Assistant General Counsel

About the role

The American Psychological Association (APA) is seeking a practical, collaborative lawyer to serve as an Assistant General Counsel. APA operates on a 37.5-hour work week with one-hour lunch breaks each day. Salaries are set based on years of relevant experience, level of education, and previous staff and/or governance experience at APA.

Responsibilities

• Serves as a primary legal resource for APA divisions and business units by providing day-to-day legal guidance, compliance support, first-line review, and practical risk management advice on non-crisis operational matters.
• Supports APA staff, Divisions, Committees, programs, and governance stakeholders by identifying, summarizing, and framing complex or ambiguous legal matters; directing legal matters for triage to the appropriate OGC path for timely review; and supporting internal clients in understanding legal compliance requirements, decision points, and escalation needs.
• Owes the contract review process for assigned APA matters, including review, drafting, and occasionally negotiation of APA contracts, including program agreements, vendor and consulting engagements, service agreements, event-related agreements, confidentiality agreements, data-related agreements, and other operational business agreements.
• Works with APA revenue-generating teams to identify legal and business risks, recommend practical revisions, support timely contract completion, and general ongoing program counsel and operational approval support.
• Serves as an accessible first point of contact within OGC for APA staff, Divisions, programs, elected or appointed leaders, or governance participants on division legal matters.
• Supports governance-related compliance and risk management issues, including conflicts of interest.
• Provides legal support for government contracts, government grants, and private grants, including review of funding agreements, grant terms, compliance obligations, flow-down requirements, reporting obligations, certifications, and operational risks.
• Works with APA staff to identify legal issues in APA staff grant and contract administration and to support compliance-oriented implementation.
• Provides litigation support, including internal fact development, document collection coordination, discovery support, initial review and potential management of incoming third-party and regular subpoenas, preservation and information-gathering support, and liaison work with outside counsel.
• Coordinates with OGC colleagues, APA staff, and outside counsel to support efficient matter handling and appropriate internal communication.
• Works with OGC and appropriate APA Divisions, Committees, units, elected and appointed leaders, and outside professional organizations to develop and implement projects for APA specific to assigned areas of responsibility.
• Serves as Office of General Counsel representative on internal APA committees and working groups as assigned.
• Coordinates with and supports outside counsel efficiently and productively on assigned matters, including litigation, subpoenas, grant and contract issues, compliance questions, and other matters as directed by the General Counsel or Deputy General Counsel.
• Serves as an accessible first point of contact within OGC for APA staff, Divisions, programs, elected or appointed leaders, or governance participants on division legal matters.

Qualifications

• A Juris Doctorate from an ABA-accredited law school, and a member in good standing of the District of Columbia Bar or a state bar where the individual could waive into DC.
• Minimum of five (5) years of experience practicing law in some or all preferred subject areas; seven (7) years preferred.
• Experience required in non-profit, association, governance, contracts lifecycle management, and grants (including governmental—federal and other public entities--and private), corporate compliance, and litigation support.
• Familiarity with election law, exempt organization law, and general legal counseling preferred.
• Exceptional analytic and critical thinking skills.
• Strong interpersonal, negotiating, and collaborative skills.
• Strong writing and oral communication skills, including the ability to summarize complex or ambiguous legal issues clearly and concisely, and explain legal concepts and terms as well as recommend practical strategies to non-lawyer stakeholders, executive-level staff, APA Board members, members of Council of Representatives, Committees, Divisions, volunteer elected and appointed leaders, and other governance participants.
• Must be a team player in a small, busy, and highly efficient general counsel’s office. Familiarity in working with staff and volunteers on guidance, project planning, compliance implementation, risk assessments, operational approvals, and issue escalation.
• General fluency with Microsoft Office, remote meeting programs such as Teams and Zoom, contract management systems, project management tools, APA-approved AI tools, and other business, workflow, and collaboration software. Technical ability to adapt quickly to new systems and to use technology to organize intake, track matters, summarize issues, prioritize projects, and manage legal workflows.

Benefits

APA offers a generous employee benefits program, including Remote Work/Flexible Scheduling; a 401(k) option with employer match of up to 4%; medical, dental, and vision insurance options and an outpatient mental health benefit; paid personal/vacation time plus 12 paid holidays; Family/Medical Leave; tuition assistance; an Employee Assistance Program (EAP); short- and long-term disability insurance; and more.

Pay

Salary is commensurate with experience.

Schedule

Remote work is eligible as defined in APA’s Flexible Work Policy and is subject to approval. Remote work employees may not work from the following states or U.S. territories: Alaska, California, Colorado, Guam, Hawaii, Iowa, Louisiana, Montana, Nebraska, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, U.S. Virgin Islands, Washington, Wyoming.