Full-Time
Vice President & Senior Counsel
Intellectual Property & Artificial Intelligence
American Bankers Association
501-1,000 employees
Banking trade association providing training and advocacy
Compensation Overview
$175.3k - $315.6k/yr
Washington, DC, USA
In Person
 Legal & Compliance (2) |
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- Juris Doctorate from an accredited law school and admission to at least one U.S. state bar
- Minimum of 10+ years of relevant legal experience, with 5+ years working in a law firm or in-house legal department, with a focus on intellectual property, technology transactions, or commercial contracting
- Experience with managing an end-to-end legal contracts function, including overseeing intake, drafting, negotiation, approval workflows, execution, and lifecycle management for a high-volume portfolio of commercial, technology, and corporate agreements
- Experience with advising stakeholders on legal, intellectual property, privacy, and regulatory risks in commercial and technology transactions
- Demonstrated experience designing, developing, and delivering legal training programs for business teams, including content on contracts, compliance, intellectual property, privacy, regulatory requirements, and corporate policies
- Experience conducting or overseeing legal research and analysis related to emerging technologies
- Strong analytical, drafting, and negotiation skills
- Ability to travel (less than 10%)
- Partner with the SVP of Contracts to lead ABA’s contracting strategy, including drafting, reviewing, and negotiating a wide range of complex and high-value agreements.
- Oversee software and technology licenses, data agreements, consulting contracts, NDAs, MOUs, and collaboration agreements.
- Establish and maintain contracting frameworks, templates, and risk standards.
- Develop and enforce ABA’s contracting governance framework, templates, and workflows.
- Direct legal review of vendor onboarding, including IP ownership, data security, and regulatory compliance considerations.
- Protect and manage ABA’s trademark portfolio, including clearance, registration, enforcement, and licensing.
- Develop and implement ABA’s IP governance frameworks, including trademark usage guidelines, copyright compliance policies, and data governance protocols
- Develop and implement internal IP policies, including trademark usage guidelines, copyright compliance, and data governance.
- Lead legal oversight for events, content production, and licensing, ensuring strategic protection of ABA’s brand and assets.
- Serve as a primary legal advisor on technology, digital projects, AI initiatives, software licensing, and data-related legal issues.
- Identify and assess legal risks related to third-party technology use, data licensing, and IP ownership, and support internal compliance with licensing terms and restrictions.
- Drive ABA’s enterprise AI and technology legal strategy, establishing policies and risk standards.
- Set internal guidelines to ensure compliance with digital and technology-related legal frameworks.
- Serve as subject matter expert and key legal adviser for member-facing initiatives, including webinars, working groups, and educational materials on IP and technology-related legal issues.
- Develop and deliver internal training related to IP, AI, technology, information security, and privacy issues.
- Advise senior leadership and business teams on IP, privacy, AI, and data rights issues.
- Conduct legal research on emerging technologies and regulatory developments affecting the banking sector, including AI, cryptocurrency, and digital currency.
- Drive ABA’s legal monitoring and analysis of emerging technologies and regulatory developments.
- Track and analyze developments in IP, technology law, and data governance that may impact the banking industry and summarize key issues for internal stakeholders and member institutions.
- Produce high-impact strategic assessments for internal stakeholders and ABA members.
- Lead cross-functional legal coordination with IT, communications, policy, and member engagement teams to advance ABA’s strategic initiatives.
- Direct legal strategy for cybersecurity, fintech, digital banking, and innovation.
- Shape ABA’s internal governance posture on technology and intellectual property.
- Demonstrated ability to lead legal programs, develop policies, and drive cross-functional initiatives.
- Demonstrated experience drafting and negotiating software licenses, data use agreements, and vendor contracts.
- Experience and demonstrated success with U.S. intellectual property law, including trademark, copyright, and trade secret protection.
- Experience owning and directing IP or technology programs is strongly preferred.
