In-House Counsel

Patmos; United States; On-site; USD 150,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k) match

Short and long term disability

Life insurance

Parental leave and family perks

Paid holidays

Job summary

Patmos Hosting, Inc. seeks an experienced In-House Counsel to be the primary internal advisor to executive leadership and the Board of Directors. You will handle all corporate legal operations, from contracts and governance to HR compliance, while coordinating with external counsel as the single point of contact.

As a true generalist, you will oversee disputes, regulatory compliance, permitting, and operational risk, advising on corporate strategy and leadership decisions.

Qualifications

• J.D. from an accredited law school and active bar in good standing (Missouri).
• 10+ years of legal experience, with strong blend of law firm and corporate in-house background.
• Experience in commercial contracts, corporate governance, and employment law.

Responsibilities

• Provide real-time legal counsel to leadership and board on risk and deals.
• Structure internal communications to protect privilege and maintain logs.
• Oversee equity governance, cap table and stock transfers with the BOD.

Skills

Strategic thinking

Communication skills

Risk management

In-house experience

Leadership collaboration

Education

Juris Doctor (J.D.)

Bar license (Missouri)

Tools

Cap table management

Contract lifecycle management (CLM)

Regulatory tracking

Job description

We are seeking a sharp, strategic, and highly organized In-House Counsel to serve as our primary internal legal advisor and strategic partner. In this role, you will work closely with our executive leadership team and Board of Directors (BOD) to protect the company's interests, manage legal risks, and oversee all corporate legal operations.

As a true generalist, you will be responsible for all legal matters, including commercial contracts, corporate governance, strategic and financial transactions, permitting and regulatory compliance, disputes and litigation, and HR compliance while acting as the single point of contact for external counsel. A critical component of this role involves participating in leadership meetings as business and legal advisor.

Responsibilities

• Real-Time Counsel: Advise leadership in real time on legal risk during deal negotiations, personnel decisions, and business deliberations.
• Communications Infrastructure: Structure internal communications and document practices to protect privilege (including marking conventions, distribution discipline, and maintaining privilege logs when needed).
• Equity & Governance: Manage the corporate cap table and oversee stock transfers in coordination with the BOD.

External Counsel Management

• Single Point of Contact: Manage outside firms to budget, including those supporting project finance, real estate, and other expert counsel.
• Triage & Allocation: Evaluate incoming legal matters to decide what will be handled efficiently in-house versus what should be referred to external specialists.
• Executive Translation: Consolidate and translate complex external counsel work product into plain-English, actionable recommendations for the executive team.
• Operations Tracking: Maintain a centralized matter tracker across all active legal matters to monitor status, spend, and key deadlines.

Contracts & Redlines

• Commercial Review: Conduct first-pass review and redlining of commercial agreements, including colocation/hosting agreements, MSAs, SOWs, NDAs, and vendor/supplier contracts.
• Deal Optimization: Maintain and update standard templates and a negotiation playbook (fallback positions, non-negotiables) to speed up deal velocity.
• Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM): Manage the entire contract lifecycle, including execution, renewals, amendments, and archiving in an organized contract repository.

Employment & HR Support

• HR Advisory: Act as the primary legal advisor to the Director of People and Purpose (Soft HR).
• Employment Documentation: Draft and maintain employment agreements, offer letters, non-compete/non-solicit agreements, and severance packages.
• Policy Ownership: Own the employee handbook and workplace policies, ensuring strict compliance with applicable laws.
• Oversight & Compliance: Provide legal oversight on HR issues, including terminations, disciplinary actions, leave/accommodation requests, and wage-and-hour compliance.
• Workforce Architecture: Advise on contractor vs. employee classification and draft related equity/incentive documentation.

General Corporate Operations

• Dispute & Litigation Management: Vet and oversee specific project-based counsel or litigators and resolve pre-litigation disputes.
• Regulatory Tracking: Monitor ongoing regulatory and compliance obligations touching the business (e.g., tracking data center permitting, which is executed externally).
• Fiscal Responsibility: Own the legal department budget and deliver quarterly financial and operational reports to the CEO.
• Governance: Provide ongoing corporate governance consultation to the BOD.

Qualifications & Skills

• Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from an accredited law school.
• Active bar license in good standing (eligible to practice as In-House Counsel in Missouri).
• 10+ years of legal experience, preferably blending top-tier law firm training with corporate in-house experience.
• Strong background in one or more of commercial contracts, corporate governance, and employment law.
• Experience with cap table management and corporate secretarial duties.
• Exceptional communication skills, with a proven ability to translate dense legal jargon into clear, business-minded recommendations.
• High emotional intelligence and the absolute discretion necessary to handle highly confidential, executive-level data.

About Us

Patmos Hosting, Inc. delivers Freedom as a ServiceTM, providing organizations with an independent alternative to Big Tech's commercial constraints, censorship, cancellation and deplatforming. Patmos owns and operates datacenter infrastructure with decentralized connectivity, open peering, and free Internet Exchange hosting, ensuring resilience and true independence. Its services span multi-megawatt colocation for AI and hyperscale workloads, GPU/high-performance compute, custom data centers, domains, web and cloud hosting, colocation and tailored website and application development.

Founded in 2022, Patmos is headquartered in Kansas City, MO, with teams and datacenters/locations in Kansas City, Dallas, Phoenix, Denver.

Why Join Us

Be part of a mission-driven company defending free speech and internet freedom.

At Patmos, you'll help protect online expression while ensuring legal compliance. Our team is shaping the future of digital freedom by building secure, high-performance internet infrastructure. We value privacy, innovation, and individual liberty creating a purpose-driven, collaborative environment where your work matters.

Benefits include:

• 401(k) match (4%)
• Short and long term disability
• Life insurance (company paid and supplemental available)
• Generous parental leave, baby bonuses, marital bonuses, and other family-friendly perks
• 14 observed paid holidays that include solemnities

Patmos is an equal opportunity employer and proud member of the Catholic Benefits Association offering employee benefits that promote the dignity of the human person, the dignity of work, and the common good.