Senior Legal Counsel, Corporate Law

Job Summary

Senior Legal Counsel, Corporate provides senior management with effective advice on company strategies, products, processes, risks and their implementation. Drafts and prepares legal contracts between the company and its customers, service providers, and employees. Manages an assigned case load, engages and oversees outside counsel where warranted, and delegates to other internal counsel. Provides ongoing counsel and guidance on legal matters and on legal implications of business and shared services matters.

Responsibilities

• Provides legal advice and advises management on legal risks, legal interpretation, and corporate and legal issues and gives advice on corporate structure, legality of new products and processes and related legal or liability issues.
• Provides appropriate, timely, and effective legal advice and expertise to advance and protect the interests of FCT.
• Provides pro‑active advice around pending or existing litigation matters and strategizes with outside counsel with respect to ultimate resolution of any potential litigation issues.
• Manages ongoing non‑claims litigation matters.
• Oversees the work that this role delegates to other lawyers/law clerks within the Legal department.
• Advises the company on the litigation risks of possible business decisions, provides preventive counseling with respect to the legal risks associated with business practices, and develops strategy with both inside and outside counsel in response to civil litigation and regulatory inquiries (including negotiating settlement agreements where appropriate), and cost‑effectively manages the resources required to address those matters.
• Provides legal advice to various departments within the company, including review of marketing collateral, review of all legal contracts, and legal advice to Default Solutions, Commercial Services, Data governance, Finance, Residential Lending Solutions, Valuation Services, and Residential Solutions.
• Provides legal expertise to the Human Resources department on employment matters.
• Prepares trademark applications with assistance of external counsel, brings applications to registration stage.
• Is alert to corporate security issues and raises issue for input from and resolution by the relevant stakeholders and reports such issues to the VP Legal.
• Provides legal expertise to the Information Technology department on contract matters.
• Acts as a strategic partner for the business to ensure that legal issues are anticipated and can be dealt with in a proactive rather than a reactive manner.
• Acts as FCT’s Complaints Officer, evaluating complaints received from customers, assessing FCT’s response to the situation, working with the group from which the complaint stems, resolving the complaint, and dealing with regulators if the complaint is escalated.
• Provides legal counsel to the Vendor Management program, assessing new supplier engagements to determine level of risk and legal requirements, drafting appropriate contractual clauses.

Qualifications

• 8 to 12 years of experience as a practicing lawyer, preferably initially with a prominent national law firm before moving to an in‑house position.
• University law degree (J.D. or LLB) from a Canadian Law School and lawyer in good standing with the Law Society of Upper Canada.
• Exposure to or familiarity with real estate, financial services, securities, human resources, technology law.
• Familiarity with Title Insurance or related asset.

Compensation

Total Direct Compensation: 141,080–172,381 CAD.

Benefits

• Employee and Family Assistance Program (EFAP) and Wellness Essentials Group retirement savings plan with company match.
• Paid holidays and generous paid time off.
• Hybrid work arrangements.
• Paid volunteer opportunities and charitable donation matching.
• Employee recognition programs that include referral incentives.
• Potential for performance‑based incentives.
• Opportunity to participate in our stock purchase plan.
• Comprehensive benefits package.

Equal Opportunity

FCT is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to an active nondiscrimination program. All recruitment, hiring, placements, transfers, promotions, training, compensation, benefits, discipline, and other terms and conditions of employment will be on the basis of the qualifications of the individual regardless of race, colour, place of origin, ethnic origin, citizenship, handicap (including mental and physical disability), sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, creed (religion), marital status, family status, age, or any other basis prohibited by the applicable provincial or federal human rights legislation. In accordance with the Ontario Human Rights Code and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, a request for accommodation will be accepted as part of FCT’s hiring process.