Corporate Counsel, Privacy & Employment

About Covista 

Covista is America's largest healthcare educator, serving more than 97,000 students and supported by a community of 385,000 alumni across five accredited institutions. Through personalized, tech-enabled education powered by 10,000 faculty and colleagues, Covista expands access to healthcare careers and addresses the U.S. healthcare workforce shortage at scale. Covista is the parent company of American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine, Chamberlain University, Ross University School of Medicine, Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine and Walden University. 

Our colleagues come from a wide range of backgrounds, business, academia, healthcare, government and nonprofits, and are part of a culture where doing exceptional work and making a meaningful difference for students and society aren't separate goals—they're one and the same. This means creating an environment where colleagues can develop new skills, build careers that match their ambitions, and see the tangible impact of their work on healthcare education and workforce development. Colleagues who deliver results and embrace new tools to work smarter are valued for their contributions. But what makes working at Covista distinctive is our impact. Our faculty and colleagues don't just support healthcare education—they shape it. This isn't abstract purpose work. It's solving real problems for real people in real communities while advancing careers. 

We operate on a hybrid schedule with four in-office days per week (Monday–Thursday). This approach enhances creativity, innovation, communication, and relationship-building, fostering a dynamic and collaborative work environment. 

For more information, visit covista.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube. 

Opportunity at a Glance

Seeking a mid-level attorney with a generalist background and familiarity with privacy work to assist in managing a wide range of legal matters with a focus on employment law, employment and privacy litigation, and data privacy and AI compliance. With this mix of responsibilities, we do not expect you to have all the answers. However, you are expected to be proactive in finding them, supported by a collaborative legal team. You will need to exercise strong business judgment and provide practical, well‑reasoned advice in a fast‑paced and constantly evolving environment.

S/he will report to the Associate General Counsel, Employment and Privacy. Local (Chicago HQ) candidates only please.

Responsibilities

• Partner with the Associate General Counsel and other legal colleagues to provide legal advice and support across multiple functional areas, including Human Resources, Information Technology, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Privacy.

• Develop, refine and maintain employment, privacy and AI related policies.

• Partner closely with the HR team on employment matters across multiple jurisdictions (including across the Caribbean), including hiring, onboarding, employee relations (e.g., Title VII, ADA, FLSA, FMLA), terminations and investigations.

• Establish positive relationships and work collaboratively with others to achieve desired objectives across the organization, and is in a position to spot trends, opportunities for better practices, and provide insights and suggested solutions with key stakeholders.

• Provide day-to-day legal direction on complex global privacy laws and regulations.

• Contribute to incident response readiness and execution, including data breach investigations.
• Partner with Human Resources and supervise and assist with the preparation of the organization’s response to agency charges filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and other state agencies.
• Attend EEOC or state agency investigation interviews or fact-finding conferences.
• Draft, review and revise a broad range of agreements, such as independent contractor, separation, restrictive covenant, vendor services, data privacy & security, AI, nondisclosure, and other corporate contracts.
• Assist in the development and maintenance of contract templates, playbooks and best practices.
• Complete risk assessments on business initiatives with consistently clear guidance to business stakeholders.
• Proactively monitor legislation, regulations, and emerging trends related to employment, privacy and AI laws and translate them into clear and actionable guidance.
• Counsel the organization in support of new technology offerings.
• Develop and implement employment and privacy related trainings.
• Take on stretch assignments that build your leadership and judgment capabilities.  
• Performs other duties as assigned.
• Complies with all policies and standards.

• J. D. from an accredited law school required.
• 5+ years years prior experience as an attorney practicing in a law firm required or corporate in-house legal experience. 
• Excellent knowledge of US employment laws and regulations required.
• Experience interpreting and advising on global privacy laws, including GDPR and U.S. state privacy laws.
• Experience with technology transactions, including drafting and negotiating Data Processing Agreements (DPAs).
• Experience or interest in AI privacy and ethics, including responsible data use in emerging technologies.
• Strong problem-solving skills with the ability to quickly assess potential for risk and opportunity.
• Exemplary analytical and interpretation skills; strong legal research, writing, negotiation and organizational skills.
• Ability to effectively communicate and interact with clients at all levels of the organization, including senior management.
• Must be able to exercise sound judgment and work independently and efficiently under time pressures and deadlines in a fast-paced environment with attention to detail.
• Possesses strong work ethic and customer service orientation and ability to prioritize conflicting demands from multiple business clients
• Must be in good standing with the Illinois State bar required.

In support of the pay transparency laws enacted across the country, the expected salary range for this position is between $160,171.61 and $181,034.70. Actual pay will be adjusted based on job-related factors permitted by law, such as experience and training; geographic location; licensure and certifications; market factors; departmental budgets; and responsibility. Our Talent Acquisition Team will be happy to answer any questions you may have, and we look forward to learning more about your salary requirements. The position qualifies for the below benefits.

Covista offers a robust suite of benefits including:

• Health, dental, vision, life and disability insurance
• 401k Retirement Program + 6% employer match
• Participation in Covista's Flexible Time Off (FTO) Policy
• 12 Paid Holidays
  
  For more information related to our benefits please visit: https://careers.covista.com/benefits.
  
  You are also eligible to participate in an annual incentive program, subject to the rules governing the program, whereby an award, if any, depends on various factors, including, without limitation, individual and organizational performance.

Equal Opportunity – Minority / Female / Disability / V / Gender Identity / Sexual Orientation