Senior Counsel, Commercial

Kestra Holdings•Austin, TX

2d•Onsite

About The Position

The Senior Counsel – Commercial Transactions reports to the General Counsel and is responsible for leading the drafting, review, and negotiation of a high volume of commercial agreements, with a primary focus on vendor, technology, and data-related contracts. This is a practical, business-oriented role for a lawyer who can deliver clear, actionable legal guidance and partner effectively with the business to move initiatives forward while appropriately managing legal and regulatory risk. The role will be responsible for commercial contracting across the organization, ensuring that legal, business, and regulatory risks, including data protection, cybersecurity, and privacy considerations, are appropriately addressed in all agreements. The position entails regular interaction with senior leaders, management, and staff across Kestra Holdings and its subsidiaries, as well as external counterparties.

Requirements

Juris Doctor with 6-10+ years of relevant experience, preferably in financial services, technology, or a similarly regulated industry.
Significant experience drafting and negotiating commercial agreements, particularly vendor and technology contracts.
Ability to exercise sound, independent judgment.
Strong commercial judgment and ability to balance legal risk with business objectives.
Excellent drafting and negotiation skills, particularly in complex commercial and technology agreements.
Experience addressing legal issues related to data protection, cybersecurity, or privacy in a commercial contracting context.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
Strong attention to detail.
Ability to prioritize and handle multiple and varied tasks independently.
Ability to work effectively in a team environment.
Basic office technology knowledge (Word, Outlook, Excel, etc.).

Nice To Haves

Prior financial services experience preferred.
Experience with contract lifecycle management tools, legal drafting/redlining tools, and procurement platforms is preferred.

Responsibilities

Lead drafting, review, and negotiation of a high volume of commercial agreements, including vendor, technology, SaaS, data-sharing, services agreements, and product agreements for wealth management.
Own risk allocation across agreements, including liability, indemnification, limitation of liability, and insurance provisions.
Ensure appropriate handling of data protection, cybersecurity, and privacy risks within contracts, including data processing terms, data ownership and permitted use, breach notification provisions, and vendor data use restrictions.
Lead drafting, review, and negotiation of real estate-related agreements, including office leases and related documents, as part of the broader commercial contracting function.
Drive continuous improvement of contracting processes, including leveraging of legal enabling technologies (i.e. contract lifecycle management tool), templates, playbooks, and workflow enhancements to improve efficiency, consistency, and cycle time across the organization.
Partner closely with the Procurement function to support contract lifecycle management, including vendor negotiations, renewals, contract compliance and escalation of commercial disputes.
Partner cross-functionally with shared services (technology, information security, compliance), and business teams to evaluate and manage risk in commercial relationships.
Serve as legal representative on cross-functional projects and governance forums, particularly in connection with vendor, technology, and data initiatives.
Support vendor diligence and risk assessments, including evaluation of data handling, outsourcing, and related risks.
Support incident response and vendor-related risk assessments as needed, particularly where contractual rights and obligations are implicated.
Support other business and corporate initiatives as needed, with the opportunity to take on additional responsibilities as the role evolves.
Monitor and stay current on developments in applicable laws, regulations, and industry guidance — including data privacy, cybersecurity, outsourcing, and financial services regulations — and proactively advise the business on the impact to commercial contracting practices, templates, and risk positions.