Senior Legal Counsel; Technology and Procurement

About Northern Trust

Northern Trust, a Fortune 500 company, is a globally recognized, award‑winning financial institution that has been in continuous operation since 1889. Northern Trust is proud to provide innovative financial services and guidance to the world's most successful individuals, families, and institutions by remaining true to our enduring principles of service, expertise, and integrity. With more than 130 years of financial experience and over 22,000 partners, we serve the world's most sophisticated clients using leading technology and exceptional service.

As a member of Northern Trust's Legal Department, this attorney will provide high quality legal advice and counsel to senior management and business partners. The role focuses on technology and procurement matters for a global financial organization, including commercial contract negotiations, SaaS and licensing contracts, client‑facing technology tools and products, cloud and on‑prem technologies, distributed ledger technology, and artificial intelligence.

• Support the Procurement and Technology legal team's efforts to accelerate responsible adoption of AI consistent with legal and regulatory requirements and client and supervisory expectations.
• Advise business units, technology engineers, product development teams and legal teams in development, negotiation and support of vended AI tools and client‑facing contracts involving technology products and concepts such as SaaS, software licenses, data licenses, distributed ledger technology, federated single sign‑on.
• Develop and update template contracts, playbooks, terms of use, and other terms and conditions related to technology initiatives and products (e.g., web portals, APIs, software) for use by business units across the enterprise.
• Collaborate with and provide legal support to cross‑functional teams and SMEs (Data Privacy, Information Security, Risk, Compliance, Tax), including in other jurisdictions, as needed.
• Advise and contribute to committees and working groups (IT Risk, Cloud governance, AI) focused on new technology initiatives at the bank.
• Lead negotiations around strategic transactions including complex license agreements, reseller agreements, and other corporate development arrangements.
• Provide legal support for technology‑related corporate initiatives and support other Legal Department team members.
• Advise on legal and regulatory developments that impact Northern Trust's procurement organization and technology initiatives and adapt template contracts and playbooks as needed.

• Must possess a J.D. degree from an accredited law school and meet attorney licensing requirements in the jurisdiction of employment, prior to and after commencing employment.
• Minimum combined ten (10) years of experience at a nationally recognized law firm and/or in‑house legal department advising clients in relevant areas.
• Proven record of independently drafting, negotiating, and reviewing technology contracts and agreements, including software licenses, distributed ledger technologies, managed services, and on‑prem and SaaS license agreements.
• In‑depth experience with legal and regulatory aspects that can impact contract requirements, including familiarity with data‑in‑the‑cloud impacts. Financial industry regulations preferred (FRB SR23‑4, PRA SS2/21, GDPR, CCPA, DORA, EU AI Act).
• Experience working for a regulated or financial industry.
• Ability to work cooperatively with all levels of the organization and provide practical, solutions‑oriented advice on technology‑related matters.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Ability to manage relationships with business partners, clients, and outside counsel.
• Current knowledge of applicable existing and upcoming regulations impacting the banking industry highly desired.

Applicants must be authorized to work in the U.S. without the need for employment‑based visa sponsorship now or in the future. Northern Trust will not sponsor applicants for U.S. work visa status for this opportunity (no sponsorship is available for H‑1B, L‑1,…