Director, Corporate Legal & Compliance

Cardinal Group Career•Denver, CO

14d•Remote

About The Position

Cardinal Group Companies is a premier real estate investment, development, construction, marketing, and management company specializing in the acquisition, development, and management of multifamily and student housing properties throughout the United States. This position will provide insightful, creative legal counsel to Cardinal’s operating businesses to support their continued growth while managing legal-business risks. The Director will, among other things, focus on (1) lead negotiations of a variety of commercial contracts, (2) manage a full slate of outside counsel on litigation and other legal processes, and work cross functionally with our risk financing and insurance team (3) collaborate with cross-functional teams to develop enterprise risk management and compliance culture through training and other initiatives, (4) supervise the legal & compliance team, (5) identify, lead and own legal and compliance project management, and (6) administer and manage key legal and compliance platforms. As a part of the Legal & Compliance team, all team members also contribute to developing and maintaining legal and compliance frameworks to ensure consistency and improve and maintain quality at scale across the company.

Requirements

JD from an ABA-accredited institution
Member of an applicable State Bar in Good Standing
7+ years of relevant experience practicing law, with special emphasis on: Strong contracting background, with significant experience negotiating and drafting commercial service agreements Strong understanding of managing the pieces and players in litigation (internal stakeholders, outside counsel, insurance reporting and claims management, clients and client counsel, etc.) and effectively translating the business impact of litigation into actionable and acceptable outcomes
Self-directed, fast-paced work with the desire to grow into a leadership role
Cardinal Directors exercise broad decision-making authority within their function, are relied upon to translate priorities into strategic projects, and should expect to propose and manage to functional budgets
Excellent writing, drafting and verbal communications skills
Must be able to anticipate problems and issues and exercise independent judgment to make sound, justifiable legal decisions, and act in solving problems while knowing when and to whom to escalate issues.
Dedication to thorough, detail-oriented, and ethical work, with a willingness to seek help and ask questions when needed
Organizational, time-management and prioritization capabilities; able to manage high-volume workload independently, efficiently, on time and with minimal supervision
Intellectual humility, self-awareness, and accountability with the ability to work collaboratively, respectfully, and openly as part of a team
Ability to learn quickly and maintain stamina and good humor under pressure
Understand the Cardinal values and be able to demonstrate how you embody them in your approach to practicing law in-house
Puts the client first and dedicates time to relationship development. Seen by internal and external colleagues as a reliable, credible, and highly valuable resource.
Significant PC knowledge of Excel and Word applications is critical for this role, as well as ability to learn and adapt to new technologies.
Has a strong desire to learn the business and apply their legal training to support that business
Strong people management skills - can build, lead, mentor and continue to develop the team members
Applicants seeking remote designation must have at least one (1) year of demonstrable success working from home

Nice To Haves

Experience with real estate asset or property management or real estate services, a plus
Medium to large law firm experience and meaningful in-house experience, a plus - specifically looking for someone that can be a business leader and partner not just a lawyer

Responsibilities

Provide legal advice and assistance on a variety of commercial transactions.
Provide daily counsel to business units regarding issues, programs, and products.
Manage outside counsel’s work on litigation and disputes.
Develop and maintain legal forms, systems, and processes.
Develop and execute training and resources to increase company-wide understanding and awareness of key legal issues and processes.
Pinch-hit as needed