Legal Counsel @ Nevis

Counselwell Inc.; New York (NY); On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Nevis Wealth, building the AI platform for wealth management, seeks its first dedicated legal hire in New York City. Reporting to the CEO, you will own the legal function from the ground up and advise leadership across commercial, privacy, corporate, and fundraising matters.

This builder role involves creating scalable processes, negotiating enterprise contracts (MSAs/DPAs/NDAs), governing data privacy, and partnering with Product, Security, and Finance to scale responsibly.

Qualifications

• J.D. and active membership in good standing with a US state bar (New York preferred).
• Approximately 4-8 years of relevant legal experience in technology, fintech, wealth tech, or B2B SaaS.
• Strong experience negotiating SaaS and technology commercial agreements.
• Working knowledge of US privacy laws and data processing agreements.

Responsibilities

• Own the full customer contracting lifecycle, including MSAs, SaaS agreements, DPAs, NDAs, order forms, and vendor agreements.
• Lead negotiations with enterprise customers, strategic partners, and key vendors.
• Partner with Sales, Product, and Security to improve contract velocity while managing legal risk.
• Build scalable contract templates, playbooks, and approval processes.
• Manage external counsel support for specialist matters.
• Advise on privacy requirements (CCPA/CPRA, UK GDPR) and data governance.

Skills

SaaS contract negotiations

Privacy/compliance knowledge

Cross-functional collaboration

Negotiation & risk management

Education

J.D., US bar admission (New York preferred)

Tools

Legal technology tools

Job description

Nevis is building the AI platform for wealth management. We help financial advisors and their teams automate operational work end-to-end, enabling them to spend less time on administration and more time serving clients. Headquartered in New York and London, we're backed by Sequoia Capital, ICONIQ, and Ribbit, and have raised $40 million to build the next generation of technology for the wealth management industry.

Location

New York City, NY (On-Site)

The Role

Reporting to the CEO, you will be Nevis Wealth's first dedicated legal hire and a trusted advisor to leadership across the business.

This is a builder role. We are looking for someone who enjoys creating systems, improving processes, leveraging technology, and helping a company scale responsibly. You'll own the legal function from the ground up while working closely with Sales, Product, Finance, People, Security, and the executive team.

What you'll do

• Own the full customer contracting lifecycle, including MSAs, SaaS agreements, DPAs, NDAs, order forms, security addenda, and vendor agreements
• Lead negotiations with enterprise customers, strategic partners, and key vendors
• Partner closely with Sales and Customer Success to improve contract velocity while managing legal risk
• Build scalable contract templates, negotiation playbooks, fallback positions, and approval processes
• Manage external counsel support where specialist expertise is required
• Support strategic commercial partnerships and business initiatives

Data Privacy, Security & Product Counseling

• Own and evolve Nevis Wealth's privacy and data governance framework
• Advise on US privacy requirements (CCPA/CPRA and emerging state privacy regimes) as well as UK GDPR obligations
• Negotiate customer DPAs and privacy-related contractual commitments
• Partner with Product, Engineering, and Security teams on data usage, AI-related product features, customer requirements, and information security matters
• Maintain privacy documentation, notices, and compliance records
• Support customer security reviews and legal responses to security questionnaires
• Manage board resolutions, governance records, corporate filings, and signing authorities
• Partner with Finance on equity administration and cap table governance
• Support future fundraising activity, including investor diligence, financing documentation, and coordination with external counsel

Legal Operations, Automation & Process Design

• Build Nevis Wealth's legal function from the ground up
• Design scalable legal workflows, approval processes, and knowledge management systems
• Leverage AI, automation, and legal technology tools to improve efficiency and reduce external counsel spend
• Create self-service guidance, playbooks, and training materials for internal stakeholders
• Establish metrics and reporting to measure legal team effectiveness

Employment, IP & General Legal Support

• Advise on employment and contractor matters across the US and UK
• Support People Operations on policies and employment-related risk management
• Protect company intellectual property and advise on software licensing, open-source software, and AI-related legal developments
• Review marketing materials and external communications for legal risk

Who are we looking for

• J.D. and active membership in good standing with a US state bar (New York preferred)
• Approximately 4-8 years of relevant legal experience
• Strong experience negotiating SaaS and technology commercial agreements
• Working knowledge of US privacy laws and data processing agreements
• Experience supporting technology, fintech, wealth tech, or B2B SaaS businesses
• Strong commercial judgment and ability to balance legal risk with business objectives
• Comfortable operating independently with limited structure and high ownership
• Interest in legal operations, automation, AI tools, and process design

Nice to have

• Prior startup or high-growth company experience
• Experience supporting venture-backed businesses through fundraising or scaling phases
• Familiarity with Delaware corporate law and venture financing transactions
• Exposure to fintech, financial services, or regulated industries
• Experience implementing legal technology or workflow automation solutions
• Working knowledge of UK legal or privacy frameworks

What Success Looks Like

• Establish scalable legal processes that support business growth
• Improve contract turnaround times and reduce friction in the sales process
• Build practical privacy and governance frameworks appropriate for a scaling fintech
• Reduce reliance on external counsel for routine matters
• Become a trusted advisor to leadership across commercial, corporate, and operational matters

Why Join Nevis

• Build the legal function from the ground up
• Work directly with the executive team
• Influence company strategy during a critical stage of growth
• Gain broad exposure across commercial, privacy, corporate, product, and fundraising matters
• Opportunity to grow into the company's senior legal leadership role as the business scales