Assistant General Counsel, Avant
Data, Technology & Litigation
$170-205k
+Bonus
More information about location
3 days a week in office
Personal credit FinTech
Be an early applicant
Personal credit FinTech
501-1000 employees
Be an early applicant
$170-205k
+Bonus
More information about location
3 days a week in office
501-1000 employees
Company mission
To move financial lives forward.
Role
Who you are
- Avant is looking for a motivated, experienced attorney to lead legal support for privacy, artificial intelligence (AI), intellectual property (IP), and consumer litigation
- J.D. degree with 6+ years of legal experience, including meaningful experience in the following: privacy/data protection, intellectual property, and litigation, gained at a law firm, in-house legal department, or government agency
- Strong working knowledge of U.S. privacy, biometric, data protection, and AI laws and frameworks, including GLBA, FCRA, CCPA/CPRA (including its ADMT regulations), the Colorado AI Act, other state privacy and AI laws, TCPA, and the NIST AI Risk Management Framework
- Experience with trademark clearance, enforcement, and portfolio management, and with trade secret protection under the Defend Trade Secrets Act and state trade secret laws, including managing outside counsel
- Litigation experience with consumer financial services and privacy law, including the Dodd-Frank Act, UDAAP, FDCPA, TILA, ECOA, and TCPA, is highly preferred
- In-house experience with a consumer financial services, fintech, or technology company, and experience advising on AI governance or automated decision-making in a regulated environment, are highly preferred
- One or more IAPP certifications (e.g., CIPP/US, CIPM, or AIGP) preferred, or willingness to obtain one
- Ability to explain complex legal and technical issues to non-lawyer audiences, including product, engineering, and data science teams
- Excellent judgment, clear communication, business pragmatism, and intellectual curiosity, with comfort working through ambiguity and the ability to gain the trust of colleagues, business leaders, and executives
- Active and in good standing in one State Bar in the United States
- We invite you to apply to our positions even if you do not meet 100% of the qualifications listed in the description
What the job involves
- This highly cross-functional role serves as the primary legal partner to Avant’s Privacy Officer and to the Product, Risk, Technology, and Data teams that build and use our data-driven products
- The role also supports development of and manages Avant’s enterprise IP strategy, including protecting Avant CreditOS™, our proprietary credit decisioning platform, and oversees consumer claims and disputes
- This role will be split across these areas, and the successful candidate will manage their time based on the needs of the business. Our new attorney will build strong relationships among teammates and business partners
- Serve as the primary legal advisor for privacy and AI, supporting the design, implementation, and maturation of Avant’s privacy and AI governance programs, including policies, playbooks, impact assessments, and training
- Provide practical legal guidance to the Privacy Officer, Product, Risk, Compliance, and other teams on the collection, use, sharing, consent, and retention of personal and consumer data
- Counsel on the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA), Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), state comprehensive privacy laws (including their financial data exemptions), state AI and automated decision-making technology (ADMT) laws, and emerging consumer financial data requirements
- Advise on AI, machine learning, and automated decision-making in credit underwriting, fraud prevention, marketing, servicing, and internal operations, including wiretap and call-recording laws as applied to AI-enabled tools
- Monitor new and changing laws, regulations, guidance, and enforcement activity, and translate them into concise, actionable guidance and compliance plans
- Draft privacy notices, consents, and terms of use, and negotiate privacy, data protection, and AI provisions in third-party agreements
- Coordinate with the Deputy General Counsel on the privacy implications of data incidents, as requested
- Support development, implementation, and management of Avant’s enterprise IP strategy, with a primary focus on trade secrets and trademarks
- Oversee and manage outside counsel supporting day-to-day trademark clearance, enforcement, maintenance, docketing, and monitoring, and manage related budgets
- Advise on branding, trademark licensing in co-brand and partner programs, and IP issues arising from AI and software development, including ownership of models and outputs, rights in training data, and open source software
- Draft and negotiate IP ownership, licensing, and confidentiality provisions in vendor, partner, technology, and data agreements as necessary
- Oversee and support all aspects of Avant’s consumer litigation matters, subpoenas, and other disputes, including pre-litigation counseling, fact investigation, discovery, motions practice, arbitration, and dispute resolution in federal and state jurisdictions
- Work cross-departmentally with stakeholders to provide practical and strategic advice and counseling to help resolve disputes while balancing risk and business objectives
- Identify litigation and enforcement trends and potential areas of risk within new and existing products, and feed those lessons back into product design and privacy counseling
- Operate in a fast-paced environment, provide supportive leadership within our legal and compliance department, partner with the legal team and outside counsel on issues outside your expertise, and handle other tasks as assigned
- Efficiently manage outside counsel and operational budgets
Our take
Many Americans with below average credit scores are caught in a bind: they're unable to improve their score, and simultaneously cannot access traditional loans. Avant's alternative is to offer credit options that are powered by machine learning and based upon a large database that helps to manage risk.
For its users, the company offers a quick credit decision and speedy access to any allotted funds. It has issued over $8 billion in loans to date, and has also expanded its business through the acquisitions of ReadyForZero in 2015 and Zero Financial in 2021.
This expansion has enabled Avant to reach towards its goal of offering a whole suite of products in a single platform, such as loans, credit cards, and deposits. Although there are many FinTechs looking at ways to remove the barriers that people with low credit scores face when trying to take out loans, this expansion to banking products should help Avant to stand out.
Steph
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
-3% employee growth in 12 months
Company
Funding (last 2 of 6 rounds)
Dec 2022
$125m
GROWTH EQUITY VC
Sep 2015
$325m
SERIES E
Total funding: $779m
Company benefits
- Choice of great medical, dental, and vision insurance plan options
- 401(k) Match
- Unlimited paid time off
- Flexible work environment
- Generous paid parental leave
- Lunch allowance (Fooda) and in-office snacks
- WFH stipends for our remote employees
- Access to LinkedIn Learning for professional development
- No meeting wednesdays - (a.k.a. planned time to Get Sh!t Done)
- Summer fridays
- Fun in-office and virtual social events
- (And who doesn’t love the swag)
Company HQ
River North, Chicago, IL
Leadership
Al Goldstein
(Co-Founder, Chair & CEO)They worked for a year at Deutsche Bank before founding Pangea Properties in 2008, and Avant in 2013. They have been Chair since, alongside founding Amount, Spring Labs, and StoicLane.
Paul Zhang
(Co-Founder & CIO)Having studied at the University of Illinois, they spent a year as a Software Engineer at CashNetUSA and Enova Financial. They founded Debteye in 2011, before starting Avant in 2013, serving first as CTO then Chief Architect, CTO again and finally CIO.
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