Special Counsel, Transactions (M&A and Bank Partnerships)

Overview

The organization is seeking an experienced transactional attorney to join the Transactions team within its Legal department. This role focuses on two connected areas:

• Corporate Development and Ventures, including mergers and acquisitions, strategic transactions, and venture investments
• Financial Partnerships, including agreements with banks and other financial institutions supporting reserve, treasury, and payments operations

As needs arise, the role may also support select commercial transactions involving the organization’s products and services for banks and other financial institutions.

The attorney will work under the direction of the Deputy Assistant General Counsel, Transactions, serving as a senior individual contributor and trusted advisor to internal teams, and partnering with Business Development, Product, and other groups on select matters.

Responsibilities

• Support mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, asset purchases, and other strategic transactions, including structuring, conducting due diligence, drafting definitive agreements, and coordinating signing, closing, and integration matters.
• Advise on joint ventures, minority and venture investments, strategic partnerships with an equity component, and other non-ordinary-course transactions, including term sheets, investment agreements, side letters, and ancillary agreements.
• Structure, draft, and negotiate agreements with banks and financial institutions supporting reserve, treasury, and payments operations, including deposit, custody and safeguarding, account control, and cash management arrangements.
• Serve as a trusted partner to internal stakeholders across Corporate Development and Ventures, Treasury, and Financial Partnerships, coordinating Legal, Regulatory, Risk, Compliance, Tax, Corporate Governance, Product, and other groups, and working with outside counsel as appropriate.
• As needs arise, support select commercial transactions in which the organization provides products, services, or technology to banks and other financial institutions, translating business objectives into practical contractual terms.
• Develop and expand transaction templates, playbooks, diligence tools, processes, and metrics to improve speed, consistency, and effectiveness across recurring transaction types.
• Help design and lead the adoption of AI-enabled workflows across the Transactions team—restructuring how transactional legal work is organized and delivered and using AI and other technology to improve diligence, contract review, issues lists, drafting, deal tracking, and other recurring workflows.
• Experiment with new approaches, develop scalable processes and playbooks, and review and validate AI-assisted work product for accuracy, confidentiality, privilege, and risk.

How This Role Uses AI

This role uses AI as a core part of day-to-day transactional work and helps shape how the Transactions team operates in an AI-enabled environment.

The attorney will use AI tools to accelerate due diligence, review counterparty drafts against playbooks and prior positions, prepare first drafts of issues lists, term sheets, and ancillary documents, and keep deal trackers and precedent current.

The attorney remains fully responsible for the work, including reviewing and validating AI-assisted outputs for accuracy and legal judgment, protecting privilege and confidentiality (including material non-public information), and following AI, security, and data policies.

Requirements

• J.D. or foreign equivalent and active membership in good standing of at least one U.S. State Bar.
• 7+ years of transactional legal experience at a leading law firm, an in-house legal department, or a combination of both.
• Substantial experience with M&A and other corporate transactions and/or financial services transactions, including structuring transactions, drafting first-turn agreements, leading negotiations and diligence, and independently driving complex matters through signing and closing.
• Strong working knowledge of corporate and commercial law, sound business judgment, and the ability to coordinate legal, regulatory, tax, accounting, securities, and operational considerations while balancing legal risk, commercial objectives, and the organization’s strategic goals.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, strong ownership and organization, and the ability to manage multiple matters simultaneously in a fast-moving environment prone to rapid change.
• Demonstrated familiarity with and practical use of generative AI in legal or other professional workflows, including sound judgment about when and how to use AI, validating outputs, and protecting privileged, confidential, and material non-public information in a public company environment.
• Interest in the organization’s mission and values, financial technology, and the potential of stablecoins, digital assets, and blockchain technology.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with banking, deposit, custody, safeguarding, treasury, or other financial services agreements and/or seller-side technology or financial services transactions involving regulated financial institutions, digital assets, stablecoins, payments, cross-border transactions, or other fintech businesses.
• Experience building, implementing, or scaling AI-enabled workflows, prompts, templates, playbooks, or tools for a legal team.

Compensation & Benefits

• Base Pay Range: $200,000 - $262,500
• Starting pay is determined by factors including relevant experience, skill set, qualifications, and other business and organizational needs. Compensation ranges may differ for candidates in other locations.

Equal Opportunity

The organization is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status, or any other protected status required by the laws in the locations where it hires.

The organization participates in the E-Verify Program in certain locations as required by law.