Ben Strauss

About Ben Strauss

I am a business-minded in-house lawyer and leader. Working for public and private companies, I have negotiated thousands of contracts, including outsourcing arrangements, various types of IT services and purchases, asset purchase and sales, marketing and agency services, equipment and pipeline construction, real estate leasing and purchases and sales, M&A deals, and more. I am also experienced in issues of cybersecurity and privacy law. I’ve been in the financial services industry since May 2016, and I’ve also held leading legal roles at an international innovator and manufacturer, two omnichannel retailers, and a global IT and marketing/agency services consulting firm. I also have big firm experience as a litigator, which informs the risk-based approach I bring to transactional work.

Experience

1. Senior Vice President, Associate General Counsel

   Berkshire Bank

   Jul 2019 — Present · Pittsfield, MA, US

   Provide advice and counsel to senior executives / management and handle- All procurement contracts, including FinTech alliances, IT (e.g, core provider, SaaS, cloud, on prem, hardware, etc.), mission critical business process outsourcing (e.g, retail loan servicing, eSign (DocuSign), eVault (eOriginal), CRM (Salesforce), armored transport, etc.), marketing (e.g, agency, website design and hosting, etc.), PR and communications services (including for publicly traded parent company), HR services (e.g. payroll services, recruiters, employee benefits, etc.)- Day-to-day support of all front and back office lines of business and departments, including Compliance, Enterprise Risk Management, Investor Relations, Branch and Deposit Operations, Commercial and Retail Lending, Marketing, Communications, Treasury, Finance, HR, and others- Asset sales and purchases, including loan portfolio, books of business, and entire businesses, and other M&A work- Correspondence with regulators, including receiving approval from Massachusetts Division of Banks to operate freestanding “unmanned” ITMs that offer check cashing services without triggering branching requirements, which was an of first impression in Massachusetts- Lead project counsel for significant transformation initiatives, including LIBOR transition- Litigation and pre-litigation matters, including large consumer remediations, class action defense, individual settlements, and plaintiff side demand letters and suits- Real estate, including leasing, disputes, purchase and sale agreements, and more- Trademarks and other intellectual property matters (including licensing)- Code of Business Conduct for publicly traded parent company and all subs- Active member of Policy Committee and Enterprise Governance Risk & Compliance Committee- Select and manage outside counsel- Oversee paralegal staff- Champion Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives.

Education

• New York University School of Law

  JD

  2002 — 2005

• Columbia University - Columbia College (NY)

  BA, Economics

  1996 — 2000