Jonathon Serafini

About Jonathon Serafini

Perfected ability to understand the difference between legalities and practicalities, and how to effectively and efficiently accomplish both. As a seasoned legal professional with 12 years of legal experience and decades in sales, management, and entrepreneur experience, I provide strategic and practical legal counsel, compliance oversight, and risk management solutions across government, corporate, and non-profit sectors. I integrate legal frameworks with business strategy, ensuring regulatory compliance while streamlining processes through technology. At HUD, I led legal strategies in contract negotiation, litigation management, financial oversight, and regulatory compliance, ensuring alignment with federal housing laws and financing, financial and fiscal regulations, privacy law, and public policy goals. I collaborated across agencies to safeguard agency integrity, mitigate legal exposure, and ensure liquidity in the housing market. My work included structuring financial agreements, securities research, and overseeing regulatory compliance in housing finance programs.For over two years, I have leveraged Artificial Intelligence and machine learning to enhance legal research, workload management, financial analysis, and online content delivery. As an EIG Fellow, I designed and trained an AI qualitative research model that identified career mobility barriers and workforce inefficiencies to improve employee retention and training outcomes. Beyond EIG, I built and deployed multiple AI-driven legal and financial research models, enhancing contract analysis, regulatory compliance monitoring, risk assessment, financial market analysis, and content delivery. AI-Driven Legal & Financial Innovation – Developed an AI-powered workload summarization model, streamlining reporting and reducing administrative burdens, improving decision-making efficiency in legal and financial operations. Leadership, Housing Finance & Policy Impact – Managed high-stakes regulatory compliance, litigation portfolios, and financial oversight, shaping policies and implementing risk mitigation strategies in housing finance, mortgage lending, and structured finance. Strategic Legal, Business & Financial Advisory – Advised senior leadership on financial regulations, corporate governance, risk management, privacy and fiscal law, and capital markets, ensuring sustainable operations and compliance with HUD, SEC, CFPB, and federal financial laws.The views and opinions provided herein are my own and do not represent the views of any federal agency or the United States.

Experience

1. Attorney-advisor (Gs-0905-14-09 Gs-0905-14-10)

   U.S. Department Of Housing And Urban Development

   May 2020 — Present

   Duties: Served as Attorney-Advisor for a federal regulatory agency, providing legal counsel, regulatory compliance guidance, and risk mitigation strategies in real estate finance, securities law, administrative law, and federal litigation. Conducted legal research, drafted opinions, and advised on enforcement actions affecting housing, financial services, government programs, and public-private partnerships.Legal Advisory & Regulatory Compliance Accomplishments:• Advised agency leadership on complex legal and regulatory matters, ensuring compliance with HUD, SEC, DOJ, CFPB, and other federal mandates.• Drafted legal opinions, memoranda, and regulatory guidance on statutory interpretation, administrative rulemaking, and agency enforcement actions.• Conducted compliance reviews and internal investigations, assessing government contracts, procurement processes, and ethical concerns.• Negotiated high-value settlements and enforcement resolutions, mitigating legal exposure for federal, state, and corporate entities.• Ensured compliance with federal privacy laws (GDPR, CCPA, FISMA), cybersecurity regulations, and corporate governance policies.Litigation & Government Affairs Accomplishments:• Provided legal support in litigation matters, drafting motions, pleadings, and discovery requests for federal administrative proceedings.• Liaised with the Department of Justice (DOJ) and U.S. Attorneys, coordinating legal strategy for enforcement actions and federal compliance cases.• Reviewed agency contracts, grants, and loan agreements, ensuring compliance with federal procurement laws, appropriations statutes, and public sector finance policies.• Engaged in policy development, advising on legislative and regulatory changes impacting government programs, private sector partners, and financial institutions.

Education

• University of Akron School of Law

  Legal Course Work

  2010 — 2011

• Washington University in St. Louis School of Law

  Master of Laws - LLM, Negotiation and Alternative Dispute Resolution

  2015 — 2015

• The University of Texas at Arlington

  Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Advertising and Broadcast News

  2003 — 2009

• Washington University in St. Louis School of Law

  Doctor of Law (J.D.), Law

  2011 — 2013

• Summer Institute For International Law & Policy, Utrecht, Netherlands

  Course work in international and comparative human rights and business law.

  2012 — 2012

Skills

• Strategic Planning
• Legal Research
• Powerpoint
• Microsoft Excel
• Civil Litigation
• Social Media
• Customer Satisfaction
• New Business Development
• Leadership
• Westlaw
• Negotiation
• Automotive
• Business Development
• Marketing Strategy
• Research
• Marketing
• Microsoft Office
• Sales
• Mediation
• Public Relations
• Event Planning
• Trials
• Sales Management
• Nonprofits
• Management
• Team Building
• Account Management
• Public Speaking
• Courts
• Customer Service
• Social Networking
• Microsoft Word
• Legal Writing
• Litigation