Regulatory Product Counsel

Lead is a fintech building banking infrastructure for embedded financial products and services. We operate an FDIC-insured bank headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri. Additionally, we have offices in San Francisco, Sunnyvale, and New York City, where our technical, product, design, and legal teams operate.

We are built for a constantly evolving financial landscape, where new ventures and technological advancements emerge daily. Guided by a team of entrepreneurs and technologists with decades of experience navigating intricate banking and payments regulations, Lead blends regulatory and technological expertise to help our fintech partners scale their operations with compliance and creativity.

Simply put, Lead offers the essential attributes that every fintech seeks in a partner bank. First, unparalleled technical expertise from a distinguished team of developers with an extensive understanding of the banking and payments systems. Second, oversight expertise, automated compliance systems, and bespoke program management to navigate the ever-shifting regulatory landscape. Finally, a commitment to transparency and operational rigor to ensure everyone’s money does what it’s supposed to do.

Role Description:

Lead Bank is seeking a Regulatory Product Counsel to support the Bank’s Banking-as-a-

Service (BaaS) and payments businesses. This attorney will provide practical, product-minded

legal guidance to internal stakeholders across partner onboarding, product launch, product

expansion, and ongoing partner oversight. The role is intended for a lawyer who can translate

banking and payments regulation into actionable advice that helps teams move quickly within

Lead’s risk tolerance.

This attorney will work closely with Product, Program Management, Compliance, FinCrimes,

Risk, Operations, Finance, and other legal team members to identify legal issues early, guide

product design and operational decisions, and help the Bank scale its partner oversight and

product review processes. This role is a key member of our risk team, reporting to Deputy

General C

In this role you will:

• Provide legal and regulatory guidance for the Bank’s BaaS initiatives, including federal and state consumer lending and payments laws and regulations (TILA, ECOA, EFTA, FCRA, etc.), as well as privacy and information security.

• Provide legal and regulatory guidance to clients and internal teams for the Bank’s Payments initiatives, including federal and state consumer payments laws and regulations (EFTA, NACHA, GLBA, UDAAP, crypto, money transmission licensing, card network rules, etc.)

• Advise cross-functional teams on the application of consumer financial laws and related regulatory requirements in fintech environments, including consumer and commercial lending, deposit, payments, and hybrid products.

• Assess how product changes affect legal risk, operational controls, partner obligations, and required stakeholder approvals.

• Track legal and regulatory developments that may affect Lead’s BaaS and payments programs and help translate those developments into practical internal guidance.

• Help build scalable review processes, playbooks, and documentation that improve consistency and efficiency across the legal function.

• Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

• J.D. and active membership in good standing in at least one state bar.

• Approximately 6+ years of relevant legal experience in banking, fintech, payments, consumer financial services, or a comparable regulatory practice.

• Ability to understand, interpret, and apply banking and payments laws to novel products, partner models, and technology-enabled services.

• Experience reviewing or advising on consumer-facing product terms, disclosures, policies, or workflows.

• Strong legal judgment, analytical rigor, and comfort balancing legal, regulatory, operational, and business considerations.

• Strong communication skills and the ability to work cross-functionally with legal and non-legal stakeholders.

• Practical, collaborative approach and willingness to build processes in a fast-moving environment.

• Comfort leveraging AI tools to increase productivity and accuracy

• Intellectual curiosity, ownership mentality, and comfort operating in an environment where structures continue to evolve.

• Payment systems: Familiarity with operational and disclosure mechanics around how money movement products work including ACH, wires, card rails, FedNow, RTP preferred.

• Stablecoins/Crypto: Familiarity with stablecoin- or crypto-enabled payment programs preferred.

• Prepaid products: Familiarity with prepaid account and prepaid debit-card programs, including customer agreements, disclosures, error-resolution rights, and funds access preferred.

What we offer:

• Competitive compensation based on experience, geographic location, and role

• Medical, dental, vision, life, 401k matching, and other wellness benefits

• Flexible vacation policy

• A challenging and fulfilling opportunity to join an extremely experienced team in fintech

• A fun team environment where your career will be supported
  

*Lead Bank is proud to have an inclusive culture committed to ensuring equal employment opportunity in all employment decisions regardless of race, color, gender, national origin, religion, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, military status, veteran status or any other legally protected status.

*Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

*Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

*Pursuant to the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

**Our compensation reflects the cost of labor across several US geographic markets. Pay is based on a number of factors and may vary depending on geographical market location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. These ranges may be modified in the future.

Zone 1: $176,000 - $200,000 (SF/Bay Area, NYC, Seattle)

Zone 2: $166,000 - $195,000 (Los Angeles, Chicago, Austin, Denver, Boston, Washington DC, San Diego, Philadelphia, Portland, Sacramento, Miami)

Zone 3: $150,000 - $180,000 (Other US Metros)