Senior Legal Counsel - Employment, Benefits and Compensation

Senior Legal Counsel - Employment, Benefits and Compensation at BMO U.S.

As a Senior Legal Counsel, you will provide and manage the delivery of essential legal and regulatory advice on U.S. employment law, benefits plans (including ERISA plans), and equity compensation plans across BMO Financial Group. This role leverages deep knowledge of legal principles, practices, and procedures, alongside expertise in the financial services industry, to influence and negotiate for business objectives while meticulously minimizing legal risk.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide comprehensive advice and counsel on a broad spectrum of employment, compensation, and employee benefit plans/ERISA matters, including retirement, health, and welfare plans.
• Address critical issues such as employee relations, performance management, leaves of absence and accommodations, wage and hour compliance, pay equity, internal investigations, contingent workers, immigration, recruitment, inclusion, and legal aspects of mergers, acquisitions, and outsourcing.
• Offer strategic recommendations to senior leaders on new initiatives, informed by an in-depth understanding of the business group.
• Participate in designing legal advice strategies and approaches for the unit, making recommendations to proactively minimize legal issues.
• Act as the prime subject matter expert for both internal and external stakeholders, exercising sound judgment on complex, confidential, and sensitive matters.
• Identify and resolve moderately complex legal issues, determining root causes and negotiating effective resolutions.
• Deliver expert legal advice, instruct external counsel, and ensure strict compliance with internal policies and procedures for assigned functions.
• Maintain expertise in relevant laws, regulations, and policies, resolving daily issues and escalating with appropriate analysis and recommendations as needed.
• Proactively identify and mitigate risks, implementing improvements to ensure consistency with market practices.
• Build and nurture effective relationships with internal and external stakeholders across a potentially global geographic scope.
• Operate at a group/enterprise-wide level, serving as a specialist resource to senior leaders and stakeholders, applying creative thinking to unique or ambiguous situations.

Qualifications

• Typically 7 years of legal practice or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Degree in law (LLB or JD) and a license to practice law in the relevant jurisdiction.
• Prior private practice, in-house experience, or experience at a regulatory body relating to financial services activities.
• Demonstrated expertise in legal fields, specifically with functional or business line specialization.
• Strong knowledge of the business and regulatory environment in which BMO Financial Group operates.
• Advanced knowledge of subject matter legal requirements and the operations of a single client group.
• In-depth negotiation skills.
• Seasoned professional with a robust combination of education, experience, and industry knowledge.
• Expert level verbal and written communication skills.
• Expert level analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Expert level influence skills.
• Expert level collaboration and team skills, with a strong focus on cross-group collaboration.
• Proven ability to manage ambiguity effectively.
• Expert level data-driven decision making.

Key skills/competency

• U.S. Employment Law
• ERISA Compliance
• Employee Benefits
• Compensation Plans
• Legal Counsel
• Regulatory Compliance
• Internal Investigations
• Risk Mitigation
• Stakeholder Management
• Negotiation Skills