- Familiarity with legal issues related to cloud computing, software licensing, artificial intelligence, and digital content.
- Experience advising senior executives and shaping organizational legal risk strategy.
- Experiencing representing an organization with external audiences; excellent public speaking, verbal, and written communication skills.
- Experience developing, implementing, or managing enterprise governance frameworks, such as IP governance, AI governance, data governance, technology risk programs, or compliance frameworks.
ABA is a national trade association that represents the banking industry, including national, state, and savings banks. It provides training, research, and advocacy to support banks and the banking system. It produces policy guidance, industry standards, and resources to help banks comply with regulations and interact with lawmakers and regulators. Its goal is to develop standards, inform policy, and advocate for laws and regulations that affect banks and their customers.
Company Size
501-1,000
Company Stage
N/A
Total Funding
$3.4K
Headquarters
Washington DC, District of Columbia
Founded
1875
Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- FSSCC playbooks co-chaired by ABA on March 31, 2026, lead AI fraud mitigation.
- 2026 Blueprint for Growth guides advocacy against stablecoins and for deregulation.
- New CFO Lia Fordjour and marketing head Tifany Pedersen strengthen leadership in 2026.
What critics are saying
- Generative AI deepfakes overwhelm member banks' defenses within 6-12 months.
- SCAM Act fails passage, eroding ABA credibility as social media scams surge.
- Stablecoins capture deposits, slashing community bank lending in 12-24 months.
What makes American Bankers Association unique
- ABA invented nine-digit routing numbers in 1910 for standardized check processing.
- ABA merged with America's Community Bankers in 2007, consolidating advocacy voices.
- ABA expanded Fraud Contact Directory to international banks at 2026 U.N. Vienna Summit.
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Company News
FinAbility featured in ABA Banking Journal. FinAbility is honored to share that FinAbility has been featured in the ABA Banking Journal, and to be deepening its partnership with the American Bankers Association (ABA) through this work. The article highlights a critical and often overlooked reality. Ninety-nine percent of domestic violence cases involve financial abuse, yet most survivors never seek help from their bank. At the same time, survivors are far more likely to interact with a financial institution than a domestic violence service provider. This creates a powerful opportunity for banks to become part of the solution. The piece explores how financial institutions can better support survivors by applying trauma-informed principles to existing practices, without needing to overhaul policies or systems. It also reflects the growing leadership of banks that are stepping into this work with intention, curiosity, and care. FinAbility is grateful to the ABA for elevating this conversation and for their partnership in advancing survivor-centered financial empowerment across the banking sector. April 15, 2026 Stacy Kimie Sawin March 10, 2026 February 26, 2026 Stacy Kimie Sawin Stay connected with FinAbility. * indicates required Financially empowering survivors of domestic abuse Connect. Get to know FinAbility.
