General Counsel

Summary
The General Counsel position is the Bank’s chief legal counsel and key member of the executive leadership team. They are responsible for overseeing and providing strategic guidance on all legal matters for a growing, regional bank. These matters include bank regulatory compliance, corporate litigation, borrower litigation, M&A, contract negotiation, corporate governance, and loan documentation standards. This role is critical in supporting the bank’s multi-year strategic initiatives, particularly in commercial lending, M&A and strategic partnerships.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Provide comprehensive and strategic legal counsel to the management team and board of directors.
• Responsible for effectively managing legal matters or overseeing specialized outside counsel.
• Responsible for overseeing all legal aspects of commercial and real estate lending, including revolving lines of credit, term loans, equipment financial, solar loan and lease financing, construction loans, and bridge financing.
• Advise on litigation strategy and manage outside counsel for general corporate litigation and borrower litigation/asset recovery cases.
• Oversee legal aspects of loan workouts, foreclosures, bankruptcies, and restructurings in coordination with the Special Assets Department.
• Monitor and ensure compliance with all federal and state banking regulations, including ECOA, HMDA, FCRA, GLBA, CRA, and BSA/AML.
• Draft, review, and negotiate contracts, loan documents, and vendor agreements.
• Support the Credit Administration and Executive Credit Committee with legal risk assessments and policy development.
• Lead legal due diligence for new products, services, M&A and strategic transactions.
• Serve as corporate secretary and manage governance matters including board resolutions.

Additional Responsibilities

• Demonstrate professionalism in communication, attitude and teamwork.
• Effectively manage outside counsel relationships to ensure strong work product with cost effective legal and litigation management.
• Adhere to all company policies and procedures, safety regulations, and local, state, and federal laws.
• Maintain awareness of compliance requirements related to financial institutions, with emphasis on BSA/AML/CIP, Consumer Privacy, Regulation CC, Information Security, Bank Protection Act, FACT-Identity Theft, Information Technology, and GLBA.
• Perform additional duties as assigned.

Supervisory Responsibilities
This position does not have supervisory responsibilities.

Minimum Qualifications

• Juris Doctor (JD) from an accredited law school; licensed to practice law in Utah and/or California. Licensing or legal experience in Arizona, Idaho and Florida is a plus.
• Minimum 15 years of legal experience, experience in banking and financial services required.
• Deep expertise in commercial and real estate lending law, with significant transaction experience.
• Significant experience directly litigating or managing litigation related to bank corporate matters, loan workout and borrower litigation, including bankruptcy and complex corporate entity structures.
• Proven leadership in partnering with internal executives and effectively managing external counsel.
• Strong analytical, negotiation, and communication skills.

Competencies

• Adaptability
• Communication
• Decision Making
• Initiative
• Innovation
• Motivator
• Organization
• Professionalism
• Results Oriented

Physical Demands
In general, the following physical demands are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to allow differently abled individuals to perform the essential functions of the job.

• Standing, walking and squatting less than fifty percent of the work shift
• Required to lift, move and carry up to 40 pounds
• Ability to read, count and write to accurately complete all documentation and reports
• Must be able to see, hear and speak in order to communicate with employees and other customers
• Specific vision abilities include close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus
• Manual dexterity required using hands to finger; handle, feel and type; reach with hands and arms

Equal Opportunity Employer

Sunwest Bank is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We work with staff members and customers without regard to race, ancestry, national origin, sex, marital status, age, religion, medical condition, handicap, disability, or veteran status.