Lead Legal Counsel - Wisetack

Since 2018, Wisetack has been building transparent and intuitive consumer lending products that help service-based businesses thrive (think HVAC companies, veterinarians, or auto repair shops).

Our leadership team comes from top fintech companies such as Lending Club, Affirm, and Varo Money. And we’re backed by leading VCs, including Insight Partners, Greylock, and Bain Capital Ventures (investors in Airbnb, LinkedIn, Instagram, Dropbox, and more).

Having raised $84M, we’re a well-funded startup and have invested in people and technology while growing our partnerships — responsibly.

We’re also proud to have received recognition from the fintech world. Awards we’ve won include:

• 2023 Best Consumer Lending Program by Tearsheet
• 2023 Best Point of Sale Product by Fintech Breakthrough
• 2022 Best Consumer Lending Solution by Finovate
• 2022 Best Emerging Lending Platform by Lendit (now Fintech Nexus)

But what you’ll find us gleaming about the most is the recognition from our own customers, particularly our sky-high NPS rating of 79. (For reference, the average score is 44 for financial services and 36 for SaaS companies.)

As a result of our efforts in building this healthy company culture, we’ve been nominated to several Great Places to Work lists, such as Best Small Workplaces, Best Workplaces in the Bay Area, and Best Workplaces in Financial Services & Insurance.

Like any startup, we’re in it for the long haul, and we’re looking for people willing to join our journey of building something special together.

This process starts with our company values, which guide us in everything we do — and have played a critical role in our success. We valiantly abide by them, and would expect you to do the same:

• Put customers first (that’s our M.O.)
• Act fast (leverage our startup environment).
• Lead the way (show and tell).
• Take ownership (everyone is hands-on here).
• Be a good human (no egos, build financial products that do right by people).

Learn more about our values here.

The Role

Wisetack is hiring a second lawyer, reporting directly to the General Counsel. This is a unique opportunity to shape the growth of the Company and the legal team, in the burgeoning fintech and consumer lending space. You will work cross-functionally with business teams across the organization and help balance legal risk and business judgment.

We are looking for a smart, high-energy, self-directed lawyer who enjoys working flexibly in a fast-paced and dynamic startup environment. We are consumer-facing and operate in a regulated space, which means the legal team is critical to every strategic decision. The ability to assess risk and empower the business is critical.

This is a generalist role, with room to specialize as the legal team grows. We expect the bulk of the work to be product counseling and regulatory compliance, but you will also do commercial work, privacy compliance, employment counseling, IP, litigation, and more, based on the needs of the business. You need not have direct experience in each of these areas in order to be considered, but you should have experience counseling high-growth, financial technology companies (ideally in the consumer lending / payments space) and be able to learn quickly. You must have excellent judgment and communication skills, a strong sense of ownership, and the ability to work well under pressure.

Keep in mind, the job demands will change over time, as will the ways in which you, the General Counsel, and other future members of the legal team, will divvy up responsibilities. We promise you won’t be bored!

Responsibilities

• Provide succinct, practical, and strategic legal advice to the business
• Help the business navigate the Federal and state laws and regulations around consumer lending, as well as changes to the regulatory landscape
• Advise the product and business teams on legal and regulatory considerations in the product development lifecycle
• Help set up new bank partnerships and nurture existing ones, to ensure they meet business, regulatory, and compliance objectives
• Provide legal support for a wide variety of commercial agreements, including drafting and negotiating partnership agreements and negotiating inbound vendor agreements
• Help update consumer agreements, terms, and privacy policies
• Partner with the people operations team in areas such as employment and immigration
• Counsel our operations and credit teams on customer disputes and escalations
• Take on other various projects at the direction of General Counsel based on your experience and business needs

Requirements

• JD and active bar member in at least one state
• 4-8 years as a practicing attorney, preferably at a law firm and in-house (more experience is OK; level will be calibrated to the candidate)
• Prior start-up experience is strongly preferred
• Fintech, consumer lending, and/or payments experience is also strongly preferred
• Working knowledge of the key consumer lending law and regulations (e.g., TILA/Reg Z, FCRA/Reg V, ECOA/Reg B, FDCPA/Reg F), as well as relevant state laws and licensing frameworks, will be very helpful
• You must be highly customer-oriented and driven to build a better product and better customer experience
• We expect you to be a business enabler -- meaning, you must help drive business goals and make smart, risk-based decisions
• You should be hard-working, hands-on, and resourceful. We expect you to roll up your sleeves, find and analyze information efficiently, and do the work.
• Finally, communication and collaboration are key. We are team players, and we’re looking for someone we want to be in the trenches with!

The range of base salary for the position is between $145,800.00 - $204,100.00, plus equity, andbenefits. Please note that the base salary range is a guideline, and individual total compensation will vary based on factors such as qualifications, skill level and competencies.

Spend a little time on our About Us page and check out our Press page and our blog for more. If you think this might be a fit, we’d love to hear from you!