Founding Commercial Counsel

Overview

The organization is building an early legal team supporting startup clients with legal services and technology. This role will lead commercial contracting and help shape how practical legal advice is delivered and scaled.

Responsibilities

• Draft, review, and negotiate SaaS agreements, MSAs, NDAs, DPAs, vendor contracts, and other commercial deals.
• Advise founders and in-house teams through Slack and calls, providing clear, commercially grounded guidance on deal risks.
• Own client relationships, meet turnaround commitments, and build trust as a go-to commercial counsel.
• Translate negotiation judgment, fallback terms, and review standards into playbooks and AI-supported legal workflows.
• Help develop the commercial legal practice, support onboarding future attorneys, and contribute to product development.

Requirements

• Five to eight years of commercial contracts experience in a law firm, in-house role, or a combination.
• Startup in-house commercial counsel experience, ideally in a high-volume environment at a growth-stage company.
• Hands-on experience across SaaS agreements, MSAs, NDAs, DPAs, vendor deals, and partnership or channel contracts.
• Strong knowledge of market terms involving liability caps, indemnity, intellectual property, data, and termination.
• Sound business judgment, clear communication, and a practical approach to negotiation and client advice.
• Experience using AI tools in legal practice, with interest in translating legal judgment into workflows.
• Juris Doctor degree.
• Active membership in good standing with a U.S. state bar.
• California or New York admission is preferred.
• Visa sponsorship is not available.

Compensation & Benefits

• Base salary: $170,000 to $220,000 annually
• Equity: 0.2% to 0.5%

Location

• Remote within the United States
• Quarterly travel to San Francisco for team time