Contracts Counsel

American Property Casualty Insurance Association•Washington, DC

7d•$123,000 - $138,000

About The Position

The Contracts Counsel is responsible for enterprise risk management and provides legal advice to internal clients on business transactions, antitrust, contract law, intellectual property, and privacy issues. The role identifies issues involving campaign finance, gift, and lobbying laws and consults with subject-matter experts as appropriate. It assists the AVP, Contracts Counsel in administering APCIA’s contract management system and functionally supervises administrative staff on assigned system-related and other Legal Department projects. The Contracts Counsel drafts bespoke contracts and reviews, revises, and negotiates vendor-submitted agreements across areas including lobbying, consulting, hotel venues, partnerships, licenses, and information technology procurement. The role supports APCIA’s business objectives by identifying and mitigating legal, compliance, and business risks consistent with APCIA’s risk tolerance, escalating risks as needed, and helping protect APCIA’s balance sheet. It also supports assigned policy committees, public policy issues, and state government relations managers with legal content, advice, and compliance services. The position additionally supports APCIA’s compliance program, contributes legal research and reporting, reviews internal and external communications for legal and reputational risks, and may counsel Human Resources on employment issues or participate in litigation and public policy efforts as assigned.

Requirements

Law degree from an ABA-accredited law school.
Good standing in the state bar association where the applicant or incumbent lives and works.
At least 5 years of experience in relevant areas of law with increasing responsibilities.
Working knowledge of the property and casualty insurance business, nonprofit or trade association law, in-house practice, and compliance matters.
Demonstrated strength in legal research, writing, analysis, and problem-solving.
Demonstrated strength in verbal and written communication and presentations.
Strong analytical, problem-solving, and organizational skills.
Ability to interpret and explain enterprise risks arising from varied business transactions, case law, statutes, and regulations to others, including non-lawyers.
Proficiency in Office 365 applications, including SharePoint or an equivalent document-sharing application, and OneDrive.
Familiarity with databases and contract management systems.
Experience counseling clients regarding risks associated with a variety of business transactions, including contractual relationships.

Responsibilities

Advise APCIA business owners and their direct reports on contracts, negotiations, contract management, and related legal and business risks, particularly intellectual property, data protection, and allocation of risk.
Draft, review, and negotiate contracts to advance APCIA’s business objectives and reduce the likelihood of future disputes.
Functionally supervise paralegals and other staff assigned to projects led by the incumbent, including contract management system projects.
Write and publish the department’s required legal bulletins and reports on insurance law cases of interest to APCIA members, connecting content to APCIA Strategic Goals as appropriate.
Provide legal support and problem-solving for assigned policy committees, state government relations managers, and public affairs issues, including identifying antitrust, campaign finance, gift, and lobbying law compliance issues.
Review presentations, committee materials, bulletins, reports, and communications for antitrust, reputational, intellectual property, and other legal or compliance risks.
Draft and distribute meeting minutes for assigned committees.
Support APCIA Membership, Policy Research, and International and State Government Relations teams with legal research and reporting as assigned.
Maintain and demonstrate substantive knowledge of relevant law and independent judgment when communicating legal, compliance, and business issues.
Assist the AVP, Corporate Counsel in administering APCIA’s contract management system and support maintenance and customization to improve workflow and search functionality and maintain it as the official repository for executed and in-process contracts.
Counsel APCIA’s Human Resources department on employment issues as assigned by the General Counsel and work with outside counsel as needed.
Prepare or review comment letters and testimony for legislatures, regulators, and rule-making organizations in collaboration with Policy and State Government Relations partners and under guidance from designated senior legal leaders.
Support APCIA’s compliance program, including antitrust, campaign finance, gift and lobbying laws, and the Code of Conduct; respond to member inquiries.
Conduct legal research on complex insurance issues, identify potential solutions, and collaborate on strategy with internal teams, outside counsel, and others as appropriate.
Participate as in-house counsel in administrative and civil litigation addressing regulatory overreach in support of designated senior legal leaders.
Independently analyze complex legal issues in property and casualty insurance and support public policy positions and legislative, regulatory, and litigation efforts tied to APCIA’s Strategic Goals, as assigned.
Participate in department meetings and support APCIA’s mission and core values.
Collaborate with the legal team, build strong relationships with co-employees and APCIA members, and demonstrate commitment to APCIA’s mission.
Perform other duties as assigned.