RiseMe
Solutus Legal Search logo
Solutus Legal Search Verified
Staffing and Recruiting

Lead Commercial Counsel or Senior Commercial Counsel – New York City, NY (984-SLS)

New York, NYOnsiteFull TimeLead$230,000–$270,000 /yrPosted 2 months ago

Is this role right for you?

Upload your resume and get a skill-by-skill breakdown — see exactly where you match, where you're close, and what to highlight. Not a mystery percentage.

Get a tailored resume highlighting what this role needs.

Required skills

  • top-tier law firm training
  • in-house experience
  • high-growth SaaS
  • data or AI company
  • IP licensing
  • privacy
  • data-use rights
  • AI
  • new technologies
  • finance

Nice to have

  • technology transactions
  • emerging companies practice group
  • sound commercial judgment
  • high-intensity
  • ambitious
  • curious

Role summary

A trusted AI platform for the finance industry seeks a Lead or Senior Commercial Counsel to scale its contracting function. This high-impact role requires a business-minded attorney to build legal infrastructure, lead negotiations for high-value commercial and data-licensing agreements, and implement legal tech tools. The position demands 5-9+ years of experience, preferably with top-tier law firm training or in-house experience at a high-growth SaaS, data, or AI company, with strong knowledge of IP licensing, privacy, data-use rights, and AI. The ideal candidate is ambitious, curious, autonomous, and thrives in a fast-paced startup environment.

Our client, a trusted AI platform built specifically for the finance industry, has exclusively retained Solutus Legal Search to assist the Company in its search for a Lead Commercial Counsel or Senior Commercial Counsel to join its growing legal team. This attorney will partner with the Company’s Head of Legal and scale the company’s contracting function. Strong leadership opportunity. This is a high‑impact role for a business-minded attorney who can work independently and build the legal infrastructure that enables the Company to scale with speed and consistency.

Responsibilities include:

  • Advising stakeholders on legal issues and concepts.
  • Leading end-to-end negotiations of high-value MSAs and other commercial agreements with major banks and financial institutions.
  • Owning negotiations with data and content providers, including data‑licensing and partnership agreements.
  • Partnering closely with the Sales, Product, Security and Operations teams to structure business-aligned agreements and translate complex legal concepts into clear, actionable guidance.
  • Implementing and managing the Company’s commercial contracting infrastructure: operationalizing legal tech tools to increase efficiency and design negotiation templates, playbooks and approval workflows.
  • Partnering with the Head of Legal on high-impact strategic initiatives.

    • Requirements:

  • Must be licensed to practice law in at least one jurisdiction.
  • A JD from a top law school and 5–9+ years of legal experience, with a strong preference for top-tier law firm training in a technology transactions, IP or emerging companies practice group and/or in-house experience at a high-growth SaaS, data or AI company.
  • Demonstrated experience owning and closing commercial agreements independently and strong working knowledge of IP licensing, privacy, data-use rights and AI.
  • Prior experience implementing and managing legal tech tools and enthusiasm about building scalable systems and processes from scratch.
  • Genuine interest in new technologies, software and finance.
  • Sound commercial judgment and comfort making decisions in a fast‑moving start-up environment.

    • The ideal candidate:

  • You thrive in fast-paced environments. You are high-intensity and care a lot about what you do, and you're ecstatic to work at a startup. 
  • You are ambitious. You have fun solving problems that others think are impossible. 
  • You are curious. You find joy in learning about AI, technology, and finance.
  • You are an owner. You are autonomous, self-directed, and comfortable working with ambiguity.
  • You are collaborative, organized, thoughtful, and kind.

    • This is a unique opportunity to join a generational company driving transformation in one of the most important industries in the world. With a rapidly growing, global client base, proven product-market fit, and backing from world-class investors, the Company is scaling quickly and defining a new category of enterprise AI.

    The team is sharp, motivated, and deeply committed to the Company’s mission. They take ownership of complex problems and stay relentlessly focused on users. If you thrive in a fast-paced environment, demand excellence, and want to help build the future of finance, this is the place for you.

    The current targeted base salary for this position ranges from $230K - $270K, plus equity. Our client is considering attorneys at a few levels, so compensation is determined based on several factors, including a candidate’s experience, skills, location, and internal equity. All full-time employees are also eligible for equity, comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage, and paid time off.

    Solutus has been selected as the exclusive representative for this incredible search. Candidates applying directly to our client will be redirected to Solutus for consideration.

    Ref. #984-SLS

    Ready to apply?
    You'll be redirected to Solutus Legal Search's application page.

    Similar roles

    See how RiseMe works

    Match, tailor, and prep so you send fewer applications and land more interviews.