Senior Associate General Counsel (Generalist)

Job Summary

Towson University (TU) is one of the nation's top 100 public universities. Located north of Baltimore, TU currently enrolls over 19,000 students and is the second-largest university in the prestigious University System of Maryland. Towson University values diversity and fosters a climate that is grounded in respect and inclusion to cultivate the intellectual and personal growth of the entire university community.

The TU Office of the General Counsel (OGC) is a high-volume, intellectually stimulating legal office. OGC serves as the in-house law firm for TU and is committed to providing its university clients with effective and practical legal advice in a timely manner. OGC promotes and protects the interests of the university, including compliance with all policies, laws, and regulations. OGC works to further TU's mission and strategic plan and partners with its clients to advance leadership's goals.

This position provides legal guidance and counsel to TU on a variety of legal issues while managing multiple, unrelated matters concurrently; requires experience in a wide variety of legal areas, including but not limited to areas of contracts, procurement, and regulatory compliance; and will have primary responsibility for the management of numerous and varied legal matters. This is an exciting opportunity to work in a highly collaborative and collegial higher education environment.

The Senior Associate General Counsel must be able to complete complex projects both independently and with direction from the General Counsel and Deputy General Counsel. The incumbent will provide legal advice, representation, and counsel across higher education issues, with primary responsibility for facilitating diverse business transactions and developing, interpreting, and revising university policies and procedures.

Responsibilities and Duties

Responsibilities for the Sr. Associate General Counsel include, but are not limited to the following:

Provides leadership and will have primary responsibility for the management of numerous and varied legal matters.

Provides timely and effective advice and counsel to university units and leadership on a broad range of matters including contracts and policy compliance issues.

Works collaboratively with campus partners to advance the mission of the university and the objectives of leadership.

Facilitates and guides multi-office institutionally important projects as directed by the General Counsel and Deputy General Counsel.

Serves in leadership role in coordinating transactional matters; serves as principal liaison with Maryland Office of the Attorney General on transactional advice and counsel.

Leads cross-campus committees and collaborative projects to address the incorporation of risk management/compliance considerations in the advancement of institutional initiatives.

Telework may be available for this position up to two days per week following the completion of 90 days of service in good standing.

Qualifications and Skills

Required Qualifications:

• Earned Juris Doctorate (JD) from an ABA-accredited law school; membership in the Maryland Bar or eligibility for admission to the Maryland Bar within one year of hire;
• Eight (8) or more years of experience performing legal work;
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, strong analytical skills, and ability to work efficiently and effectively;
• Ability to serve the changing needs of the institution and demonstrated ability to work as part of a varied team of representatives from across an institution within a shared governance setting;
• Ability to multi-task and be responsive and collegial to a wide variety of clients;
• Excellent interpersonal skills;
• Experience working in a complicated environment with multiple stakeholders;
• Knowledge of state and federal laws and regulations applicable to higher education;
• Ability to exercise sound judgement on challenging issues and perform tasks with professionalism and the highest degree of ethics;
• Ability to work independently on routine legal matters and to recognize issues of institutional importance and keep the General Counsel and Deputy General Counsel appropriately informed;
• Demonstrated commitment to promoting and enhancing diversity; and
• Ability to provide pragmatic, client-oriented solutions that combine legal considerations with institutional programmatic and policy objectives.

Preferred Qualification:

• Experience as in-house counsel at a college or university or similar non-profit or governmental organization is strongly preferred.

Salary and Benefits

Targeted hiring range is $164,000 - $174,000 and full University benefits that include 22 days of annual leave, up to 15 holidays, personal and sick days; excellent health, life, and retirement plans; and tuition remission. To learn more about our benefits, please click here . TU also offers a variety of great perks and discounts, which can be found here .

For consideration, please submit a cover letter and resume with your online application. Applications will be reviewed beginning on October 21, 2024, and applicants are strongly encouraged to submit their application by that date.

The safety of our students, faculty, staff, and neighbors has been our top priority and the focus of every one of our decisions since the earliest days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, the University System of Maryland (USM) has strongly encouraged full COVID vaccination and up-to-date booster shots (when eligible) for all faculty, staff, and students at all schools in the USM as both a reasonable and necessary means of protecting our health and safety.