General Counsel

Position Summary

The General Counsel will lead the legal and compliance department and manages all external legal services for National University. As a trusted advisor and business partner, the General Counsel collaborates with senior leadership to provide strategic legal counsel ensuring compliance with relevant laws and regulations while mitigating risk and supporting the University's vision, mission, and strategic goals. In addition to working with internal stakeholders (faculty, staff, students, Board of Trustees), the General Counsel may represent the University with external regulators, accreditors, local/state/national government officials, public/private sector partners, and the general public.

Essential Functions:

• Provide expert legal advice and counsel on university matters including:
  • Governance, compliance, and risk management
  • Employment law and labor relations
  • Contracts and commercial transactions
  • Commercial real estate
  • Intellectual property
  • Litigation and dispute resolution
  • Data privacy and cybersecurity
  • Academic affairs incl student and faculty matters

• Communicates with key stakeholders through periodic updates on active, pending, and potential litigation.
• Reviews, researches, interprets, and prepares both written and oral opinions on a wide variety of legal issues for the organization.
• Manages the legal department including but not limited to contract administration, timely and accurate counsel to leadership and respective departments, ongoing legal projects, litigation management and external counsel and legal compliance.
• Oversees the administration of NU’s compliance programs with Federal, State, and other external agencies rules and regulations, including but not limited to adherence with Title IX, Clery Act, Violence Against Women’s Act (VAWA) and Campus SaVE regulations, as defined by the Department of Education and other designated agencies.
• Oversees the compliance department ensuring compliance practices are followed. This includes oversight of the university’s whistleblower hotline and Enterprise Risk Management program.
• Reviews legal team’s correspondence, memoranda, notes, reports, pleadings, subpoenas, affidavits, legal briefs, and other documents in compliance with organization policies and procedures and administrative agency, Federal, State, and local court requirements.
• Represents the organization with various government, regulatory, and accreditation agencies.
• Selects and retains outside counsel to obtain legal opinions or to manage claims and litigation.
• Reviews and counsels leadership incl Board of Trustees on policies and procedures, regulations, bylaws, and other legal documents.
• Oversees and engages, when necessary, in discovery and document review, fact investigation and research.
• Represents or oversees the representation of the organization in judicial and administrative proceedings.
• Stays informed of and navigates evolving legal landscape and regulations related to higher education.
• Other duties as assigned.

Supervisory Responsibilities:  Hire, train, and develop legal support teams consisting of Staff Attorneys, Paralegals, and Compliance staff.

Requirements:

Education & Experience:

• Juris Doctorate degree, required; and ten (10) years’ relevant experience in a legal-counsel role and at least five years within a higher education setting producing high quality results and within a fast-paced organization, preferred
• Active license to practice law; California licensure a plus.

Competencies/Technical/Functional Skills:

• Ability to develop and implement legal strategies and solutions and provide competent legal advice and counsel on a wide range of legal/policy issues
• Superior critical thinking, analytical, independent judgment, problem-solver, customer service, high attention to detail with strong strategic skills.
• Must be able to deal with complex matters with multiple stakeholders and prioritize workload successfully and appropriately. Ability to interpret and apply policies and procedures.
• Ability to communicate and interact with members of the Organization with a wide range of individuals of constituencies in a diverse community.
• Work independently and foster a cooperative spirit within a large and/or small team of diverse cultures across the organization and within all levels
• Accepts personal accountability, proactively seeks resolution for personal limitations head-on; and supports honesty and respect towards others, the company and oneself.
• Excellent research, writing and communication skills required. Ability to research and interpret applicable laws, analyze, and interpret issues and to prepare legal opinions learn and apply new legal principles, manage a sizeable volume of projects with hard deadlines and respond to the needs of various client representatives.
• Ability to supervise and train staff, including organizing, prioritizing, and scheduling work assignments.
• Ability to anticipate and plan for changes. Ability to lead, direct and/or influence others to obtain results using a wide degree of creativity and latitude.
• Ability to understand, diagnose and plan for business issues, processes, structure, outcomes, and profitability. Understands the implications of decision and actions, including a deep understanding of the overall big picture of the university; able to take an idea from concept to reality.
• Aptitude to drive towards achieving measurable and challenging goals to support organizational success. Demonstrate the ability to focus on achieving results consistent with the organization’s objectives. As a leader, develops goals based on the organization’s vision, mission and strategic goals and objectives.
• Develops new insights into situations; questions conventional approaches; encourages new ideas and innovations; designs and implements new or innovative programs and processes.  Ability to generate and/or recognize imaginative or creative solutions that generate successful outcomes.
• Proficiency with the formatting of legal pleadings and documents in accordance with State and Federal rules, with a working knowledge of the preparation and processing requirements of same.

Travel: Travel seldom required.

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Candidate receiving offers will be offered a salary/pay rate commensurate with experience that vary based on a candidate’s qualifications, skills, and competencies.  Absent exceptional circumstances, candidates will be offered a salary within this range for this position. The minimum salary will be offered based on the minimum exemption threshold based on state of residency. Base pay is one component of National University’s total rewards package, as we are dedicated to supporting the needs of the “whole you” with our holistic approach to employee benefits by offering comprehensive well-being benefits for you and your family.  For full details about our benefit plan offerings, please visit benefits.nu.edu. For Part-time benefits, please click here.

Compensation Range:

Annual Salary: $220,000.00 - $270,000.00

National University is committed to maintaining a high-quality, diverse workforce representative of the populations we serve. National University employs more than 5,000 faculty and staff and serves over 41,000 students. We are united in our mission to meet the global education demands of the 21st Century and are dedicated to creating a supportive academic and work environment that allows students, faculty and staff to develop their interests and talents while experiencing a sense of community and a commitment to diversity. With programs available both online and at our many campus locations, National University is a leader in creating innovative solutions to education and meeting the needs of our diverse student population, including adult learners and working professionals.

National University offers an opportunity to work in an innovative environment that supports diversity.

National University (NU) is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate against any employee or applicant per applicable federal, state and local laws. At NU, a diverse mix of highly talented, innovative and creative people come together to make the impact of a lifetime for each of our student learners. All qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment, education, and admission at National University. We are focused on equality and believe deeply in diversity of race, color, ancestry, age, family care status, veteran status, marital status, creed, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, national origin, and other legally protected group status.