Head of Legal

Shield • New York, NY

6d • $275,000 - $375,000

About The Position

Shield is a national IT services platform founded in 2024 that partners with established providers to help them grow. Its 20 partner companies serve more than 3,750 businesses nationwide. Shield combines engineering talent, operating support, and long-term capital while preserving each provider’s local leadership, culture, and customer relationships.

Shield is seeking a practical, commercially minded Head of Legal to serve as its senior legal leader and build the legal function as the business grows. Reporting to CEO Jim Siders, this role advises leadership as Shield acquires businesses, develops AI products, and serves customers across a growing national network. The Head of Legal balances hands-on execution with sound risk prioritization and engages specialist counsel when needed.

The position is suited to an Associate General Counsel, Deputy General Counsel, or similarly experienced lawyer ready to take on the full breadth of a legal leadership role. The role offers the opportunity to build a broader legal team over time and help shape how AI is applied in the real economy.

Requirements

• 10 or more years of relevant legal experience.
• Juris Doctor from an accredited law school.
• Active membership in good standing with at least one US state bar.
• Judgment and readiness to serve as the senior legal leader of a growing business, take ownership across a broad remit, and recognize when specialist advice is needed.
• Strong drafting and communication skills, including the ability to explain legal issues clearly to non-lawyers and build trusted relationships across the business.
• Collaborative, low-ego approach and willingness to remain hands-on while establishing processes and capabilities for the business to scale.
• Extensive experience with complex enterprise commercial contracting.
• Three or more years of in-house experience.
• Familiarity with core functions of a midsized legal department, including intellectual property, privacy, M&A, corporate matters, and litigation.
• Experience advising on employment matters for a large workforce operating across multiple states.
• Experience providing regulatory and compliance counsel to a technology business, particularly on privacy, data security, and services for regulated customers.

Nice To Haves

• A mix of law firm and in-house experience.
• In-house experience at a technology company or in a fast-paced, high-growth environment.
• Experience leading product counseling.
• Exposure to emerging legal issues around AI.
• Experience supporting a business that has grown through acquisitions and integrated multiple companies.

Responsibilities

• Advise the CEO and business leaders on legal and business risk, translating complex issues into clear recommendations that support sound decisions and timely execution.
• Lead the negotiation and management of complex enterprise commercial agreements, including master services agreements, SaaS agreements, statements of work, data processing agreements, and vendor and partnership contracts.
• Partner with Security, Technology, and operating teams on privacy, data protection, and cybersecurity obligations, including those arising from services delivered to healthcare companies, financial institutions, and other regulated clients.
• Counsel product and technology teams on intellectual property, data use, and emerging legal issues associated with developing and deploying AI capabilities.
• Support employment matters for a large, geographically distributed workforce across multiple states, working with people leaders and specialist counsel as appropriate.
• Oversee legal support for acquisitions and integration, coordinating diligence, transaction execution, and the legal needs of acquired businesses with internal partners and outside counsel.
• Manage corporate governance, regulatory and compliance matters, disputes, and litigation, drawing on specialist expertise when needed.
• Establish the legal function’s priorities, processes, and resourcing; develop contract templates and playbooks; improve legal workflows; manage outside counsel; and build the team as business needs evolve.

What This Job Offers

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