Senior Counsel, Regulatory & Legislative Affairs

Position Summary: The Clearing House Association L.L.C. (“Association”) is seeking a Regulatory and Legislative Affairs Counsel to report to the SVP, Director of Regulatory and Legislative Affairs. The position works closely with the Director of Regulatory and Legislative Affairs to implement the Association’s advocacy efforts regarding the payments industry and payments-related issues.

The position monitors important developments in the payments industry, develops advocacy positions on payment-related issues that are important to large banking organizations and the financial sector more broadly, identifies ways in which to advance advocacy, and, with the support of the Association Managing Board of Directors, advances the Association advocacy agenda.

This work requires regular written and in-person communications with the federal agencies responsible for regulating, supervising, and enforcing the laws governing payments and payments consumer protections, including the Federal Reserve Board, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Areas of recent advocacy have included stablecoins, tokenized deposits, instant payments, debit interchange, anti-money laundering, and sanctions regulations.

The position also works closely with the Director of Regulatory and Legislative Affairs to monitor and address relevant Congressional actions and judicial proceedings, as necessary.

Essential Functions and Responsibilities:

• Draft, or oversee outside counsel drafting of, persuasive and effective comment letters, whitepapers, blog posts, meeting decks, amicus briefs and other Association advocacy documents for payments-related advocacy matters.

• Advocate Association positions in meetings with federal agencies on payments issues.

• Serve as one of the Association’s primary points of contact with member executives on payments-related advocacy matters, including convening and managing member meetings and calls and responding to member inquiries and requests.

• Develop and lead issue-oriented advocacy meetings with regulators, trade association staff, senior bank executives, Congressional staff, think-tanks, and others.

• Maintain strong relationships with the government and legislative affairs staff at Association member banks and other trade associations and industry groups on issues of joint concern.

• Stay apprised of payments-related advocacy issue developments in real time.

• Serve as a subject matter expert to The Clearing House staff on payments-related advocacy matters

• Speak and participate in public forums (e.g., conferences, newspapers, etc.) as expert and advocate for Association views on payments-related advocacy matters

• Assist with planning and executing The Clearing House Annual Conference

• Other duties as assigned

Qualifications Required:

• JD and licensed attorney.

• 5-10 years’ experience working on payments-related matters in a law firm, bank, or regulatory agency, or on advocacy for the financial industry.

• Demonstrated ability to quickly grasp new and complex business/legal concepts and formulate solutions.

• Excellent interpersonal skills, dynamic and highly team oriented. Ability to form and maintain strong working relationships with internal and external clients and stakeholders.

• Demonstrated ability to multi-task, prioritizes changing deadlines, and produce quality work product in a fast-paced environment.

• Strong business judgment, strategic thinking, and collaborative problem-solving skills.

• Exceptional communication, research and writing skills.

• Must be able to work with other attorneys and administrative support staff.

• Mastery of Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and virtual meeting platforms (e.g., Webex, Zoom, Teams).

• Ability to engage in regular travel as needed to in-person meetings with regulators, legislative staff, member bank representatives and conferences.

Physical Demands and Work Environment: The ideal candidate will be located in the Washington, D.C., metro area and would work remotely from home. Travel to client meetings, conferences and other events, along with occasional travel to New York City, will be required.

When onsite, the working environment is generally favorable. Lighting and temperature are adequate, and there are no hazardous or unpleasant conditions caused by noise, dust, etc.

The anticipated annual salary range for DC-based candidates for this position is $180,000 to $190,000. Base salary and position level will be determined by the role, experience, skill set and location. For eligible positions, discretionary incentive compensation may be awarded contingent on personal and company performance. Our benefits program includes medical, dental, vision, life insurance, 401k plan with company contribution and company match, tuition reimbursement and more.

About The Clearing House: The Clearing House (TCH) is a banking association and payments company that is owned by the largest commercial banks in the United States. TCH owns and operates the core payments system infrastructure in the US and is currently working to modernize that infrastructure by launching a new, ubiquitous, real-time payment system. TCH is the only private-sector ACH and wire operator in the US, clearing and settling nearly $2 trillion in US dollar payments each day, representing half of all commercial ACH and wire volume. TCH has provided critical services to the banking industry since 1853, and today, our core products facilitate services including Direct Deposit of payroll, bill payments, and check image exchange.