Better Identity Coalition partners on gen-ai fraud threat mitigation guidance. 2 playbooks outline attacks, recommendations for financial institutions Across banking, fintech and crypto, fraud is ramping up, costing financial institutions significant losses. A new public-private initiative co-chaired by the Better Identity Coalition and the American Bankers Association (ABA) aims to help tackle the problem. The Financial Services Sector Coordinating Council (FSSCC) has published two new joint publications on how to tackle the problem of identity fraud tactics enabled by generative AI. The council convened senior executives from financial institutions, federal and state financial regulators, and security experts to collaborate on what they call "playbooks" for how to fight AI-enabled identity fraud. In a post published on the blog of the Center for Cybersecurity Policy and Law, Better Identity Coalition Coordinator Jeremy Grant and Zack Martin of Venable LP outline the work, to which more than 130 experts contributed, and which is a deliverable under the FSSCC's Artificial Intelligence and Identity and Authentication Workstream (AI-IA). As AI threat evolves, so must mitigation. The first paper, "Mitigating AI-Powered Attacks Against Identity and Authentication," focuses on the attacks generative AI has enabled on financial institutions, and "details specific tools those institutions can use to detect and stop those attacks," including biometrics and liveness detection, with strategies for organizations at every level. It identifies three current and emerging primary attack vectors: deepfake-driven social engineering and impersonation, synthetic identity creation, and AI agents as attack surrogates. "This paper underscores the urgency for financial institutions to adopt advanced mitigation strategies to address these evolving threats," it says. "As these AI threats evolve, mitigations must evolve as well. There is no single solution for attack mitigation; rather, FIs need to pull a series of levers to protect institutions and consumers from these attacks." Governments have a big role to play. The second paper is a companion piece aimed at governments, "Recommendations for Policymakers: Mitigating AI-Powered Attacks Against Identity and Authentication." It makes two primary recommendations. First, governments need to update rules governing how financial institutions verify the identity of new customers, and how they authenticate customers signing into their accounts online. This is necessary "for FIs to feel comfortable in embracing newer tools such as passkeys or mobile driver's licenses (mDLs) that can thwart Gen AI-powered attacks." Second, governments need to work harder to help close the gap between physical and digital credentials. The paper includes 20 distinct actions for policymakers and regulators, spread across four key initiatives, which advocate for the development and deployment of next-generation remote identity proofing and verification systems, strong authentication, coordination among countries to harmonize requirements, and better education about emerging threats and best practices. GENIUS Act prompts moves on digital identity verification. Grant and Martin also point to a new report to Congress from the Treasury department on "Innovative Technologies to Counter Illicit Finance Involving Digital Assets." The report responds to requests in the GENIUS Act, which tasks Treasury with crafting recommendations on new legislative and regulatory proposals, with a focus on digital identity verification. In the report, Treasury pledges to issue guidance to FIs on how they can use verifiable digital credentials in existing customer identification programs. It will explore working with Congress on legislation to "incentivize the development and integration of digital identity tools aimed at countering illicit finance." Partnering with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and international partners, it will work on promoting common guidelines for the use of digital identity tools across jurisdictions. And it will "work with Congress on ways to better enable third-party service providers to conduct identity verifications and issue verifiable digital credentials that can be accepted by financial institutions to fulfill elements of customer identification and verification requirements." "At a time when criminals and hostile nation-states are leveraging AI-powered deepfakes to convincingly spoof photos, videos, and voices, companies need concrete, actionable recommendations on how to address these threats to best protect consumers from identity theft and fraud." Article topics. Latest biometrics news. Mar 31, 2026, 3:45 pm EDT As it releases its first compliance update since Australia's Social Media Minimum Age (SMMA) law took effect, the eSafety Commission... Mar 31, 2026, 2:22 pm EDT Portuguese-speaking African countries (PALOP) face structural obstacles, including limited infrastructure, uneven institutional capacity, and unequal access to digital technologies. The... Mar 31, 2026, 2:08 pm EDT Reality is blurring with misinformation and deepfakes, and opposing views on regulation is leading to some high-level tension. South Korea,... Mar 31, 2026, 2:02 pm EDT The new minority government in the Netherlands has reintroduced the possibility of putting age restrictions on social media. While plans... Mar 31, 2026, 1:13 pm EDT Sweden's Migration Agency (Migrationsverket) has signed a 30 million Swedish kronor ($3.2 million) contract with Thales subsidiary AB Svenska Pass... Mar 31, 2026, 12:31 pm EDT The Brazilian government has announced a financial boost, under a program dubbed PROCIN, to enable some states to expand issuance...
