Molly Powers

Experience

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  USA Field Hockey

  Dec 2003 - Mar 2005

  Women's National Squad Member
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  Goodbody Stockbrokers

  Jan 2006 - Aug 2007

  Portfolio Manager's Assistant
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  Chicago 2016

  Nov 2007 - Jul 2008

  Legal Intern for the Olympic and Paralympic Bid Committee

  Drafted and edited contracts as part of Chicago's bid to host the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Conducted research and engaged in strategy sessions to ensure compliance of Chicago's bid with International Olympic Committee bid requirements.

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  Jenner & Block

  May 2009 - Jul 2009

  Summer Associate
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  United States Attorneys'​ Offices

  Sept 2009 - Dec 2009

  Law Clerk

  Drafted research memoranda and assisted with successful Seventh Circuit appeal.Compiled jury instructions, conducted direct and cross examination during prosecution of petty offenses.

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  Jenner & Block

  Jan 2011 - Jun 2015

  Associate Attorney

  Representative litigation experience* Lead associate in litigation on behalf of client with over 27 million annual customer transactions against software developers interfering with the operation of the client’s booking website. Our team successfully leveraged litigation pressure to achieve settlement and eliminated skimming of the client’s website. * Lead associate in defense of consumer class action alleging unlawful collection of tax on customer transactions. Our team achieved complete dismissal with prejudice of claims alleging $1.8 billion in damages.* Achieved favorable settlement in pro bono representation of incarcerated client claiming deliberate indifference to serious medical need in violation of constitutional rights. Representative investigative experience* Experienced in investigations concerning challenging subject matters such as pervasive bribery and fraud in an offshore manufacturing center, potential theft of highly technical trade secrets of a global car manufacturer, and the complex accounting practices of corporation with over $10 billion annual revenues, among others. * International investigative experience includes working locally in Japan and India. Assisted clients with sensitive internal investigations relating to potential violations of US law including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, responding to formal enquiries from the SEC and assessing litigation risk. * Supervised teams of up to ten junior attorneys analysing client documents to ensure efficient and effective review. Show less

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  MinterEllisonRuddWatts

  Jun 2015 - Sept 2020

  * Seconded to two national banks to support the in-house legal teams, including to help develop and implement policies responding to a fundamental shift in the statutory regime.* Primary negotiator on behalf of a client in a potential contract dispute with a SaaS provider, related to an alleged breach of software licensing agreement with a multi-million dollar damages claim. * Regularly advised leading New Zealand corporates on regulatory risks, meeting legal obligations, strategy and leadership, both at the Board and operational levels.* Worked with key stakeholders within Uber, Uber Eats and Uber Jump to understand commercial priorities while assessing legal compliance and communicating the relevant legal framework in a clear, plain language style.* Acted for a client subject to a sprawling investigation by the Commerce Commission for allegedly misleading product claims, encompassing a variety of issues including underlying product technology, retail distribution network, and financing offerings. In drafting the responses, I worked closely with the client’s senior leadership to understand their business, identify its areas of legal risk, and draft clear, persuasive submissions. * Acted for a major New Zealand financial institution in conducting its conduct and culture review in response to heightened regulator scrutiny following the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Service Industry in Australia. * Assisted client with crisis management response to a cyberattack and data breach affecting its customer database, including by advising on regulatory compliance matters and strategies for minimising litigation exposure. * Assisted client with crisis management response to a cyberattack and data breach affecting its customer database, including by advising on regulatory compliance matters and strategies for minimising litigation exposure. Show less

  • Senior Associate

    Jul 2018 - Sept 2020

  • Senior Solicitor

    Jun 2015 - Jun 2018
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  BNZ

  May 2016 - Jul 2016

  Corporate Lawyer

  Secondee supporting BNZ's in-house legal team.

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  GFS

  Sept 2020 - Oct 2021

  Senior Legal Counsel

  ● Sole in-house lawyer reporting to the CEO and acted as a sounding board on matters of legal and strategic importance. ● Responsible for drafting, negotiating and providing oversight of all manner of contracts including major client service agreements, releases, licensing, data privacy, SaaS, partnership, NDAs and referral agreements.● Developed scalable and simplified contracting practices. Provided oversight of processes for governing the contract management life cycle, including improvements to shorten contract cycles.● Worked closely with outside counsel where required, considered legal risk across multiple jurisdictions and advised the business on meeting legal requirements in the most commercially sensible way possible. ● Provided guidance and oversight of internal governance and policy framework. Show less

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  Humm group

  Oct 2021 - Feb 2023

  Senior Legal Counsel

  ● Managed responses to regulator enquiries; supported the business to adapt to and comply with changes in the statutory and regulatory landscape.● Provided legal guidance on the design and modification of products; proactively identified associated risks and recommends mitigation strategies; reviewed product user experiences to ensure legal compliance and proper disclosures; drafted guidance for non-legal staff; responsible for managing Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions updates across multiple products.● Responsible for working with the executive team to draft, negotiate, and advise on significant partnership agreements with global brands for the development and delivery of innovative consumer product offerings. As part of this role, I built strong relationships across the business units and worked collaboratively to understand business capabilities and limitations in order to inform negotiations as well as to mitigate legal, business and reputational risks. ● Advised and assisted across a wide variety of contracts, including marketing agreements, service level agreements, merchant agreements, sponsorship agreements, software licensing agreements, data protection, and product development schedules.● Provided a customer focused, common sense and pragmatic legal lens to assist the product and customer marketing teams from a compliance and customer experience perspective across acquisitions, onboarding funnel, and lifecycle; designed processes to streamline legal support for the marketing team to ensure customer facing collateral across all channels adhered to consumer protection laws.● Assisted with preparation of Board papers. Show less

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  Xero

  Feb 2023 - now

  ● Leads the global regulatory legal advisory function at Xero, with a focus on core markets in the US, Australia, the UK and New Zealand. ● Supports product partnerships with payments and other financial service providers, and the development of innovative product offerings including those leveraging Generative AI.● Provides regulatory support on contract drafting and negotiation for partnerships, especially for financial services products. ● Ensures a proactive approach is taken to identification and management of regulatory risk and potential impacts to Xero across the global business. ● Manages the implementation of Xero’s Whistleblowing Program Show less

  • Senior Payments Counsel

    Oct 2024 - now

  • General Manager - Global Regulatory (Acting)

    Nov 2023 - Oct 2024

  • Senior Legal Counsel - Global Regulatory

    Feb 2023 - Jan 2024