Commercial Counsel

Plaid Inc; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 143,000 - 261,000; Full time

Job summary

Plaid Inc is seeking a Legal Professional to negotiate agreements and advise business partners on commercial strategies. This role is crucial for enabling Plaid's innovative goals and requires a JD with legal experience in technology-focused services. Ideal candidates will have strong communication skills, a growth mindset, and experience with complex agreements.

Benefits

Comprehensive benefit plan

401(k)

Equity and commission opportunities

Qualifications

• Law firm and/or in-house legal experience drafting and negotiating technology-focused services agreements.
• Fluency in negotiating with sophisticated enterprise and regulated financial institution customers.

Responsibilities

• Review and negotiate revenue-generating agreements.
• Be a principal Legal partner to business stakeholders.
• Help evolve processes and strategies relative to changing standards.

Skills

Excellent communication

Relationship-building skills

Strong organization

Task management

Process-focused approach

Education

JD

Job description

We analyze complex and novel legal issues for Plaid to enable innovation.

We believe that the way people interact with their finances will drastically improve in the next few years. We’re dedicated to empowering this transformation by building the tools and experiences that thousands of developers use to create their own products. Plaid powers the tools millions of people rely on to live a healthier financial life. We work with thousands of companies like Venmo, SoFi, several of the Fortune 500, and many of the largest banks to make it easy for people to connect their financial accounts to the apps and services they want to use. Plaid’s network covers 12,000 financial institutions across the US, Canada, UK and Europe. Founded in 2013, the company is headquartered in San Francisco with offices in New York, Washington D.C., London and Amsterdam.

We help enable Plaid’s goals by drafting and negotiating all varieties of Plaid commercial agreements, including sell-side/go-to-market (GTM), buy-side (procurement), product partnerships, and consumer data access. We advise our business partners on commercial strategies and narratives regarding core and insight products, with a goal of accelerating revenue creation while appropriately addressing and mitigating legal and business risks.

You will:

Review and negotiate revenue-generating agreements, including our Master Services Agreement (MSA) and its associated product-specific terms and commercial-focused order forms.

Be a principal Legal partner to business stakeholders of all levels regarding the practical contours of their commercial transactions.

Help our team continue to evolve our processes, templates, and strategies relative to changing industry and regulatory standards and expectations.

Responsibilities

• Independently negotiate and close significant GTM deals with sophisticated Enterprise and large Fintech clients, including on counterparty paper.
• Develop and maintain a strong understanding of Plaid’s products and privacy positions, particularly in relation to evolving industry and regulatory expectations.
• Build deep relationships with key business and legal stakeholders, fostering open lines of feedback.

Requirements

• JD
• Law firm and/or in-house legal experience drafting and negotiating technology-focused services agreements involving sensitive data and fast-paced stakeholders.
• “Plaid mentality,” particularly: growth/impact mindset, positive attitude, low ego, collaborative, and desire to build.
• Excellent communication and relationship-building skills.
• Strong organization, task management, and process-focused approach.

Nice to Haves

• Experience supporting a large sales organization on revenue-generating agreements.
• Fluency in negotiating with sophisticated enterprise and regulated financial institution customers.
• Both in-house and law firm experience.
• Experience with complex (e.g., high value, sophisticated parties, emerging technologies, sensitive data) technology transactions on counterparty paper.
• Strong understanding of state and federal data privacy laws and industry standards.

$143,184.00 - $260,400.00 per year

The target base salary for this position ranges from $143,184/year to $260,400/year encompassing all zones. The target base salary will vary based on the job's location.

Our geographic zones are as follows:

Zone 1 - New York City and San Francisco Bay Area

Zone 3 - Austin, Boston, Denver, Houston, Portland, Sacramento, San Diego

Zone 4 - Raleigh-Durham and all other US cities

Additional compensation in the form(s) of equity and/or commission are dependent on the position offered. Plaid provides a comprehensive benefit plan, including medical, dental, vision, and 401(k). Pay is based on factors such as (but not limited to) scope and responsibilities of the position, candidate's work experience and skillset, and location. Pay and benefits are subject to change at any time, consistent with the terms of any applicable compensation or benefit plans.

Our mission at Plaid is to unlock financial freedom for everyone. To support that mission, we seek to build a diverse team of driven individuals who care deeply about making the financial ecosystem more equitable. We recognize that strong qualifications can come from both prior work experiences and lived experiences. We encourage you to apply to a role even if your experience doesn't fully match the job description. We are always looking for team members that will bring something unique to Plaid!

Plaid is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and values diversity at our company. We do not discriminate based on race, color, national origin, ethnicity, religion or religious belief, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, sexual stereotypes, age, military or veteran status, disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. We also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state, and local laws. Plaid is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities in our recruiting process. If you need any assistance with your application or interviews due to a disability, please let us know at [e-mail].

Please review our Candidate Privacy Notice here .

Our headquarters is in sunny SOMA and includes a beautiful sun-filled atrium, a private outdoor deck and even a (semi-hidden) climbing wall.

With a degree in economics and a stint on the 2016 presidential campaign under his belt, Jake Stern joined the Plaid sales team in 2017.