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 primarily 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 that support reserve, treasury, and payments operations)

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

The position is a senior individual contributor role under the direction of the Deputy Assistant General Counsel, Transactions.

Responsibilities

• Support mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, asset purchases, and other strategic transactions, including:
  • structuring
  • 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 arrangements
  • account control and cash management arrangements
• Serve as a trusted partner across Corporate Development and Ventures, Treasury, and Financial Partnerships by:
  • leading transactions that involve Legal, Regulatory, Risk, Compliance, Tax, Corporate Governance, Product, and other stakeholders
  • coordinating with outside counsel where appropriate
• When needed, support select commercial transactions where the organization provides products, services, or technology to banks and other financial institutions by:
  • partnering with Business Development and Product, along with Legal subject matter experts
  • 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.
• Design and help lead the adoption of AI-enabled workflows across the Transactions team, including:
  • rethinking how transactional legal work is structured and delivered
  • using AI and other technology to improve diligence, contract review, issues lists, drafting, and deal tracking
  • experimenting with new approaches and taking responsibility for reviewing and validating AI-assisted work product for accuracy, confidentiality, privilege, and risk
• Independently lead transactions from inception through negotiation, signing, closing, and, where relevant, implementation or integration.

How This Role Uses AI

AI will be used as a core part of day-to-day transactional work, including accelerating due diligence, reviewing counterparty drafts against playbooks and prior positions, preparing first drafts of issues lists, term sheets, and ancillary documents, and keeping deal trackers and precedent current.

The attorney will:

• maintain full responsibility for outputs and legal judgment
• review and validate AI-assisted work for accuracy and appropriate legal judgment
• protect privilege, confidentiality, and material non-public information
• follow the organization’s 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
  • 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 and commercial objectives
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Strong ownership and organization; ability to manage multiple matters simultaneously in a fast-moving environment
• Demonstrated familiarity with and practical use of generative AI in legal or other professional workflows, including judgment about when/how to use AI and how to validate outputs and protect privileged, confidential, and material non-public information in a public company environment
• Interest in 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

Starting pay is determined by multiple factors, including relevant experience, skill set, qualifications, and other business and organizational needs. Compensation ranges may differ for candidates in other locations.

Base Pay Range: $200,000 - $262,500

Location

The organization is expanding into some of the world’s strongest jurisdictions; compensation ranges may differ for candidates in other locations.