Senior Counsel, Commercial/Partnerships

Column•San Francisco, CA

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

Column is growing its in-house commercial legal team to own the legal infrastructure behind our most important commercial and strategic relationships. This isn't your typical in-house commercial counsel role reviewing SaaS contracts - you'll architect novel partnership structures that enable modern banking experiences, navigating complex regulatory requirements along the way. You'll work closely with Column's Sales & Partnerships, Risk, and Compliance teams to define how we structure our deals, serve our customers, and scale our platform safely. If you're excited about combining legal acumen with a builder's mindset - and want you work to have a direct impact on how financial services are delivered at scale - we think you'll be excited about this role! This role is based in our Presidio office — one of the most beautiful locations in SF — 3–4 days per week. We offer up to $2,000/month in post-tax rent subsidy for employees who live within 2 miles, and welcome candidates who would relocate.

Requirements

7+ years as a practicing lawyer; priority given to candidates with law firm experience in a technology transactions or fintech practice and/or in-house experience at a fintech or financial institution; we will also consider exceptional candidates with 3+ years of BigLaw transactional experience in fintech, banking, or structured finance.
Ability to independently draft and negotiate commercial agreements, with a strong understanding of both contract law and commercial transactions
Experience with complex commercial negotiations
Comfort with project management, deadlines, and juggling execution across multiple initiatives for multiple stakeholders
Understanding of traditional commercial banking products and services including ACH and wire transactions, accounts, lending, cards, cash management, sweeps, and check issuance/deposit, among others, AND/OR experience in structured finance or with lending products
Understanding of money transmission

Responsibilities

Own complex agreements end-to-end: Structure, draft, and negotiate complex customer, and vendor, and third-party agreements covering a broad range of banking products and services, including agreements related to payments and money movement service and banking partnerships inclusive of deposit account, card, and lending programs.
Build and manage legal playbooks and templates that scale: Develop and maintain templates and inventories of contracts, terms of services, notices, and disclosures for the Bank’s products, services, and distribution channels that enable speed without sacrificing quality.
Negotiate: Lead negotiations with high-growth fintechs and enterprise customers, balancing commercial priorities with regulatory requirements.
Develop strong cross-functional partnerships: Work closely with the Sales and Business teams to understand the Bank’s goals, strategy, and risk tolerance for each deal in order to develop an efficient and risk-based contracting strategy.
Expand into additional areas of law: As the fourth member of our growing Legal team, you'll support each other with novel research, product and regulatory advice, exam management, subpoena responses, litigation deliverables, and corporate governance materials.
Help us level up how Legal operates: Serve as a thought partner to the business and legal to support Column's ongoing growth through improvements to bank agreements, policies, and legal processes.

Benefits

Comprehensive health, dental, and vision plans, including options that are 100% covered by Column for you and 100% covered for your dependents!
Comprehensive family planning and fertility benefits via partnership with Carrot, including reimbursement of up to $20,000 in qualified expenses
Up to $2,000 (post-tax) monthly rent subsidy for employees living within 2 miles of Column’s office
FSA and HSA account options to enable use of pre-tax money for medical and dependent care expenses
401k plan, including self-directed brokerage options
Flexible time-off policy - take the time off that you want and need to relax and recharge
100% paid parental leave, including 16 weeks for birth mothers, 12 weeks for primary caregivers, and 8 weeks for secondary caregivers
Up to $4,500 in annual reimbursements for backup childcare
Catered lunches and dinners for SF employees
Commuter benefits, including paid transportation to-and-from the office
Regular team building events, including annual offsite