Vice President, Litigation

FINRA • Rockville, MD

11d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Vice President, Litigation, reporting to the Senior Vice President/Chief Litigation Counsel (SVP), serves as a senior litigation leader responsible for managing complex litigation matters and leading critical litigation functions within FINRA's OGC Litigation Office. The Vice President, Litigation provides expert legal counsel, directs litigation matters, and ensures effective execution of the department's litigation strategy and objectives. This role requires exceptional judgment, litigation expertise, and the ability to provide sound counsel to senior leaders on matters of significant importance to the organization. The Vice President, Litigation works closely with the SVP to ensure effective representation of FINRA in litigation and provides pre-litigation counseling to mitigate risk, while working closely with the SVP to manage the work of the OGC Litigation group.

Requirements

• A law degree and appropriately licensed to practice law in all applicable jurisdictions based on the relevant licensing requirements.
• Minimum of ten years of high-quality practice experience as a litigation attorney, with substantial experience in complex litigation.
• Strong leadership capabilities with experience managing legal teams and multiple concurrent priorities.
• Substantial depth and scope of knowledge with respect to securities regulation, litigation, and the laws and procedural rules of the federal and state courts.
• Substantial experience managing outside counsel and significant litigation budgets.
• Expert-level written and oral communication skills, including ability to present complex legal issues to senior management and department leadership.
• Experience providing strategic counsel and legal advice to senior executives.
• Advanced analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills with strong attention to detail.
• Demonstrated sound judgment in sensitive situations requiring discretion and independent decision-making.

Nice To Haves

• Knowledge of law regarding self-regulatory organizations preferred.

Responsibilities

• Act on behalf of the SVP when needed.
• Provide strategic counsel and legal advice regarding litigation matters to the Chief Legal Officer, CEO, and other senior leaders.
• Mentor and develop attorneys and staff members to achieve desired outcomes.
• Foster excellence in legal practice through mentorship, performance feedback, and professional development.
• Drive operational effectiveness through process improvements and quality assurance.
• Demonstrate FINRA’s values.
• Collaborate both in-person and virtually, in furtherance of FINRA’s mission of investor protection and market integrity.
• Provide leadership of OGC Litigation office.
• Lead significant litigation matters and represent FINRA directly in complex judicial proceedings.
• Provide strategic pre-litigation counseling to FINRA management.
• Oversee and manage outside counsel on major litigation matters, ensuring cost-effectiveness and strategic alignment.
• Review and approve legal pleadings filed on behalf of FINRA in external litigation matters prepared by staff attorneys or outside counsel.
• Oversee responses to subpoenas and information requests from external parties.
• Monitor outside counsel expenditures and provide recommendations to optimize litigation budget and resource allocation.
• Prepare litigation reports for FINRA’s Board of Governors.
• Report claims and litigation developments to internal and external parties as needed.
• Lead settlement negotiations for matters with significant financial or reputational implications.
• Monitor the external legal environment to identify trends, regulatory developments, and emerging litigation risks that may impact the organization.

Benefits

• Employees may be eligible for a discretionary bonus in addition to base pay.
• Non-exempt employees are also eligible for overtime pay in accordance with federal, state, or local law.
• As part of its dedication to employee wellness, FINRA provides comprehensive health, dental and vision insurance.
• Additional insurance includes basic life, accidental death and dismemberment, supplemental life, spouse/domestic partner and dependent life, and spouse/domestic partner and dependent accidental death and dismemberment, short- and long-term disability, long-term care, business travel accident, disability and legal.
• FINRA offers immediate participation and vesting in a 401(k) plan with company match and eligibility for participation in an additional FINRA-funded retirement contribution, tuition reimbursement, commuter benefits, and other benefits that support employee wellness, such as adoption assistance, backup family care, surrogacy benefits, employee assistance, and wellness programs.
• Time Off and Paid Leave FINRA encourages its employees to focus on their health and wellness in many ways, including through a generous time-off program of 15 days of paid time off, 5 personal days and 9 sick days, unless otherwise required by law (all pro-rated in the first year).
• Additionally, we are proud to support our communities by providing two volunteer service days (based on full-time schedule).
• Other paid leave includes military leave, jury duty leave, bereavement leave, voting and election official leave for federal, state or local primary and general elections, care of a family member leave (available after 90 days of employment); and childbirth and parental leave (available after 90 days of employment).
• Full-time employees receive nine paid holidays.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Executive
• Education Level: No Education Listed
• Number of Employees: 1,001-5,000 employees