Counsel

ACA Group; California; On-site; USD 100,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive compensation package

Medical and dental coverage

401(k) plans

Paid time off options

Flexible work environment

Student Debt Forgiveness

Pet Insurance

Job summary

ACA Group is seeking a Legal Counsel to draft, review, and negotiate contracts for its subsidiary broker-dealers and related agreements. The role supports the Legal Department across regulatory and compliance matters and interacts with clients, outside counsel, and service providers.

The ideal candidate holds a JD and is licensed, with 1–3 years in law firms, regulators, or in-house roles, especially in broker-dealer, mutual fund, or financial services contexts.

Qualifications

• Juris doctor degree required, licensed in at least one jurisdiction.
• Experience drafting and reviewing complex agreements with large, sophisticated counterparties, including major financial institutions and top-tier law firms preferred.
• One to three years of relevant legal experience at a law firm, regulatory agency, or in-house setting.

Responsibilities

• Draft, review, and negotiate all contracts related to ACA’s subsidiary broker-dealers.
• Research and provide legal advice to ACA business regarding broker-dealer and mutual fund distribution, including related regulatory and compliance issues.
• Communicate with ACA clients, outside counsel, service providers, and others regarding contract terms and conditions and other information.
• Stay updated on regulatory developments that impact ACA’s subsidiary broker-dealers and update contracts and related policies accordingly.
• Perform ad-hoc work/special projects to support ACA on various client and internal initiatives.

Skills

Drafting skills

Attention to detail

Integrity

Communication skills

Organization

Education

Juris doctor (JD)

Tools

Microsoft Office

Adobe Acrobat

Internet

Job description

The Opportunity

The individual in this position is primarily responsible for drafting, reviewing, and negotiating all contracts related to ACA Group’s subsidiary broker dealers and other contracts, including complex and sophisticated agreements. The individual in this position also is responsible for handling a variety of complex regulatory and compliance matters and assisting the Legal Department with a variety of projects across a range of areas and will be integral to the efficient operation of the Legal Department.

The Opportunity

The individual in this position is primarily responsible for drafting, reviewing, and negotiating all contracts related to ACA Group’s subsidiary broker dealers and other contracts, including complex and sophisticated agreements. The individual in this position also is responsible for handling a variety of complex regulatory and compliance matters and assisting the Legal Department with a variety of projects across a range of areas and will be integral to the efficient operation of the Legal Department.

What you’ll do:

• Draft, review, and negotiate all contracts related to ACA’s subsidiary broker-dealers
• Research and provide legal advice to ACA business regarding broker-dealer and mutual fund distribution, including related regulatory and compliance issues
• Communicate and interact with ACA clients, outside counsel, service providers, and others regarding contract terms and conditions and other information
• Keep abreast of regulatory developments that impact ACA’s subsidiary broker-dealers and update contracts and related policies accordingly
• Perform ad-hoc work/special projects as necessary to support ACA on various client and internal initiatives

To qualify for the role, you must have:

• Juris doctor degree required, licensed in at least one jurisdiction
• One to three prior years of relevant legal experience at a law firm, regulatory agency, or in-house setting; experience in a broker-dealer, mutual fund, financial services, investment firm, or regulatory agency strongly required
• Experience drafting and reviewing complex agreements with large, sophisticated counterparties, including major financial institutions and top-tier law firms preferred.

Skills and attributes for success:

• Solid drafting and review skills
• Strong attention to detail
• Demonstrated professional integrity
• Dependable, flexible, and adaptable to new ACA initiatives and changing employee needs
• Ability to work well in a fast-paced, small-team environment
• Ability to work independently, multi-task and prioritize effectively
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with colleagues
• Highly motivated and goal oriented; proactive in one’s own education and career progression; volunteers for and shows initiative on both internal and external projects and tasks
• Dedicated to upholding ACA’s high-quality standards and customer service focus
• Strong organizational and problem-solving skills with attention to detail
• Strong oral and written communication skills
• Proficient with Microsoft Office applications, Adobe Acrobat, and the Internet

Ideally, you’ll also have:

• Working knowledge of mutual fund and exchange traded fund distribution

What working at ACA offers:

We offer a competitive compensation package where you’ll be rewarded based on your performance and recognized for the value you bring to our business. Our Total Rewards package includes medical and dental coverage and 401(k) plans, and a wide range of paid time off options as well as a flexible work environment. You’ll also be granted time off for designated ACA Paid Holidays, Summer Fridays, Personal/Family Care, and other leaves of absence when needed to support your physical, financial, and emotional well‑being. We also offer unique benefits such as Student Debt Forgiveness and Pet Insurance.

About ACA:

ACA Group is the leading governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) advisor in financial services. We empower our clients to reimagine GRC and protect and grow their business. Our innovative approach integrates consulting, managed services, and our ComplianceAlpha® technology platform with the specialized expertise of former regulators and practitioners and our deep understanding of the global regulatory landscape.

What we commit to:

ACA is firmly committed to a policy of nondiscrimination, which applies to recruiting, hiring, placement, promotions, training, discipline, terminations, layoffs, transfers, leaves of absence, compensation and all other terms and conditions of employment. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability or protected veteran status, or any other legally protected basis, in accordance with applicable law.

The cash compensation range we have provided has been benchmarked against similar organizations of comparable size, sector, and age. Our offers of employment consider a variety of factors, including but not limited to, unique skill sets, specific expertise or certifications and business/organizational needs. It is not typical for us to hire talent at the top of the range for a role, in part because it’s so important to us to allow all ACA employees the opportunity to develop over time, and to feel rewarded for doing so. Our listed range is a reasonable estimate of the total yearly compensation.

Salary Range: $100,000.00 - $120,000.00 plus discretionary bonus

Please note that everyone using, storing, sharing or transmitting information with or through ACA devices or systems, should have no expectation of privacy in any message, files, data, document, facsimile, telephone conversation, conversation, message, or any other kind of information or communications transmitted to, received from, printed from, or stored or recorded while utilizing any ACA systems, software, and data.