Deputy General Counsel, Strategic Partnerships

Overview

A leading global cryptocurrency exchange is seeking a Deputy General Counsel for Strategic Institutional Partnerships. This senior legal leadership role involves overseeing legal frameworks for the organization's institutional trading, custody, and partnership ecosystem. The position reports to the Global Head of Commercial and Marketing Legal and leads a small global team managing a significant deal pipeline involving hundreds of strategic and institutional counterparties.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary legal authority on all strategic institutional partnerships and trading arrangements, including custody, exchange integrations, prime brokerage, staking, co-investments, and alliances.
• Advise on complex cross-border transactions, crypto product structuring, and multi-jurisdictional regulatory compliance, including token classification and securities law.
• Develop and maintain contracting infrastructure, templates, playbooks, and fallback positions to enable high-volume, consistent institutional deal execution.
• Conduct end-to-end legal due diligence on institutional counterparties and build senior-level relationships with clients, counterparties, and external counsel throughout the deal lifecycle.
• Translate complex legal and regulatory issues into clear, commercially actionable guidance for product, engineering, and executive teams.
• Lead, mentor, and scale a high-performing, multi-disciplinary legal team while fostering a rigorous, pragmatic, and collaborative culture.

Requirements

• Active membership with a U.S. state bar or equivalent.
• Minimum of 10 years post-qualification legal experience, with a proven track record at a top-tier law firm and/or in-house role at a leading financial institution.
• Substantial hands-on expertise in cryptocurrency and digital assets law, including token classification, custody structures, exchange regulation, and decentralized finance (DeFi).
• Significant deal-level experience with strategic institutional trading, prime brokerage, custody, or structured products.
• Demonstrated experience building, managing, and developing legal teams in a fast-paced, growth-oriented environment.
• Exceptional negotiation, written, and oral communication skills, with the judgment and gravitas to advise at the C-suite level.

Preferred Qualifications

• Working knowledge of multiple regulatory regimes relevant to the business, such as MiCA, SEC, CFTC, FinCEN, FCA, VARA, FSRA, or equivalents.
• Experience closing cross-border institutional agreements under time pressure.
• Prior experience designing scalable legal processes, playbooks, and fallback frameworks.

Compensation & Benefits

• Salary range: $240,000 to $360,000, dependent on knowledge, skills, experience, and market location.
• Performance bonus and long-term incentives may be included.
• Comprehensive medical, financial, and other benefits.
• Learning and development programs with education subsidies.
• Wellness and meal allowances.
• Various team-building programs and company events.
• Healthcare coverage for employees and dependents.

Location

This role may involve working across multiple jurisdictions and requires collaboration with global teams. Specific location details are not provided.

Applicants should apply through official career channels. Equal employment opportunity is provided regardless of race, color, genetic information, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, lawful alien status, national origin, age, marital status, disability, or protected veteran status. Employment-qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records will be considered in accordance with applicable laws.