VP & Senior Counsel, Intellectual Property & Artificial Intelligence

American Bar Association

24d

About The Position

The American Bankers Association (ABA) seeks an experienced, strategic, and business-focused attorney to serve as Vice President & Senior Counsel within the Office of General Counsel. This role will lead critical legal programs across the organization, including ABA’s intellectual property strategy, artificial intelligence (AI) and technology governance, and legal risk management, while co-leading and supporting the contracting function. The VP & Senior Counsel will lead and direct mission‑critical legal functions that shape ABA’s business operations and strategic direction. This role will drive enterprise legal strategy in areas including contracting, intellectual property, AI governance, technology risk, and regulatory compliance. As a senior legal professional, this position will serve as a key advisor to senior leadership, influence organizational priorities, and design frameworks that support ABA’s innovation and growth.

Requirements

Juris Doctorate from an accredited law school and admission to at least one U.S. state bar.
Minimum of 10+ years of relevant legal experience, with 5+ years working in a law firm or in-house legal department, with a focus on intellectual property, technology transactions, or commercial contracting.
Experience with managing an end‑to‑end legal contracts function, including overseeing intake, drafting, negotiation, approval workflows, execution, and lifecycle management for a high‑volume portfolio of commercial, technology, and corporate agreements.
Experience with advising stakeholders on legal, intellectual property, privacy, and regulatory risks in commercial and technology transactions.
Demonstrated experience designing, developing, and delivering legal training programs for business teams, including content on contracts, compliance, intellectual property, privacy, regulatory requirements, and corporate policies.
Experience conducting or overseeing legal research and analysis related to emerging technologies.
Strong analytical, drafting, and negotiation skills.
Ability to travel (less than 10%).

Nice To Haves

Demonstrated ability to lead legal programs, develop policies, and drive cross-functional initiatives.
Demonstrated experience drafting and negotiating software licenses, data use agreements, and vendor contracts.
Experience and demonstrated success with U.S. intellectual property law, including trademark, copyright, and trade secret protection.
Experience owning and directing IP or technology programs is strongly preferred.
Familiarity with legal issues related to cloud computing, software licensing, artificial intelligence, and digital content.
Experience advising senior executives and shaping organizational legal risk strategy.
Experiencing representing an organization with external audiences; excellent public speaking, verbal, and written communication skills.
Experience developing, implementing, or managing enterprise governance frameworks, such as IP governance, AI governance, data governance, technology risk programs, or compliance frameworks.

Responsibilities

Contract Leadership and Negotiation: Partner with the SVP of Contracts to lead ABA’s contracting strategy, including drafting, reviewing, and negotiating a wide range of complex and high-value agreements.
Oversee software and technology licenses, data agreements, consulting contracts, NDAs, MOUs, and collaboration agreements.
Establish and maintain contracting frameworks, templates, and risk standards.
Develop and enforce ABA’s contracting governance framework, templates, and workflows.
Direct legal review of vendor onboarding, including IP ownership, data security, and regulatory compliance considerations.
Intellectual Property Strategy and Portfolio Management: Protect and manage ABA’s trademark portfolio, including clearance, registration, enforcement, and licensing.
Develop and implement ABA’s IP governance frameworks, including trademark usage guidelines, copyright compliance policies, and data governance protocols
Develop and implement internal IP policies, including trademark usage guidelines, copyright compliance, and data governance.
Lead legal oversight for events, content production, and licensing, ensuring strategic protection of ABA’s brand and assets.
Technology, Digital, and AI Leadership: Serve as a primary legal advisor on technology, digital projects, AI initiatives, software licensing, and data-related legal issues.
Identify and assess legal risks related to third-party technology use, data licensing, and IP ownership, and support internal compliance with licensing terms and restrictions.
Drive ABA’s enterprise AI and technology legal strategy, establishing policies and risk standards.
Set internal guidelines to ensure compliance with digital and technology-related legal frameworks.
Serve as subject matter expert and key legal adviser for member-facing initiatives, including webinars, working groups, and educational materials on IP and technology-related legal issues.
Develop and deliver internal training related to IP, AI, technology, information security, and privacy issues.
Legal Counseling, Research, and Strategic Analysis: Advise senior leadership and business teams on IP, privacy, AI, and data rights issues.
Conduct legal research on emerging technologies and regulatory developments affecting the banking sector, including AI, cryptocurrency, and digital currency.
Drive ABA’s legal monitoring and analysis of emerging technologies and regulatory developments.
Track and analyze developments in IP, technology law, and data governance that may impact the banking industry and summarize key issues for internal stakeholders and member institutions.
Produce high-impact strategic assessments for internal stakeholders and ABA members.
Cross-Functional and Organization-Wide Leadership: Lead cross-functional legal coordination with IT, communications, policy, and member engagement teams to advance ABA’s strategic initiatives.
Direct legal strategy for cybersecurity, fintech, digital banking, and innovation.
Shape ABA’s internal governance posture on technology and intellectual property.