BOSTON–Leader Bank announced that it has promoted Brook Ames to the position of General Counsel of the Bank effective January 31, 2017. In this position, Ames, who currently serves as In-House Counsel for Leader Bank, will be responsible for the planning, organizing and overseeing the day-to-day legal activities and operations of the Bank and providing strategic legal advice and counsel to the Bank, its management team and the Board of Directors.

Leader Bank Founder and CEO Sushil Tuli

“It gives me pleasure to welcome Brook to this new position,” said Sushil Tuli, President and CEO of Leader Bank. “Since joining us in 2012, Brook has been a valued member of the Leader Bank team, drawing on his legal training and expertise to support Leader Bank’s growth. His advice and counsel has allowed the Bank to explore new lines of business and products and expand our overall presence in the market while ensuring our compliance with the increasingly complicated legal and regulatory landscape for community bankers. I am confident that, in this new role, Brook will continue to be a key contributor to Leader Bank’s success and be a critical resource for the entire Bank.”

Ames has served as legal advisor to Leader Bank and Leader Bancorp for the past five years, and he will also continue to serve as the Bank’s CRA Officer and SAFE Act Officer in addition to his General Counsel duties.

Prior to joining Leader Bank, Ames served in the Consumer Financial Services practice area of Goodwin Procter LLP in Boston, where he specialized in residential lending and retail banking consumer litigation and compliance and advised some of the largest banks in the country.

Brook Ames

In addition to his work at the Bank, Ames is also an Adjunct Professor of Legal Writing at Boston University School of Law, where he has taught in the First-Year Writing Program for the past three years.

“I am honored to be named the General Counsel of Leader Bank,” said Ames. “I have been fortunate to witness the amazing growth of the Bank over the past five years and I am privileged to take this new position with the Leader Bank team. I look forward to continuing to contribute to Leader Bank’s successes as we start 2017 as a billion dollar institution.”

Ames received his Bachelor’s Degree from Rice University and graduated magna cum laude from Boston University School of Law.

With assets over $1 billion, Leader Bank, N.A. is a nationally chartered bank founded in 2002 with seven full-service branches in Arlington, Belmont, Boston, Burlington, and Cambridge. Leader Bank offers a full range of personal and business banking products including free personal and business checking accounts, commercial and residential lending products, home equity lines of credit, deposit products with highly competitive rates and free online banking and bill payment services.