Commercial & Product Counsel

Justia, Inc.; New York (NY); On-site; USD 180,000 - 250,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Relocation support

Visa support

Apple gear (MacBook + AirPods)

Lunch benefit

Gym benefit

Beautiful office in the heart of the?

Job summary

Augustus seeks a Commercial & Product Counsel to own the US legal work behind everything we build, sell and market. You are the first call for the business and will join new products from day one to structure, assess risk, and push them to market with legal support.

You will lead enterprise negotiations, own contracting end to end, review marketing for speed and compliance, and work with Compliance to translate regulations into terms. You’ll have full ownership of decisions.

Qualifications

• J.D. and admission to a US state bar (New York preferred).
• 5+ years of legal experience, split between a leading law firm and startup in-house.
• Track record of negotiating complex commercial agreements and advising product teams directly.
• Based in New York or willing to relocate.

Responsibilities

• Advise on new products from scoping to launch: structure, terms, disclosures and risk.
• Lead negotiations with enterprise clients, partners and vendors.
• Own contracting end to end: templates, playbooks, fallback positions and approval rules.
• Review marketing, website and sales materials so they ship fast and stay compliant.
• Work with Compliance on how regulatory requirements translate into product and contract terms.
• Build the systems once, so Sales can close standard deals without waiting on legal.

Skills

Negotiation experience

Commercial agreements

Product teams guidance

Regulatory knowledge

Education

J.D. and admission to a US state bar (New York preferred)

Job description

Few people get to build a bank from scratch. Even fewer get to build one at a moment when banking itself is being reinvented.

The Dollar is the best product in the history of the world - there is infinite global demand. But international fintechs and banks are left with two unsatisfying options to choose from: Either build on legacy correspondent banks that are slow and unreliable, or interface with middleware providers that neither move nor hold the dollars directly, but instead rely on underlying legacy banks themselves. At Augustus, we collapse the stack by combining two things: A real, national bank charter (in organization), and Marble, our proprietary core banking system, built around intelligence, made of code.

We are a group of ex-founders, founding employees of unicorns, and people who dropped out of university because they believe this is an industry and career defining opportunity. We are backed with more than $200M from Peter Thiel's Valar Ventures, Tiger Global, Hummingbird, QED, Creandum, and the founders of Nubank, Ramp, Deel, Circle, Fluidstack, Fuse, and Etched.

We are regulated in Europe and live with Euro and Stablecoin clearing today. Now, we are building the US team from the ground up, while continuing to grow rapidly in Europe.

The Role

As Commercial & Product Counsel at Augustus, you own the legal work behind everything we build, sell and market in the US. You’re the lawyer the business calls first.

You join new products from day one: you structure them, spot risk early and get them to market without legal becoming the bottleneck. You lead commercial negotiations with our enterprise clients and own contracting end to end, from templates and playbooks to signature. You review and shape our marketing so they ship fast and stay compliant.

You report to Ro, our Global Chief Legal and Risk Officer, and work closely with Product, Sales, Marketing and Compliance. The team is small, so you have full ownership and make the calls yourself.

What you'll do

• Advise on new products from scoping to launch: structure, terms, disclosures and risk.

• Lead negotiations with enterprise clients, partners and vendors.

• Own contracting end to end: templates, playbooks, fallback positions and approval rules.

• Review marketing, website and sales materials so they ship fast and stay compliant.

• Work with Compliance on how regulatory requirements translate into product and contract terms.

• Build the systems once, so Sales can close standard deals without waiting on legal.

Who Will Thrive At Augustus

We believe that throwing smart people with high agency at big problems produces the best outcomes. We’re building a modern correspondent bank, and we win by having a better team. The people who succeed here share the following traits:

• American Dream: You’d rather shoot for gold than settle for mediocrity. You pick the harder goal and stay optimistic when the odds are against you. If it feels easy, we aimed too low.

• Live Player: You don’t need permission. You rebuild what’s broken without being asked, challenge how things are done, and move before the perfect moment.

• Ever to Excel: You can’t accept good enough and you take your work personally. When it matters, you do what it takes and keep raising the bar for yourself and your team.

• Genuine: You play for the company, not your title or turf. Low ego, low drama, no politics. You say it straight, also upwards and always assume good intent.

This Role Is For You If:

• When a deal is stuck on legal, you find the structure that gets it done.

• You’d rather build the system once than review every contract.

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• You make the call yourself, with no partner to check with.

• You use AI to do work that used to take a team of associates.

• You want to see how a bank is built from the inside.

This Is Not For You If:

• You measure your value by risks flagged, not deals closed.

• You need associates or a precedent bank before you can start.

• You want a narrow practice area. This role covers whatever the business needs next.

• You hand disputes to outside counsel and stop thinking about them.

Hard Requirements

Must haves:

• J.D. and admission to a US state bar (New York preferred).

• 5+ years of legal experience, split between a leading law firm (technology transactions, commercial or financial services) and at least 2 years in-house at a startup.

• Track record of negotiating complex commercial agreements and advising product teams directly.

• Based in New York or willing to relocate.

Strong preference:

• In-house experience at a fintech or financial institution.

• Exposure to payments, banking or financial services regulation.

Pay transparency

Compensation packages at Augustus include base salary, equity and benefits. New hire offers are based on a candidate’s experience, expertise and geographic location. The annual US base salary range for this role is 180,000-250,000.

What We Offer

• Career Growth: You will be given more responsibility and pushed to grow faster than ever before.

• Network: Your peers are brilliant, highly motivated people. These people will be foundational in your future opportunities.

• Real Participation: Employees are shareholders. You will think and act like an owner.

• Perks & Benefits: Relocation support, visa support, the latest Apple gear (MacBook + AirPods), lunch benefit, gym benefit, a beautiful office in the heart of the city, 4x on-/offsites per year, and an annual development budget.

Additional to the global benefits above, we offer localized benefits such as comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance and a 401(k) retirement plan for our US team.

Augustus is committed to creating an inclusive environment where people from all backgrounds can thrive and where different viewpoints and experiences are valued and respected. Augustus will consider all applications for employment without regard to race, ethnicity, national origin, religious beliefs, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, neurodiversity, disability, age, parental or veteran status.