Vice President, Legal Affairs and General Counsel

We are excited that you are considering joining Nova Southeastern University!

Nova Southeastern University (NSU) was founded in 1964, and is a not-for-profit, independent university with a reputation for academic excellence and innovation. Nova Southeastern University offers competitive salaries, a comprehensive benefits package including tuition waiver, retirement plan, excellent medical and dental plans and much more. NSU cares about the health and welfare of its students, faculty, staff, and campus visitors and is a tobacco-free university.

We appreciate your support in making NSU the preeminent place to live, work, study and grow. Thank you for your interest in a career with Nova Southeastern University.

Primary Purpose:

Provides strategic guidance, consultation, and legal support to the President and senior leadership on a comprehensive range of legal and regulatory issues. Oversees the Office of Legal Affairs, manages the University’s legal strategy, and directs the selection and supervision of outside legal counsel. Ensures that all legal services align with the University’s mission, mitigate institutional risk, and support operational priorities.

Job Category: Exempt

Hiring Range:  Commensurate with experience

Pay Basis:  Annually

Subject to Grant Funding? No  

Essential Job Functions: 

1. Plans, directs, supervises, and coordinates work activities of subordinates and staff, including hiring, coaching, evaluating, and terminating, all in accordance with University policies and procedures.
2. Serves as a strategic partner to the President and executive leadership in aligning legal services with the University’s mission, risk posture, and strategic goals.
3. Provides comprehensive legal counsel and guidance to University officers and senior administrators on all legal matters relevant to the institution.
4. Anticipates, identifies, and advises on potential legal issues and risks affecting the University; formulates and recommends appropriate legal strategies.
5. Acts as a clearinghouse for all legal assistance requests from authorized University personnel and determines whether requests should be handled internally or referred to outside counsel.
6. Selects, retains, and oversees the performance and cost-effectiveness of outside legal counsel. Identifies appropriate firms based on subject matter expertise and institutional needs.
7. Provides legal leadership in crisis situations and emerging risk areas, including but not limited to public health mandates, cybersecurity, reputational risks, and complex regulatory environments.
8. Oversees the legal review and negotiation of contracts, leases, memoranda of understanding, and other legal documents.
9. Reviews, drafts, and approves University policies, bylaws, and other governing documents to ensure legal compliance and alignment with best practices.
10. Represents or supervises the representation of the University and senior administrators in judicial and administrative proceedings, as well as interactions with federal and state regulatory agencies.
11. Develops and maintains a staffing structure within the Office of Legal Affairs that ensures timely, high-quality legal services.
12. Provides legal training and education to faculty and staff through seminars, briefings, and other campus-wide initiatives to promote legal awareness and mitigate risk.
13. Maintains professional development through legal associations, seminars, and continuing education to remain current on developments in higher education law and related fields.
14. Completes special projects as assigned.
15. Performs other duties as assigned or required.

Required Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities: 

Knowledge:
1. Law and Government — Comprehensive knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
2. Administration and Management - Comprehensive knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, budgeting, human resources modeling, leadership technique, and/or coordination of people and resources.
3. English Language - Comprehensive knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
4. Customer and Personal Service - Comprehensive knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services.

Skills:
1. Reading Comprehension - Expert understanding of written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
2. Active Listening - Expert skills in giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
3. Writing - Expert skills in communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
4. Speaking - Expert skills in talking to others to convey information effectively.
5. Critical Thinking - Expert skills in using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
6. Complex Problem Solving - Expert skills in identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
7. Judgment and Decision Making - Expert skills in considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the appropriate one.
8. Negotiation - Expert skills in bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.

Abilities:
1. Oral Comprehension & Expression - The ability to listen to, understand, and communicate information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences so others will understand.
2. Written Comprehension & Expression - The ability to read, understand, and communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
3. Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
4. Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (including finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
5. Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
6. Fluency of Ideas - The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).

Physical Requirements:
1. Near Vision - Must be able to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
2. Speech Recognition - Must be able to identify and understand the speech of another person.
3. Speech Clarity - Must be able to speak clearly so others can understand you.
4. Travel - Must be able to travel on a daily and/or overnight basis.
5. May be required to work nights or weekends.
6. May be exposed to short, intermittent, and/or prolonged periods of sitting and/or standing in performance of job duties.
7. May be required to accomplish job duties using various types of equipment/supplies, to include but not limited to pens, pencils, and computer keyboards.

Required Certifications/Licensures: Active bar membership in the state of Florida.

Required Education: Juris Doctor (JD) from an accredited law school.

Required Experience: 

1. Minimum of ten years of progressively responsible legal experience.
2. Proven track record of providing legal counsel at the executive level and managing legal teams.
3. Demonstrated expertise in a broad array of legal disciplines, including employment law, contracts, litigation, regulatory compliance, real estate, intellectual property, and institutional governance.

Preferred Qualifications: 

Experience in higher education, nonprofit organizations, or public-sector law.

Is this a safety sensitive position? No  

Pre-Employment Conditions: 

Sensitivity Disclaimer: Nova Southeastern University is in full compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and does not discriminate with regard to applicants or employees with disabilities and will make reasonable accommodation when necessary.

NSU considers applicants for all positions without regard to race, color, religion, creed, gender, national origin, age, disability, marital or veteran status or any other legally protected status.