General Counsel

Cockroach Labs is the team behind CockroachDB, an open-source, distributed SQL database. We aim to build infrastructure that keeps pace with the world, so developers can focus on what matters most: building the best products. Join us on our mission to Make Data Easy. Are you ready to aim high and build to last?

About the Role

The General Counsel will be responsible for building and leading our Legal team, setting legal strategy, overseeing key deals and relationships, and serving as a partner to the rest of the company. Your purview will span across product, regulatory, commercial, international expansions, privacy, corporate, IP, employment, policy, and compliance. And beyond just the legal function, we’re looking for a business partner who will have input and influence across the company.

You Will

Apply your experience by building, leading, and managing a legal team capable of scaling with a rapidly growing global enterprise technology company.

Provide counsel to all levels of management regarding the business environment, challenges, and corporate objectives.

Oversee the building of legal operations to effectively serve contract needs, prioritize tasks, and integrate with other company-wide systems. Oversee the management and maintenance of all company legal templates, including our Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, PIIA, Employment Contract, etc.

Provide counsel and advice on legal liabilities associated with many areas of the business (i.e., employment law, commissions agreements, real estate leases, international expansion, system tooling, company policies, corporate finance, partnerships, etc.).

Specify internal governance policies and regularly monitor compliance.

Evaluate risk factors impacting business decisions and anticipate unique legal issues that could affect the company.

Manage prosecution of patent applications with counsel and identify relevant strategies for international filings on a case-by-case basis.

Communicate and negotiate with external parties (i.e., regulators, external counsels, vendors, etc.), creating relationships based on trust.

Develop the organization's policies on industry-specific issues, corporate governance, or regulatory affairs.

Maintain current knowledge of alterations in legislation.

The Expectations

In your first 30 days, you will assess where we are with our legal efforts. We currently leverage external counsel but want you to bring some of these efforts in-house while continuing to build strong relations with our external counsel. You will meet with the executive team and external counsel to determine what priorities will need to be focused on moving forward.

In your first 60 days, you will have a firmer understanding of Cockroach Labs’ legal priorities. You will start to socialize the legal team’s initiatives moving forward. At this point, you will begin restructuring legal operations to ensure they can scale with a high-growth technology company.

After 3 months, you'll be fully integrated into the team. You will be working on the legal team’s core priorities and start identifying new opportunities for the team’s initiatives. You'll create a scalable framework and repeatable policies and procedures to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the legal team’s efforts.

You Have

Broad direct experience with a variety of legal matters, including strategic business agreements, commercial contract negotiation, information security and compliance, privacy, corporate governance, intellectual property rights, international expansion, and management of affiliates.

Strong negotiating skills with both legal and financial/commercial issues.

Excellent knowledge and understanding of corporate law and procedures.

Demonstrated ability to create legal defensive, or proactive strategies.

Strong interpersonal and presentation skills, along with the ability to communicate effectively with others at all levels of the organization.

Minimum 10 years experience and JD degree from an accredited school with proven experience as a Head of Legal or General Counsel in a SaaS environment.

The Team

Reporting to Spencer Kimball - Co-founder & CEO

Spencer strives to maintain a delicate balance between his love for programming distributed systems and the excitement of helping the company grow smoothly. He first cut his teeth on databases during the dot com heyday and had a front-row seat at Google for a decade’s worth of their evolution. His best part of leaving work is stepping out into the brilliant and always exciting life of Manhattan with his daughter and Carl (his dog).

Our Benefits

100% health insurance coverage (for you and your dependents!)

Paid parental leave (with baby bucks)

Flex Fridays

Flexible time off & flexible hours

Education reimbursement

Relocation support