Deputy Chief Legal Counsel

The Legal Counsel job family provides enterprise legal guidance to support business strategy while managing regulatory, contractual, and reputational risk within a highly regulated financial services environment. Roles within this family advise leadership on complex legal matters, ensure compliance with applicable laws and supervisory expectations, and help the organization navigate risk-informed decision-making. As career levels progress, responsibilities expand from execution and subject-matter expertise to practice leadership, enterprise risk ownership, and board-level advisement. Collectively, this job family serves as a strategic partner to the business while safeguarding the institution’s legal integrity and governance obligations.

Enterprise Legal Leadership

• Translate the GC/CLC’s legal strategy into execution across the department (priorities, operating rhythms, metrics, capacity planning).
• Lead enterprise-wide legal initiatives impacting governance, risk, and regulatory posture.
• Ensure consistent risk philosophy and decision-making across practice areas.

Executive & Board-Level Support

• Prepare or review board/committee materials related to legal, governance, litigation, enforcement matters, and significant risk topics.
• Serve as primary legal advisor for designated business areas and strategic advisor to executive leadership.
• Present updates to committees as delegated by GC/CLC.

Regulatory/Enforcement Strategy

• Lead legal strategy for significant regulatory matters (MRAs/MRBAs, consent orders, enforcement actions) in partnership with compliance/risk.
• Oversee privileged assessments and remediation governance.

Crisis & Sensitive Matter Leadership

• Lead legal response to critical incidents: material complaints, data breaches, investigations, reputational events, enterprise disputes.
• Coordinate with Communications, Risk, Compliance, and executive leadership to manage legal exposure and messaging.

Department Operations & Quality

• Improve legal operations: matter management, outside counsel spend, playbooks, template standardization, contracting SLAs.
• Oversee litigation management with outside counsel, including legal process workflows (subpoenas, garnishments) and cost-effective strategy for staffing and spend.
• Partner with Risk and Compliance to align legal advice to enterprise risk frameworks and ensure execution of agreed risk mitigations.
• Provide continuity and succession support for the Chief Legal Counsel role; serve as acting delegate as assigned.
• Support legal review of deposit, payment, and BaaS products
• Establish quality controls (review protocols, training plans, knowledge management).

Typical Scope Indicators

• Often the most senior leader beneath GC/CLC.
• Strong enterprise influence; frequent executive exposure; acts on behalf of GC when absent.