AI Associate

Whistler Partners; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Whistler Partners, a boutique firm in New York, Los Angeles, and the Bay Area, is recruiting corporate associates to support venture-backed tech companies and AI-focused start-ups on financings, governance, and complex transactions.

Mid-level and senior lawyers who can own deals and build direct founder relationships will have strong paths toward partnership or a future in-house role with high-growth clients.

Qualifications

• Corporate associate with venture financings, emerging companies, startups, or related transactional work.
• Experience advising founders, venture-backed companies, or investors is valuable.
• Mid-level and senior associates who can take ownership of deals are attractive.

Responsibilities

• Advise founders, venture-backed companies, or investors on transactions and governance.
• Take ownership of deals and develop direct relationships with founders and management teams.
• Collaborate with partners to structure and execute complex corporate transactions.

Skills

Venture financings

Emerging companies

Startups

Transactional work

Job description

Whistler Partners is working with a leading national law firm hiring associates across its corporate practice in New York, Los Angeles, and the Bay Area.

The team represents some of the most sophisticated venture-backed technology companies in the market, including major AI unicorns, and advises them from early financings through later-stage growth. The underlying practice is Emerging Companies & Venture Capital, with associates working directly with founders, executives, and investors on the corporate issues that come with building and scaling high-growth companies.

Job Overview

The firm is hiring across levels, with particularly strong demand for mid-level and senior associates. Lawyers on the team advise AI and other technology companies on venture financings, governance, general corporate matters, and strategic transactions. Associates can build meaningful Series A, B, and C experience while continuing to work with clients as those companies mature. A major selling point is the level of ownership. Associates are expected to become increasingly client-facing, take responsibility for transactions, and develop direct relationships with founders and management teams rather than remain one layer removed from the client. For senior associates, there is a real opportunity to build toward partnership on a platform where emerging companies are a core part of the practice. For lawyers who ultimately want to go in-house, the client base also creates exposure to exactly the kinds of AI and high-growth technology companies that hire sophisticated corporate lawyers as they scale. The firm has also shown a willingness to be aggressive for the right lateral candidate, including around signing and year-end economics.

About You

• Corporate associate with meaningful experience in venture financings, emerging companies, startups, or related transactional work.
• Experience advising founders, venture-backed companies, or investors is particularly valuable.
• Candidates from both major law firms and smaller startup-focused practices will be considered.
• Mid-level and senior associates who can take real ownership of deals are especially attractive.
• Select corporate or M&A lawyers may be considered for a retool where there is a credible technology, startup, or growth-company connection.
• Lawyers currently in-house with strong prior corporate experience may also be considered for a return to private practice.

This is an opportunity to build a corporate practice around major AI companies, develop direct founder relationships, and position yourself for two compelling long-term paths: partnership or an eventual move in-house with a high-growth client.

Interested?

This search is being led by Allison Hill at Whistler Partners.

About Whistler Partners

Matchmakers, Not Headhunters

Whistler Partners is a boutique matchmaking firm focused on counseling the best and the brightest attorneys over the course of their careers. We believe that the right move comes from working closely with talent to curate their long-term career paths. When it comes to career advice, what matters is not the size of the agency but the strength of your individual recruiter. We readily admit that we are elite and only work with the best – after all, a little elitism is okay when it comes to your career.

Employers love us because we are picky about whom we represent, and attorneys love us because we get them their dream jobs.