Head of Legal

Scribe • New York, NY

20d • $200,000 - $260,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

Scribe is looking for a Head of Legal — our first dedicated legal hire. This is a rare opportunity to build the legal function from the ground up at a fast-growing AI company, with full ownership over how it's designed, run, and scaled. Your most immediate impact will be on the commercial side — building scalable processes, and becoming the legal partner our revenue teams rely on to close deals. From there, you'll play a critical role shaping Scribe’s broader legal strategy across privacy & compliance, corporate, IP, and employment — including the data and AI frameworks that put Scribe at the forefront of how AI companies think about data usage. If you're a sharp, business-minded lawyer who's energized by building something from zero, wants real autonomy and influence, and is looking for the most interesting legal work in AI right now this job could be for you.
Scribe is where exceptional people come to do the best work of their careers. More than 94% of the Fortune 500 use Scribe to document and scale how work gets done. Our Workflow AI platform automatically captures and optimizes workflows so teams work smarter, faster, and more consistently.
We’re growing fast — since our founding in 2019, we’ve grown to over 5 million users across 600,000 businesses. Based in San Francisco, we've been named a LinkedIn Top Startup, are valued at over $1 billion, and are backed by leading investors. Join us in our mission to uplevel how people do work.

Requirements

• This role is best suited for someone who thrives in ambiguity, takes ownership seriously, and uses the law to drive real business outcomes. You don’t just think in black and white — you are opinionated and push the business toward the best commercial outcomes and what should happen next.
• You've spent 8–10+ years practicing law, including meaningful time both at a law firm and in-house at high-growth technology companies (SaaS or B2B strongly preferred).
• You've been the go-to lawyer on commercial deals and can move quickly through high volumes of B2B SaaS agreements (direct sales, channel, strategic) without sacrificing quality or judgment. You know when to push back, when to flex, and when to escalate.
• You default to a business lens. You analyze legal risk in the context of commercial impact, and your instinct is to find a path to "yes" rather than flag reasons for "no."
• You've built or meaningfully improved legal processes before — playbooks, templates, workflows, escalation paths — and you get energy from creating systems that make contracting faster and more scalable.
• You're comfortable owning a broad remit as a solo legal hire. You can context-switch between a redline negotiation, a privacy question, a corporate governance matter, and an employment issue in a single day — and you know when to bring in outside counsel versus handle it yourself.
• You thrive in ambiguity and move fast with imperfect information. You don't wait for permission to solve problems, and you prioritize ruthlessly when everything feels urgent.
• Juris Doctorate from an accredited US law school; admitted to the bar and in good standing in the jurisdiction of hire, or otherwise authorized to practice law (e.g., have registered in-house status).

Responsibilities

• Assume day-to-day management of the legal function and serving as a decision-maker and advisor on operational legal matters while representing the legal perspective in key business discussions.
• Take ownership of Scribe's commercial contracting function, transitioning the majority of deal work from outside counsel to in-house and becoming the primary legal partner to our Revenue teams — including, customer contracts, reseller agreements, strategic partnerships, NDAs, DPAs, and vendor agreements.
• Build and refine Scribe's contract playbooks, templates, and operational processes to drive efficiency and reduce time-to-close as deal volume scales.
• Provide guidance on data privacy and protection matters (GDPR, CCPA, etc.), ensuring our products and commercial practices meet regulatory requirements.
• Manage corporate legal matters including equity transactions, financings, governance, and entity management.
• Advise on employment-related matters, including HR policies, employment agreements, and compliance.
• Own and manage outside counsel relationships for specialized work (e.g., litigation, complex regulatory matters, international issues) — setting scope, managing budgets, and ensuring quality.
• Become a trusted cross-functional advisor, proactively identifying legal risks and opportunities across product development, go-to-market strategy, and company operations.

Benefits

• Incredible teammates: Work alongside some of the nicest and smartest people you’ll ever meet.
• Ownership mindset: We’re all owners here, literally. Employees receive equity in Scribe, sharing in the company’s long-term success.
• Comprehensive coverage: We offer health, dental, and vision insurance for you and your dependents.
• Time to recharge: Flexible paid time off, plus company holidays to rest and reset.
• Retirement planning: Employees can contribute to a 401(k) plan to help plan for their future.
• Support for growing families. Paid parental leave to help you care for and bond with your growing family.
• Lunch, on us: SF-based employees receive daily catered lunches at our office.
• Easy commutes: Commuter benefits for our office-based team, make getting to and from HQ simpler.
• Level up your home office: Remote? Hybrid? Wherever you work, we’ll support your setup with a home office stipend.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree