by Congress as a secondary market for American agricultural and rural infrastructure credit. We are a for-profit, public company (NYSE: AGM) and a mission-driven organization committed to building a strong and vital rural America by increasing the accessibility of financing to benefit American agriculture and rural communities. Farmer Mac has approximately $30 billion in assets and more than 200 full-time employees.

Position Summary

Reporting directly to the Executive Vice President - Chief Legal Officer, this Assistant General Counsel role will primarily focus on transaction management and will oversee the preparation, review, and negotiation of legal documentation to help execute commercial transactions in Farmer Mac’s Agricultural Finance and Rural Infrastructure Finance lines of business and related funding transactions executed by the Finance team, including credit risk transfer transactions.

The position is expected to be based in our headquarters located at 2100 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC and is subject to a hybrid work arrangement.

Requirements

• Demonstrated knowledge of secured finance transactions, such as mortgage or asset finance, real estate finance, project finance, syndicated transactions, participations and/or securitizations/other credit risk transfer transactions. Familiarity with transactions involving mark-to-market or collateral/custody dynamics is a plus.
• Experience in the financial services sector, with preference for experience representing regulated financial institutions.
• Demonstrated strong client management skills with the ability to proactively and independently align with the needs of the business clients to provide top notch advice and service.
• Desire, motivation and intellectual curiosity to immerse themselves in learning the business of Farmer Mac and becoming a subject matter expert in designated areas of responsibility.
• Strong analytical capabilities and sound judgment, with a solution-oriented mindset and a collaborative approach to accomplishing objectives.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with the ability to clearly and concisely communicate issues and ideas with colleagues and counterparties.
• Strong work ethic, with the energy and desire to work in a dynamic and fast-paced environment.
• High degree of integrity and professional ethics and commitment to Farmer Mac’s mission to serve rural America.
• J.D. degree and minimum of five years in relevant legal practice such as private law firm or other in-house counsel experience.
• Active bar membership in good standing.

Nice To Haves

• Specific familiarity with renewable energy projects, agribusiness loans, and telecommunications and digital infrastructure transactions such as broadband and network infrastructure, data centers, and cloud infrastructure is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Oversee, including in partnership with outside counsel, legal-related aspects of transaction management, including preparation of legal documentation to help execute commercial transactions which may include secured lending, investments, and capital markets transactions. Representative work may include advising on transaction structures and drafting, reviewing, and/or negotiating legal documentation in: secured finance, institutional credit, and investment transactions, including master loan participation agreements and loan syndication agreements;
• financing transactions for the acquisition, development, and construction of renewable energy projects;
• offerings of asset-backed securities, synthetic credit risk transfer securities, covered bonds and unregistered debt and equity securities;
• acquisition of loan pools and servicing rights and related transition support;
• off-balance sheet standby loan purchase commitments; and
• repurchase agreements, derivatives transactions, and corporate investments.
• Monitor relevant regulatory developments affecting Farmer Mac, inform business units, and work with stakeholders to implement necessary changes in response to regulatory developments.
• Manage outside counsel on complex transactional matters, including providing insight about unique Farmer Mac requirements, legal opinion content, reasonableness of fees, and conflict waivers.
• Work closely with the Business Development and Finance teams within Farmer Mac to provide independent day-to-day legal support and practical, solution-oriented advice to help the company and its stakeholders achieve business objectives.
• Perform such other duties as may be assigned by the Chief Legal Officer.

Benefits

• In addition to a competitive base salary, employees in this role receive a comprehensive benefits package and are eligible for both short-term and long-term incentive compensation that rewards individual and company performance, aligning employee success with the organization’s long-term goals.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree