Legal Counsel

Your Role

As Legal Counsel, you’ll help Alpaca navigate complex regulatory frameworks as we design and launch innovative financial products and services. You’ll provide practical, business-oriented legal guidance across U.S. broker-dealer regulation, digital assets, payments, and other evolving areas of financial services. You’ll partner closely with teams across Product, Brokerage, Crypto, Compliance, AML, Sales, and Success, supporting everything from product and regulatory reviews to agreements, policies, regulatory engagement, and disputes. This is a highly cross-functional role with the opportunity to help shape how Alpaca scales in a fast-moving regulatory environment.

Job Responsibilities

• Navigate complex regulatory frameworks to help the business design and implement innovative financial products and services.
• Lead legal reviews of product design, marketing, and customer onboarding processes to ensure compliance with applicable regulations while enabling business growth.
• Support other areas of the business, such as digital assets, payments, and data privacy, as needed.
• Advise on the application of new or anticipated legal requirements and regulatory guidance to the firm’s systems, policies, and procedures.
• Monitor regulatory developments at relevant governmental agencies and self-regulatory organizations, including the SEC, FINRA, CFTC, FinCEN, and OFAC.
• Support the company’s engagement with regulators, including the SEC, FINRA, and other agencies.
• Draft agreements, disclosures, policies, and procedures.
• Conduct legal research and analysis on novel questions and provide clear, practical guidance to internal stakeholders.
• Manage litigation, arbitration, and other disputes, including developing case strategy, coordinating with outside counsel, responding to claims and discovery, and advising the business on risk and resolution options.
• Partner cross-functionally with teams outside of Legal, including the firm’s Product, Brokerage, Crypto, Compliance, Anti-Money Laundering, Sales, and Success functions.

Required Qualifications and Experience

• J.D. degree (or foreign equivalent) and active membership in at least one U.S. state bar.
• 5-7+ years of legal experience, with at least 3 years focused on U.S. broker-dealer regulation, including the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, regulations and rules thereunder, FINRA rules, and other federal and state securities laws.
• Familiarity with U.S. cryptoasset regulatory regimes, including the SEC, CFTC, NYDFS, FinCEN, and AML requirements.
• Strong experience advising fintechs or financial institutions, ideally in a startup or growth-stage environment.
• Demonstrated ability to deliver strategic, business-oriented legal advice under tight deadlines.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills and a practical, collaborative working style.
• Strong judgment, self-motivation, and the ability to work independently and manage multiple projects.
• Comfort with ambiguity and a growth mindset in a fast-scaling company.

Benefits

• Competitive Salary & Stock Options
• Health Benefits
• New Hire Home-Office Setup: One-time USD $500
• Monthly Stipend: USD $150 per month via a Brex Card

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