Special Counsel, Transactions

Circle is a financial technology company at the epicenter of the emerging internet of money, where value can finally travel like other digital data - globally, nearly instantly and less expensively than legacy settlement systems. This ground-breaking new internet layer opens up previously unimaginable possibilities for payments, commerce and markets that can help raise global economic prosperity and enhance inclusion. Our infrastructure - including USDC, a blockchain-based dollar - helps businesses, institutions and developers harness these breakthroughs and capitalize on this major turning point in the evolution of money and technology.
What you'll be part of:
Circle is committed to visibility and stability in everything we do. As we grow as an organization, we're expanding into some of the world's strongest jurisdictions. Speed and efficiency are motivators for our success and our employees live by our company values : High Integrity, Future Forward, Multistakeholder, Mindful, and Driven by Excellence. We have built a flexible and diverse work environment where new ideas are encouraged and everyone is a stakeholder.
What you'll be responsible for:
Under the direction of the Assistant General Counsel - Transactions, you will play an immediate and direct role in commercial transactional work, supporting our global Business teams as we offer new products and grow in new markets.
What you'll work on:

• Be a trusted partner to Circle's Business, Compliance, and Finance teams, working collaboratively and building a strong line of communication with internal stakeholders.
• Structure, negotiate, and draft fintech, payments, blockchain transactions, addressing legal risk in business-centric ways with the goal of strengthening partnerships and advancing opportunities.
• Support the creation and expansion of contract templates and terms of use to reflect new and existing products and services.
• Aid in the development and implementation of processes, procedures and metrics (including efficient contracting processes) to increase the overall effectiveness of the legal services provided to the company.
• Address legal risk in business-centric ways, developing processes to solve problems, strengthening partnerships and advancing opportunities.
• Assist business leaders with contract interpretation and management.
• Remain up-to-date on relevant finance, payments and digital currency space to ensure an ongoing ability to provide sound marketing compliance advice.

What you'll bring to Circle:

• 5+ years of practical, hands-on legal experience, both law firm ( AM Law 50 ) and in-house experience are preferred.
• Experience drafting and negotiating fintech, financial services and tech agreements.
• Experience collaborating with cross-functional teams on strategic partnerships, with a focus on Business and Compliance teams.
• Experience advising clients on risk mitigation across technology product platforms.
• You are passionate about financial technology and the potential of cryptocurrency and blockchains, are a team player with a sense of humor, and enjoy learning.
• A strategic approach to use your legal expertise to find paths to achieve Circle's goals.
• The ability to clearly communicate complex ideas in an understandable way so our clients can act on them.
• A commercial orientation to always keep the business objective in mind as you work closely with our colleagues throughout Circle.
• A strong sense of accountability to own all of your actions and decisions, recognizing the buck stops with you.
• You are comfortable working in an evolving and growing environment that is prone to changes, and managing multiple projects simultaneously.
• You are comfortable leveraging AI tools to streamline routine tasks and enhance workflow efficiency, while exercising independent legal judgment and maintaining full responsibility for reviewing, verifying, and validating outputs to ensure legal accuracy and mitigate risk.
• You apply sound, practical business judgment to your legal recommendations, and are creative at solving problems while balancing important legal risks for the business.
• You can work autonomously and independently with guidance but are also comfortable working collaboratively as part of a team.
• You have a JD (preferably with honors/law review from a US News & World Repor t Top 50 law school) and are an active member of at least one state bar.
• Proficiency in Google Suite, ChatGPT, Slack and Apple MacOS preferred.

Circle is on a mission to create an inclusive financial future, with transparency at our core. We consider a wide variety of elements when crafting our compensation ranges and total compensation packages.
Starting pay is determined by various factors, including but not limited to: relevant experience, skill set, qualifications, and other business and organizational needs. Please note that compensation ranges may differ for candidates in other locations.
Base Pay Range:
$180,000 - $237,500
We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at Circle. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. Additionally, Circle participates in the E-Verify Program in certain locations, as required by law.
Should you require accommodations or assistance in our interview process because of a disability, please reach out to [email protected] for support. We respect your privacy and will connect with you separately from our interview process to accommodate your needs.
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