ABA opens fraud contact directory to international banks. The American Bankers Association today announced that its widely used Fraud Contact Directory is now open to international banks, marking a significant expansion of one of the banking industry's key tools for combating fraud. The announcement was made by ABA President and CEO Rob Nichols and ABA EVP Paul Benda at the U.N. Global Fraud Summit in Vienna, Austria. Originally launched to help U.S. banks quickly connect to stop fraud in real time, the ABA Fraud Contact Directory is now used by 2,443 banks, representing more than half of the nation's banks. Opening the directory to international banks reflects the increasingly global nature of fraud and the urgent need for cross-border cooperation. "Fraud knows no borders, and neither should our defenses," Nichols said. "By expanding the ABA Fraud Contact Directory to international banks, we are strengthening the global financial system's ability to respond quickly, share critical information and stop fraud before it spreads." ABA's partnership with the International Banking Federation's Fraud and Scams Taskforce was instrumental in expanding the directory. IBFed members of the Fraud and Scams Taskforce led efforts with banks in their country to identify those interested in participating and facilitated communication with ABA, ensuring a seamless launch. ABA also extended its thanks to Anthony Ostler, chair of the IBFed and president and CEO of the Canadian Bankers Association, for his leadership and support of the initiative. ABA offers a variety of bank resources for fighting fraud, including the Treasury Check Verification System, consumer education campaigns and the ABA Fraudcast.
CSBS: stablecoin implementation shouldn't come at expense of bank deposits. State bank supervisors want to ensure that Congress "has its eyes wide open" on the possible impact on bank deposits as lawmakers consider cryptocurrency regulation, Conference of State Bank Supervisors President and CEO Brandon Milhorn said today at the American Bankers Association's Washington Summit. During a Q&A with ABA President and CEO Rob Nichols, Milhorn addressed bankers' concerns about a legal loophole that could allow crypto firms to bypass the Genius Act's prohibition on payment of interest on stablecoins. He noted the current U.S. stablecoin market stands at about $300 billion, but Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had predicted that market could grow to about $3 trillion by 2030. "My question is, from where?" Milhorn said. "If it comes from our banks... that's small-business loans, that's agricultural loans that are not being made by banks. That is a real concern." CSBS wants to preserve the balance struck in the Genuis Act by including the prohibition, in which stablecoins are a new technology available to consumers for payments but not detrimental to banking, he said.
Denise Greenbeck Hess selected for 2026 ABA Emerging Leaders Scholarship. OAKLAND, MD - First United Bank & Trust proudly announces that Denise Greenbeck Hess, Deposit Relationship Manager, has been selected as a recipient of the 2026 ABA Emerging Leaders Scholarship. The scholarship provides an opportunity for rising banking professionals to attend the American Bankers Association (ABA) Emerging Leaders Forum and Washington Summit, taking place March 9-11, 2026, in Washington, D.C. Each spring, bankers from across the country gather in the nation's capital for the ABA Washington Summit to meet with regulators and members of Congress to advocate for the banking industry and the communities it serves. More than a decade ago, ABA launched the Emerging Leaders Scholarship Program in partnership with state bankers' associations to ensure the next generation of banking professionals has a voice in shaping public policy. As a 2026 scholarship recipient, Hess will participate in exclusive leadership development programming, connect with banking peers and executives from across the country, and engage directly with policymakers on Capitol Hill. "The Emerging Leaders Scholarship Program ensures that the future of banking advocacy remains strong by empowering emerging leaders early in their careers," said Caitlin Taylor, Vice President, State Association Alliance, American Bankers Association. "We are proud to see Denise Greenbeck Hess represent Maryland Bankers Association and First United Bank & Trust at this national event and contribute to important conversations shaping our industry." The ABA Emerging Leaders Forum is designed to foster collaboration, professional growth, and meaningful engagement with banking peers, industry leadership and policymakers. Through initiatives such as the Emerging Leaders Exchange and Secure American Opportunity(R), participants continue their leadership development and advocacy well beyond the Summit. Member of FDIC. First United Corporation operates one full-service commercial bank, First United Bank & Trust. The Bank has a network of community offices in Garrett, Allegany, Washington, and Frederick counties in Maryland, as well as Mineral, Berkeley, and Monongalia counties in West Virginia. First United's website can be located at MyBank.com. As of 12/31/2025, the corporation posted assets of $2.1 billion.