Overview
Full-time role with the legal team supporting regulatory affairs and enforcement activities for a global digital currency platform.
This position is responsible for leading key regulatory affairs matters and supporting the Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel on enforcement actions, litigation, and strategic legal initiatives. Primary responsibilities include managing the organization’s responses to examinations by state financial regulators and serving as a principal point of contact with regulatory agencies.
Responsibilities
Regulatory Affairs, Examinations & Enforcement
- Manage responses to examinations by state financial regulators, from examination notice and scoping through document productions, interviews, findings, remediation, and closure.
- Serve as a principal legal point of contact for state and federal regulators, representing the organization in examinations, supervisory meetings, interviews, conferences, hearings, and other regulatory engagements.
- Lead legal strategy and response efforts for regulatory inquiries, subpoenas, civil investigative demands, investigations, enforcement actions, consent orders, and settlement negotiations.
- Advise on state money transmitter laws and domestic and international licensing frameworks, including licensing triggers and exemptions, permissible activities, examination standards, reporting obligations, and regulatory implications of new products, transaction flows, business models, and market expansion.
- Partner with the licensing team on complex or novel legal and regulatory matters, including regulator interpretations and jurisdictional strategy, with clear coordination between legal advisory and licensing administration responsibilities.
- Provide legal guidance on federal and state financial-services laws, including BSA/AML, OFAC, consumer-protection, privacy, money-transmission, and digital-asset regulatory requirements.
- Develop accurate, consistent, and persuasive written submissions to regulators; coordinate collection and analysis of supporting facts, data, and documents.
Litigation & Dispute Management
- Own legal strategy for significant litigation, arbitration, and dispute-resolution matters (consumer, commercial, and regulatory), from inception through resolution.
- Lead factual investigations, discovery, briefing, witness and executive preparation, depositions, hearings, negotiations, and trial strategy.
- Select, supervise, and manage outside counsel; establish strategy, maintain accountability, control costs, and ensure high-quality legal representation.
- Advise the General Counsel and senior leadership on litigation exposure, enforcement trends, settlement strategy, remediation, and risk-mitigation options.
Business and Regulatory Advice
- Advise business leaders and cross-functional teams on regulatory and legal issues affecting products and operations, translating complex requirements into practical, risk-based guidance.
- Partner with Compliance, Licensing, Risk, Operations, Product, and other teams to interpret regulatory requirements, strengthen policies and controls, and address examination findings and emerging risks.
- Monitor legal and regulatory developments affecting crypto kiosks, OTC trading, money transmission, and digital-asset services, and assess their impact on the business.
Government Affairs
- Collaborate with the Government Affairs team on legislative and policy matters, including analyzing proposed laws and regulations, developing advocacy positions, drafting comment letters and testimony, and representing the organization in meetings, hearings, and other proceedings involving legislators, policymakers, and regulators.
Other Responsibilities
- Support strategic legal and regulatory initiatives led by the Chief Legal Officer, General Counsel, or Global Head of AML.
- Perform other duties as assigned.
Requirements
- Juris Doctor (JD) from an accredited law school.
- Active bar membership in at least one U.S. jurisdiction (Illinois preferred or ability to obtain).
- 7–10+ years of relevant legal experience with regulatory, money services business, digital asset, and money transmitter licensing experience.
- Proven experience managing outside counsel and complex regulatory matters.
- Background in financial services, fintech, or other regulated industries.
- Strong legal drafting, analytical, and communication skills.
- Ability to operate independently while collaborating closely with senior legal leadership.
Preferred Qualifications
- In-house or government experience involving a money services business, payments company, bank, fintech, cryptocurrency company, or financial regulator.
- Experience with BSA/AML, OFAC, consumer protection, unfair or deceptive acts or practices, privacy, and digital asset regulatory frameworks.
- Experience negotiating resolutions with regulators or advising high-growth, technology-driven companies through regulatory change.
Nice to Have
- Basic knowledge of cryptocurrency and blockchains.
- General passion and knowledge of fintech and cryptocurrency.
Compensation & Benefits
- $180,000 - $220,000 USD yearly salary
- Annual bonus
- Federal holidays and unlimited PTO
- Flexible work from home policy
- Comprehensive benefits (medical, dental, vision, 401(k) with match)
- Reimbursement for ARDC annual dues, professional organization expenses, legal conferences and CLEs
Location
Chicago