Assistant General Counsel

At Koalafi we believe in a world where no one has to put an important purchase on hold. Thats why were making it easier for more people to pay for big purchases over time.

Retailers across the country rely on us to offer flexible lease-to-own financing to their non-prime consumers while increasing sales and strengthening customer loyalty. Their 2M customers love us because we provide a flexible way for them to make payments and give them an opportunity to improve their credit. Our 200 Koalafi teammates enjoy inspiring and challenging work that accelerates their careers.

Interested in learning more about how were transforming the financing experience and joining our team

Assistant General Counsel

What Youll Do

Koalafi is looking for an Assistant General Counsel to lead and manage external legal matters and provide strategic legal counsel as we continue to grow and evolve our consumer-finance business. This role will have primary responsibility for managing consumer litigation and arbitration regulatory examinations and investigations enforcement matters and escalated legal complaints.

You will manage matters from initial assessment through resolution including internal fact development discovery motion and trial strategy settlement and coordination with regulators and outside counsel. You will work closely with partners across Compliance Risk Operations Product Finance and Sales to assess exposure develop effective strategies and communicate legal risks trends and insights to key stakeholders and senior leadership.

Beyond managing disputes and regulatory matters you will also serve as a strategic legal partner to leaders across the organization as Koalafi evaluates and launches new products capabilities and business initiatives. You will help identify and assess legal and regulatory risks evaluate potential exposure and tradeoffs and provide practical risk-based guidance that enables the business to make informed decisions and move initiatives forward. This work will span both Koalafis traditional lending and Lease-to-Own product segments and may involve novel or evolving legal issues where sound judgment is as important as clear precedent.

This role is ideal for an attorney who combines meaningful consumer-financial-services litigation and regulatory experience with strong business judgment practical risk assessment and an execution-oriented mindset. You will serve as a trusted advisor to the General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer senior leadership and business partners while helping Koalafi manage legal risk support strategic growth and build scalable processes for managing external legal matters.

Litigation Arbitration & Dispute Resolution

• Lead Koalafis strategy and response across individual and class-action litigation arbitration threatened claims demand letters subpoenas and other adversarial matters.
• Manage matters throughout their full lifecycle including initial assessment internal fact investigation discovery motion practice settlement strategy trial preparation and resolution.
• Assess legal financial operational customer and reputational exposure and provide clear recommendations to senior leadership.
• Direct and manage outside counsel including matter strategy staffing budgets performance and work-product quality.
• Maintain clear reporting on active matters significant developments potential exposure and emerging trends.

Regulatory Examinations & Escalated Legal Complaints

• Support Koalafis response to regulatory examinations investigations inquiries enforcement actions and requests for information.
• Manage regulatory matters from initial request through investigation response remediation settlement or other resolution.
• Develop response strategies in partnership with the General Counsel & Chief Compliance OfficerLegal Operations team. outside counsel and relevant internal stakeholders.
• Serve as a legal point of contact for federal and state regulators and represent Koalafi with credibility responsiveness and sound judgment.
• Identify patterns across regulatory matters andescalated legal complaints and communicate relevant risks to the appropriate business owners.

Legal Strategy & Operational Effectiveness

• Serve as a trusted legal advisor to the General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer and senior leaders on strategic business initiatives new products and evolving operational priorities.
• Partner closely with Compliance Risk Operations Product and Sales to identify assess and address legal and regulatory risks associated with new and existing business initiatives.
• Translate complex or evolving legal requirements into concise practical risk-based recommendations that enable informed business decision-making.
• Evaluate legal risk potential exposure and competing business considerations to help stakeholders understand available options tradeoffs and paths forward.
• Provide legal guidance throughout the lifecycle of strategic initiatives from early-stage concept and design through implementation launch and ongoing operation.
• Lead or support cross-functional legal workstreams on high-priority initiatives by aligning stakeholders clarifying legal requirements and helping drive issues toward practical resolution.
• Develop practical frameworks playbooks and scalable legal processes that improve consistency speed and quality of legal decision-making across the organization.

About You:

• Juris Doctor from an accredited law school.
• Active license to practice law in good standing in at least one U.S. jurisdiction with the ability to practice as in-house counsel in Virginia and/or the District of Columbia.
• 8 years of relevant legal experience at a law firm financial institution fintech company regulatory agency in-house legal department or a combination of these environments.
• Experience in a fintech high-growth lending or other dynamic and highly regulated environment.
• Experience with at least one of the following: lease-to-own products point-of-sale financing non-prime lending bank-partnership models or consumer-loan servicing.
• Significant experience managing complex litigation arbitration regulatory investigations enforcement matters or other adversarial proceedings.
• Demonstrated experience advising business leaders on new products strategic initiatives or operational changes including identifying legal and regulatory risks and translating them into practical business-oriented recommendations.
• Strong knowledge of federal and state consumer-financial-services laws and regulations including laws applicable to lending servicing payments credit reporting collections and lease-to-own products.
• Ability to assess legal risk in areas where the law or regulatory expectations may be evolving incomplete or subject to interpretation and to provide clear recommendations on options tradeoffs and paths forward.
• Strong advocacy analytical negotiation collaboration and communication skills including the ability to give senior leaders concise actionable and risk-based advice.
• Sound judgment and the ability to independently manage multiple high-stakes matters while also partnering effectively with cross-functional teams on strategic business priorities.
• A practical proactive and intellectually curious approach with a strong execution mindset and an ability to operate effectively in a fast-moving environment.

Nice to Have:

• Direct experience with the CFPB FTC state attorneys general state financial-services regulators or similar agencies.
• Capital Markets experience.

Location: Richmond VA; Arlington VA; or Remote (U.S.). Associates near one of our office locations may work in-office hybrid or remotely. Remote opportunities are available to candidates throughout the United States.

Salary Range: $180000-$235000 per year (depending on experience and location)
Additional Compensation: This position will be eligible to participate in company bonus plan.

The final salary offer will depend on factors including but not limited to experience skills and geographic location. The actual annualized salary amount offered to any candidate at the time of hire will be reflected solely in the candidates offer letter.

Applications will be accepted until position is filled.

Why choose Koalafi: A career at Koalafi means opportunities to tackle exciting challenges every single day. We take pride in a culture of innovation trust and ownership. Youll get outside your comfort zone build meaningful relationships and most of all take charge of projects that ultimately help people get the things they need most.

Benefits:

At Koalafi you will have a direct impact on our products and help shape the companys success. We offer competitive compensation & benefits packages to keep you at your best:

• Comprehensive medical dental and vision coverage
• 20 PTO days 11 paid holidays
• 401(k) retirement with company matching
• Student Loan & Tuition Reimbursement
• Commuter assistance
• Parental leave (maternal paternal)
• Inclusion and Associate Engagement Programs

Who we are & what we value:

• We focus on whats most important
• We set clear expectations and deliver
• We embrace challenges to reach our full potential
• We ask How can this be better
• We move fast together