Legal Counsel

Lightning AI•San Francisco, NY

6d•Hybrid

About The Position

Lightning AI is seeking a Senior Counsel to join its Legal team during a period of significant growth. The company, known for PyTorch Lightning, provides an end-to-end platform for AI system development, training, and deployment. This role involves primary responsibility for corporate legal matters, including financing, M&A, and governance, and will also address emerging AI regulation and governance issues. The position reports to the VP of Legal and is a hybrid role based in New York City or San Francisco, requiring two days per week in the office.

Requirements

J.D. from a top law school and active bar membership in good standing.
6+ years of legal experience, including significant time in a corporate practice (M&A, capital markets, or banking/finance) at a top-tier law firm.
Prior startup experience is required.
Comfortable operating at a fast pace and making commercially-minded decisions.
Strong transactional fundamentals with the ability to own complex deals independently, manage outside counsel effectively, and exercise sound judgment under ambiguity.
Appetite to expand beyond your core practice into new areas of law as the business grows.
Excellent communication skills with the ability to explain complex legal issues clearly to non-lawyers and influence decisions at all levels.
Genuine curiosity about AI technology and its legal implications; you don’t need to be a technical expert, but you should be excited to develop fluency in how AI infrastructure is built and regulated.
A collaborative, low-ego working style and enthusiasm for the mission of building transformative AI infrastructure.

Responsibilities

Serve as primary legal owner for corporate matters including equity and debt financings, M&A transactions, and day-to-day corporate governance.
Lead and manage equity and debt transactions end-to-end, including venture and growth financings, venture debt, and related board and stockholder approvals.
Support M&A activity, including acquisitions, divestitures, and strategic partnerships, from letter of intent through closing and integration.
Manage corporate governance matters, including board and committee meetings, minutes, written consents, equity plan administration, and cap table maintenance.
Advise internal stakeholders across Leadership, Finance, People, and Infrastructure on a broad range of legal matters, building trusted partnerships across the organization.
Grow into regulatory, employment, and litigation oversight as you develop your in-house generalist practice.
Help build scalable legal processes, templates, and playbooks as we grow the function.