In-House Counsel

Baselayer•New York, NY

18h•$160,000 - $225,000•Hybrid

About The Position

As Baselayer's first In-House Counsel, you'll be a strategic partner to the business — owning our legal function from the ground up. You'll work directly with the founders and leadership team on everything from commercial contracts and regulatory compliance to data privacy and corporate governance. This is a high-ownership, high-impact role at a company operating at the intersection of AI and financial services — an area where the legal and regulatory landscape is evolving fast and getting it right matters enormously.

Requirements

JD from an accredited law school and active bar membership in good standing
5+ years of legal experience, with meaningful exposure to financial services, fintech, or SaaS — either in-house or at a law firm
Deep familiarity with commercial contracts and the ability to negotiate and close deals independently
Working knowledge of financial services regulations (BSA/AML, KYB/KYC, payment regulations) and data privacy laws (CCPA, GDPR)
Strong judgment, clear communication, and the ability to give practical, business-oriented legal advice
Comfort working in ambiguity and building processes from scratch in a fast-moving startup environment

Nice To Haves

Prior in-house experience at a fintech, payments company, or financial institution
Experience with AI governance, responsible AI frameworks, or emerging AI regulation
Familiarity with enterprise SaaS sales cycles and the nuances of selling into highly regulated industries
Experience supporting equity financings, board governance, or M&A transactions
You've been the first or only lawyer at a company before — and you know what it takes to build a legal function from the ground up

Responsibilities

Own and manage all commercial contracting, including customer agreements, vendor contracts, NDAs, and partnership arrangements with financial institutions
Manage and administer Juro (CLM), including building and maintaining contract templates, automating CLM workflows, and ensuring the contracting process runs efficiently across the business
Support enterprise sales cycles by reviewing, negotiating, and closing complex agreements with banks, credit unions, and payment processors
Manage outside counsel on non-standard legal matters and complex issues, ensuring quality work product and cost-effective use of external resources
Draft and manage employee offer letters, employment agreements, advisor agreements, and consulting arrangements
Develop, maintain, and update internal legal policies, including acceptable use, data handling, information security, employee-facing policies, privacy policies, and terms & conditions
Advise on regulatory and compliance matters relevant to fintech, financial services, and AI — including BSA/AML, KYB, data privacy (CCPA, GDPR), and emerging AI regulations
Advise on corporate governance, equity matters, and board-related legal needs
Partner with the product and engineering teams to ensure privacy-by-design principles and responsible AI practices are embedded in our platform
Support fundraising, due diligence, and other corporate transactions as needed
Monitor the regulatory landscape for developments affecting our business and proactively surface risks and opportunities to leadership