Legal Counsel

Overview

This role involves providing strategic legal and commercial support to the organization’s businesses in the United States and globally. Responsibilities include advising on legal risks and opportunities, ensuring compliance with US federal and state regulatory requirements, mitigating legal risk, and supporting day-to-day business activities in a fast-evolving financial and technology environment. The position requires close collaboration with compliance, finance, business teams, and other departments.

Responsibilities

• Legal advisory and business support

  • Advise on legal risks and opportunities related to day-to-day securities brokerage business activities, including broker-dealer operations, margin lending, securities trading, asset management, AI-driven products, digital assets services, investment adviser services, and other financial and technology services.
  • Provide front-line legal support to US brokerage, product, and operations teams on customer-facing terms, disclosures, and trading-platform features.
  • Advise on the launch and ongoing operation of US securities products and services.
  • Support digital innovation initiatives, including the development of AI-powered platforms, cryptocurrency/digital asset products, and data-driven services.
  • Provide legal support for US-entity corporate matters and, as needed, assist with group transactions that directly involve the US business.

• Regulatory compliance and risk management

  • Advise on securities regulatory and licensing requirements applicable to the organization’s US businesses, including broker-dealer registration, investment adviser registration, SRO membership, and SEC/FINRA/CFTC/FinCEN requirements and other applicable regulators.
  • Liaise with regulators, external counsel, and in-house compliance officers as needed.
  • Provide legal guidance on US regulations governing AI applications in financial services, including emerging federal and state-level AI governance frameworks.
  • Advise on cryptocurrency and digital asset regulations, including SEC/CFTC jurisdictional requirements, token classification, and evolving federal and state crypto licensing regimes.
  • Advise on data security, privacy, and cybersecurity matters, including compliance with US federal frameworks and state laws such as CCPA/CPRA and other applicable data protection regulations.
  • Monitor legal and regulatory developments, including securities and broker-dealer rulemaking, and help develop strategies to ensure compliance.
  • Collaborate with the CCO on responses to SEC, FINRA, and state regulatory inquiries, audits, investigations, and enforcement actions.

• Contract negotiation and documentation

  • Draft, review, and negotiate agreements, including client agreements, vendor contracts, commercial contracts, AI/technology licensing agreements, digital asset service agreements, data processing agreements, trade confirmations, and product term sheets.
  • Develop and maintain legal and contractual templates to standardize and streamline documentation processes.

• Corporate governance

  • Provide legal guidance on US-entity corporate governance matters, including board and shareholder resolutions, maintenance of corporate records, and company policies, as required.

• Litigation and dispute resolution

  • Oversee and manage external counsel for litigation and dispute resolution, including securities-related disputes, customer claims, data breach incidents, and regulatory enforcement actions.
  • Develop dispute resolution strategies to protect the organization’s interests while minimizing legal risk.

• Leadership and collaboration

  • Work closely with cross-functional teams (Compliance, Finance, Operations, Product and Technology, HR) to provide comprehensive legal support across the US business.
  • Liaise across business areas to ensure alignment of legal strategies and policies.
  • Represent the Legal Department in fiduciary forums, risk committees, and board meetings as required.

Qualifications

• Juris Doctor (J.D.) from an accredited US law school, or equivalent law degree from a recognized and reputable institution.
• Licensed to practice law in at least one US state (required); admission to the New York or Texas Bar is strongly preferred.
• 3-7 years of post-qualification legal experience.
• Strong experience in US corporate, commercial, and regulatory matters, with demonstrated exposure to securities and broker-dealer regulation, investment adviser regulation, financial services, fintech, AI/machine learning businesses, cryptocurrency/digital assets, and/or data security and privacy (required).
• Hands-on experience advising a registered broker-dealer on SEC and FINRA rules (must).
• Solid preference for in-house experience at a securities brokerage or broker-dealer; experience at a bank, financial institution, fintech, or technology company is also valued.
• Solid understanding of the legal and regulatory landscape for US securities laws and broker-dealer and investment adviser regulation, as well as AI applications.
• Familiarity with cryptocurrency and digital asset regulations, including token offerings, exchange licensing, stablecoin frameworks, and DeFi-related legal risks.
• Working knowledge of data security laws and cybersecurity compliance, including incident response obligations, vendor risk management, and cross-border data transfer requirements.
• Up-to-date knowledge of legal, regulatory, and market developments in the financial industry.
• Collaborative team player with an entrepreneurial mindset and the ability to work independently.
• Strong communication, analytical, negotiation, and drafting skills, with a proactive approach to risk mitigation.

Preferred Qualifications

• Chinese language skills are a bonus for interacting with internal stakeholders (Product & Engineering) in Asia, but not a must.

Location

Dallas, TX (Preferred) or New York