Senior Legal Counsel in Edmonton, Canada
**This opportunity has been filled and is now closed. Please visit our job board to view our current opportunities.**
Canadian Western Bank (CWB) is the only full-service financial institution in Canada with a strategic focus to meet the unique financial needs of businesses and their owners. CWB provides nation-wide full-service business and personal banking, specialized financing, comprehensive wealth management offerings, and trust services. Its teams deliver a uniquely proactive and differentiated level of service to clients in targeted industries where we have deep expertise. Clients choose CWB for its highly personalized service, specialized expertise, customized solutions, and faster response times.
CWB is a winner of Canada’s Most Admired Corporate Culture (2021) and recognized as one of 50 Best Workplaces in Canada (2021) & Best Workplaces for Mental Wellness in Canada (2021) by Great Places to Work.
This is a tremendous opportunity for a talented lawyer to join CWB at an exciting point in its history and work alongside a collegial and high-performing legal team. CWB offers an award-winning benefits package that includes hybrid work environments, everyday flexibility, 100% company-funded health coverage, health care spending account, a flexible wellness program, and generous time-away options to unplug, rest, and recover.
Job Description – Senior Legal Counsel
Due to ongoing growth, CWB seeks a Senior Legal Counsel to join its Business & Corporate Team within Legal Services. The Business & Corporate Team supports all CWB’s business lines, corporate governance, securities matters, M&A, strategy, finance, and treasury. Reporting to the Associate General Counsel, the Senior Legal Counsel will assist CWB navigate through a number of transformative areas in the financial services sector, as well as support its banking centres, and drive cross-functional initiatives as part of a team along side senior leaders of CWB.
The successful candidate must have a strong background in secured lending, banking law, and/or experience in another highly regulated industry. Success in this role requires strong sense of ownership and independent accountability, as well as the ability to work collaboratively while managing multiple projects and priorities.
Key Accountabilities and Responsibilities
- Monitor legal and regulatory developments, advise on impacts to CWB, and drive improvements to documents, products, services, and practices.
- Build expertise in various areas of fintech, including open banking, payment technology, and data and digital initiatives.
- Participate in design of legal advice strategies and approaches for applicable CWB business units and corporate teams.
- Drive corporate projects, as a subject matter expert and as a leader.
- Recommend and implement areas of improvement to ensure consistency with market practice.
- Provide timely, practical legal advice for multiple CWB business units and corporate teams.
- Review, draft, and negotiate contracts; proactively identify risks and potential issues to stakeholders and find appropriate solutions using risk-based decision making.
Education and Professional Skills/Knowledge
- LL.B. or J.D. degree (or equivalent).
- Good standing with a Canadian Law Society.
- Minimum 7 years of related legal experience, including general corporate/commercial; banking and lending (including in-depth knowledge of secured lending); and outsourcing, data use and data governance.
- Prior experience delivering legal services to business operating in a highly regulated environment.
- Strong analytical capability and the ability to comprehend complex business, legal and regulatory situations.
- A personable, collaborative nature with excellent written and oral communications skills.
- Highly developed legal, drafting, and problem-solving skills.
- Sharp focus on relationship building across the enterprise and delivering legal solutions that facilitate the objectives and strategies of our senior leadership team.
- A demonstrated ability to think creatively, broadly, and strategically and a commitment to learning.
This is an exclusive search.
As an equitable employer, CWB Financial Group is committed to providing a safe and inclusive environment where a diverse workforce thrives. Candidates are welcomed and encouraged to bring their whole self to work. Dignity, respect, and equality are non-negotiables. If accommodation is needed during any part of the recruitment or selection process, please reach out.
The Counsel Network is committed to building a diverse legal community through our inclusive business and recruitment practices. We value diversity of experience, expertise, and background, and strive to eliminate barriers historically encountered by marginalized groups. We recognize that an equitable, diverse, and inclusive workforce benefits and enriches both the legal profession and the greater community.
For more information or to apply for this position, contact:
Meaghan Loughry, Recruitment Associate
mloughry@thecounselnetwork.com
647.417.4720
Visit our job board to view all of our current opportunities.