General Counsel

Gyde•Austin, TX

About The Position

Gyde is seeking a General Counsel to build and lead its in-house legal function as the company grows through acquisitions. The General Counsel will establish the legal foundation for the holding company and acquired entities, bringing core corporate, employment, benefits, and contracting work in-house while directing outside counsel on acquisitions and specialist matters. The role partners closely with the COO, CFO, CTO, Head of Strategy, HR, and M&A teams, and manages the Head of Legal & Compliance, who is responsible for brokerage and carrier compliance. The position spans corporate governance and equity administration; multistate employment advice and documentation; buy-side M&A and post-close integration; employee and benefits diligence; governance for AI voice and chat products; privacy, technology, and vendor agreements; regulatory and carrier agreement risk; company-wide contracts, insurance, litigation, and disputes; and legal team and operations development. The General Counsel will set legal standards and playbooks, manage outside counsel and legal spend, report on legal and compliance risks to leadership and the board, and build scalable legal operations and AI-assisted workflows. Travel of up to approximately 25% is expected, including time in Austin, NYC, and portfolio agencies.

Requirements

Juris Doctor (JD) and an active bar license in good standing.
8–10+ years of experience, including law-firm training in corporate/emerging companies or employment law.
At least 3 years in-house as the first or most senior lawyer at a high-growth, PE- or VC-backed company.
Demonstrated ability to bring work in-house from outside counsel and lower legal spend without slowing the business.
Hands-on fluency in multistate employment law, ERISA and controlled-group rules, FMLA, worker classification, and I-9/E-Verify.
Command of formation documents and consents, equity plans and grants, CIIAAs, OWBPA-compliant releases, employee representations and covenants in purchase agreements, and BAAs.
Buy-side M&A experience and a track record of managing outside deal counsel to scope and budget.
At least 3 years managing lawyers or compliance professionals, with executive presence to advise the CEO, board, and investors.
Comfort using AI and automation to increase legal output with a small team.
Entrepreneurial mindset, strong sense of ownership, and desire to build the legal function.

Nice To Haves

Experience in insurance distribution, healthcare, or financial services is strongly preferred.
Familiarity with CMS and state Department of Insurance regulation is a plus.
Buy-side M&A experience across serial acquisitions is ideal.

Responsibilities

Own corporate records, governance, and entity management for the holding company and acquired entities, including formation documents, board and stockholder consents, and minute books.
Bring the equity program in-house, including plan documents, grant agreements, 409A coordination, and plan administration with Finance.
Work with the CEO, CFO, and outside counsel on financings and board and investor legal matters.
Own employee agreements, including offer letters, CIIAAs, commission agreements, separation agreements, and releases, and keep them current in every state where Gyde employs people.
Advise HR and leadership on employment issues including classification, wage and hour, leave, investigations, and separations, engaging outside specialists when needed.
Serve as Gyde's internal legal lead on acquisitions through signing and close; direct outside M&A counsel on scope, staffing, budget, and turnaround.
Set standard deal positions and playbooks covering matters such as indemnities, seller liability, agency E&O tail coverage, earnouts, producer retention and restrictive covenants, and run-off commission and clawback exposure.
Own employee and benefits diligence, directly or through a trained team member, including worker classification, handbook migration, controlled-group and benefit plan review, and I-9/E-Verify compliance.
Lead post-close legal integration of acquired entities.
Own the governance framework for voice and chat agents, including TCPA consent, call recording, AI disclosures, HIPAA, and state privacy obligations; obtain specialist advice where needed and establish clear product and engineering guardrails.
Review data, lead, and technology agreements, including BAAs and vendor and SaaS contracts, and own related templates and playbooks.
Set the company's legal and compliance risk framework and report on it to leadership and the board.
Review carrier, FMO, and override agreements for legal risk, including commission, clawback, and termination terms; maintain review checklists and escalation paths.
Direct outside regulatory counsel on CMS marketing rules, state Department of Insurance matters, and licensing, in coordination with the Head of Legal & Compliance.
Own company-wide contract review and NDA, vendor, and partner templates.
Manage the company's D&O, E&O, cyber, and EPLI insurance program with Finance and brokers, including coverage for newly acquired entities.
Manage litigation and disputes through outside counsel.
Lead and develop the Head of Legal & Compliance and build the legal team as Gyde scales, including hiring, intake, matter tracking, and AI-assisted contract and diligence workflows.
Own the outside counsel budget and bring work in-house where doing so lowers cost without slowing the business.
Build legal operations support for high-volume work such as diligence checklists and records maintenance.