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

Overview

The organization is seeking an experienced transactional attorney to join the Transactions team within the Legal department. This role primarily supports:

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

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

This position reports under the direction of the Deputy Assistant General Counsel, Transactions, and will operate as a senior individual contributor and trusted advisor to internal stakeholders, working closely with Business Development, Product, and other teams as needed.

Responsibilities

• Lead transactions end-to-end from inception through negotiation, signing, closing, and, where relevant, implementation or integration.
• Support mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, asset purchases, and other strategic transactions, including:
  • Structuring deals
  • Conducting due diligence
  • Drafting definitive agreements
  • 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
  • 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 Corporate Development and Ventures, Treasury, and Financial Partnerships, including coordinating with internal stakeholders and outside counsel as appropriate (e.g., Legal, Regulatory, Risk, Compliance, Tax, Corporate Governance, Product).
• Support select commercial transactions for banks and other financial institutions when needed, partnering with Business Development and Product to translate 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, including:
  • Rethinking how transactional legal work is structured and delivered
  • Using AI and technology to improve diligence, contract review, issues lists, drafting, deal tracking, and other workflows
  • Experimenting with new approaches
  • Developing scalable processes and playbooks
  • Reviewing and validating AI-assisted work product for accuracy, confidentiality, privilege, and risk

Requirements

• J.D. or foreign equivalent
• 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
• Substantial experience with M&A and other corporate transactions, financial services transactions, or both, including:
  • Structuring transactions
  • Drafting first-turn agreements
  • Leading negotiations and diligence
  • Independently driving complex matters through signing and closing
• Strong working knowledge of corporate and commercial law, with sound business judgment and the ability to coordinate legal, regulatory, tax, accounting, securities, and operational considerations while balancing legal risk, commercial objectives, and strategic goals
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; strong ownership and organization; ability to manage multiple matters in a fast-moving environment
• 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

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with banking and financial services agreements, including deposit, custody, safeguarding, treasury, 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 (e.g., 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.

Location

Compensation ranges may differ for candidates in other locations.