Head of Legal

• Build on the existing foundation of legal templates, the in-progress Ironclad rollout, and the structure established by the US and EU fractional GCs
• Set the roadmap for the legal function, including what evolves, gets automated, or remains with outside counsel
• Build and lead the legal team, deciding when and who to hire and designing the team structure
• Draft, review, and negotiate customer agreements, vendor contracts, partnership agreements, and NDAs
• Refine templates and playbooks so the business can self-serve on lower-risk contracts
• Work with compliance and outside regulatory counsel on banking, lending, AI, and model-risk regulations
• Partner with HR on offer letters, policies, and employment questions across US, German, UK, Romanian, and LATAM operations
• Advise the CEO and leadership team on legal risk, deal structure, products, partnerships, and new markets
• Own the baseline data privacy program, including GDPR, and coordinate with specialized privacy counsel
• Answer legal questions from sales, HR, and product
• Establish clearer contracting processes, refined guardrails, and a plan for future legal hiring

Requirements

• 8+ years of relevant legal experience, including meaningful time in-house, ideally with some exposure to AI, fintech, financial services, SaaS, or another regulated/high-growth environment
• Direct experience building or significantly scaling a legal function and team
• Strong commercial contract drafting and negotiation skills; comfortable being the primary negotiator on customer and vendor paper
• Working knowledge of, or genuine excitement to quickly build, expertise in financial services regulatory considerations relevant to AI-driven decisioning, including credit, lending, model risk, and fair lending concepts
• Experience supporting employment matters across multiple jurisdictions or entities, or a track record of picking up new jurisdictions quickly and knowing when to bring in local counsel
• JD and active bar membership in at least one US state
• Entrepreneurial, high-ownership mindset
• Sound judgment about when to solve something yourself versus route it to outside counsel, and confidence managing outside counsel relationships

Core Competencies

Demonstrates extensive legal expertise with a focus on commercial contract drafting, negotiation, and compliance within regulated environments. Proven ability to build and lead legal teams while advising on legal risks and regulatory considerations across multiple jurisdictions.

Highest-signal resume keywords

• 8+ Years Legal Experience
• Commercial Contract Drafting
• Team Building and Leadership
• GDPR Compliance
• Financial Services Regulatory Knowledge

Hard Skills

• Contract Negotiation
• Legal Template Development
• Data Privacy Program Management
• Regulatory Compliance
• Employment Law Expertise

Soft Skills

• Entrepreneurial Mindset
• Sound Judgment
• High-Ownership Attitude

Certifications & Qualifications

• JD
• Active Bar Membership

Industry Keywords

• Fintech
• AI
• Banking Regulations
• Lending Regulations
• Model Risk

Tools & Technologies

• Ironclad