Legal Counsel (US-Qualified)
New York
Legal & Compliance /
Full-time /
Hybrid
About Wintermute
Wintermute is a technology unicorn and one of the leading global players in the digital asset markets. Wintermute is the largest crypto-native algorithmic trading company providing liquidity across all major exchanges and trading platforms. Our OTC desk offers a wide range of spot and derivatives products and supports over 2,000 counterparties across crypto natives and traditional financial institutions. We actively participate in the development of the blockchain ecosystem by being one of the largest players in DeFi as well as our investments arm, partnerships and incubations.
Wintermute was founded in 2017 by trading industry leaders and has successfully navigated multiple crypto industry cycles. Culturally, we combine the best of the two worlds: the technology standards of high-frequency trading firms in traditional markets and the innovative and entrepreneurial culture of technology start-ups. Read more here.
Nature of the role:
We are looking for a general commercial disputes and trading Legal Counsel (US-qualified) who will focus on supporting Wintermute’s various businesses such as OTC and on-exchange trading. In this role, the candidate should easily adapt to the entrepreneurial, varied and highly dynamic nature of Wintermute's business, as well as be keen to embrace the challenges and opportunities specific to the cryptocurrency business. This role will work closely with the business (BD and traders), Risk and other legal team colleagues and will cover all jurisdictions where Wintermute and its counterparties are currently active. You will have the opportunity to shape templates and approaches that best balance the business growth objectives and risk.
Key Responsibilities:
- Lead legal-commercial negotiations: draft and negotiate agreements in relation to our business lines (OTC, liquidity provision, exchange agreements, trading agreements, software agreements, and others)
- Regulatory research & compliance guidance: work closely with the legal and compliance teams to monitor the legal and regulatory landscapes across jurisdictions; support financial regulatory compliance under each regulatory regime (FCA, MAS, SEC, CTFC, ESMA etc.); advise and support guidance on regulation of decentralized finance and protocols
- Lead and manage the mitigation of cross-border contentious risk, including responding to enquiries, and utilise external counsel where appropriate to achieve the desired outcomes.
- Help with the design and implementations of efficient processes and tools required for cross-department collaboration, regulatory compliance or new licensing.
- Other legal projects: get involved in a wide range of wider legal topics depending on skills, preferences and company needs, including commercial disputes/litigation, employment, and corporate projects.
Hard Skills Required:
- 3-5 years of experience practicing law (US-qualified) at a top-tier law firm (inhouse experience is a plus) and leading on commercial disputes and utilizingexternal counsel or as in-house counsel for a firm specialized in financial services, fintech and/or crypto
- Experience working in a high-performance, dynamic and high-growth environment is strongly preferred; self-motivation and drive is essential.
- Strong grasp of commercial law in relation to financial services, e.g. OTC agreements (spot, derivatives and structured products is a strong advantage), lending agreements, financial services contracts, trading agreements and others.
- Strong general commercial disputes experience and practical ability to advise senior stakeholders on and mitigating regulatory and commercial risks in a practical manner. Ability to handle and manage regulatory document requests or enquiries and commercial disputes on a day-to-day basis.
- Proven ability to navigate and resiliently work through and unpick novel issues in commercial, regulatory and contentious areas to close out matters in a positive fashion.
- Not mandatory but a general understanding of the crypto industry and related regulation is a plus, i.e. types of tokens, token governance, DAOs, blockchain foundations; willingness to learn quickly is critical.
- Curiosity and interest to learn other areas of law and business quicklyProven ability to see the bigger picture and commercial strategy; quickly understand new functional areas and have a cross-functional mindset
- Ability to be nimble and apply legal concepts to problem-solve, especially in respect of novel issues
- Strong interest and curiosity in algorithmic trading and decentralized finance.
- Detail oriented, commercial hands-on attitude to legal and business problems.
- Experience with MS Office. Willingness to quickly learn new tools as required, e.g. Slack, Google Suite, CRM, CLM (Ironclad and/or Spotdraft)
Here is why you should join our dynamic team:
- Opportunity to work at one of the world's leading algorithmic trading firms
- Engaging projects offering accelerated responsibilities and ownership compared to traditional finance environments.
- A vibrant working culture with team meals, festive celebrations, gaming events and company wide team building events.
- A Wintermute-inspired office in central London, featuring an array of amenities such as table tennis and foosball, personalized desk configurations, a cozy team breakout area with games.
- Great company culture: informal, non-hierarchical, ambitious, highly professional with a startup vibe, collaborative and entrepreneurial.
- A performance-based compensation with a significant earning potential alongside standard perks like pension and private health insurance.
Note:
- Candidates should ideally be US-based, but we can consider UK too.
