Senior Legal Counsel

State of Wisconsin Investment Board • Madison, WI

6h • Hybrid

About The Position

The State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB) is seeking a Senior Legal Counsel to join its highly collaborative, experienced in-house Legal Division. This team of asset management attorneys works at the intersection of public service and sophisticated global financial markets, advising on cutting-edge investment strategies, complex financial transactions, commercial contracts (including AI-related), state law compliance, and operational matters. The position offers a unique opportunity for a talented attorney to focus on commercial contracts, gain exposure to complex investment work, and develop a broad set of legal and business skills. The Senior Commercial Counsel will advise SWIB’s operations, technology, risk, compliance, investment operations, data, and finance teams on complex vendor, technology, data, and financial-services agreements, and provide counsel on various commercial contracting and operational matters.

Requirements

• A J.D. from a top-tier law school and active membership in good standing to practice law in at least one U.S. jurisdiction.
• 8+ years of legal experience, with a strong preference for candidates from nationally or internationally recognized law firms, institutional investors, banks, custodians, asset managers, insurers, fintech companies, exchanges, or financial infrastructure providers.
• Extensive experience negotiating complex technology, data, SaaS, outsourcing, custody, market data, trading, operational services, and similar commercial agreements, as well as advising clients on contract risk, vendor relationships, and operational matters.
• Familiarity with operational and regulatory frameworks applicable to institutional investors or financial institutions.
• Experience working in a regulated environment and supporting cybersecurity, cloud computing, AI, or data governance initiatives.
• Demonstrated ability to provide practical, business-focused legal advice to senior stakeholders.
• Excellent writing, negotiation, and interpersonal communication skills.
• An interest in public service and a willingness to learn the nuances of a government-related legal environment.
• The position requires U.S. work authorization.

Nice To Haves

• Familiarity with or willingness to learn legal issues related to investment management, private markets, and capital markets.

Responsibilities

• Lead drafting, review, negotiation, and management of complex commercial contracts, including Technology and SaaS agreements, Market data and research agreements, Software licensing agreements, Outsourcing and managed services agreements, Professional services and consulting agreements, Custody, banking, treasury, securities lending, and financial services agreements, Data acquisition, cybersecurity, and cloud-services agreements, and Vendor and supplier agreements.
• Serve as the lead legal advisor to operational business units on contract strategy, risk allocation, and commercial negotiations.
• Develop practical, business-oriented solutions that appropriately balance legal, operational, regulatory, and reputational risk.
• Design and implement contract templates, negotiation playbooks, policies, and legal processes to enhance efficiency and consistency.
• Negotiate AI-related contractual matters and serve as a thought leader on emerging AI issues.
• Manage outside counsel on specialized matters as appropriate.
• Provide legal support to SWIB's operations, technology, finance, trading, compliance, and risk management functions.
• Counsel internal stakeholders regarding contractual relationships with custodians, brokers, banks, administrators, data providers, technology vendors, and other service providers.
• Advise on special projects and strategic initiatives involving AI, technology, data, operational transformation, and enterprise services.
• Identify legal and operational risks associated with third-party relationships and recommend mitigation strategies.
• Build trusted relationships across the organization and serve as a strategic advisor to senior leadership on operational and commercial initiatives.
• Advise on procurement, records retention, public records, confidentiality, information security, AI governance, and related operational matters.
• Support compliance with applicable Wisconsin statutes, agency policies, and regulatory requirements affecting SWIB's operations.
• Collaborate with compliance, risk, internal audit, and information security on enterprise initiatives involving third-party risk management and operational resilience.

Benefits

• Competitive total cash compensation, based on AON (formerly McLagan) industry benchmarks
• Comprehensive benefits package
• Educational and training opportunities
• Tuition reimbursement
• Hybrid work environment
• Relocation reimbursement to the Dane County area

What This Job Offers

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