Legal Counsel

The role

As the first in-house legal hire, you will set up and manage all aspects of the legal framework for the company. You will provide strategic legal advice to the executive team while ensuring compliance and mitigating risks.

What you will do

• Build the legal function from the ground up including creating policies, processes, and templates
• Serve as a trusted advisor to the executive team and board on legal, regulatory, and business matters
• Oversee corporate governance and ensure compliance with regulations and best practices
• Draft and manage board resolutions, minutes, and shareholder agreements
• Draft, review, and negotiate commercial, vendor, partnership, and employment contracts
• Establish a contract management system
• Develop and maintain compliance programs for GDPR, AML, OFAC, etc.
• Ensure adherence to data privacy, employment law, and intellectual property laws
• Stay updated on regulatory developments impacting the company
• Identify potential legal and regulatory risks and recommend mitigation strategies

Required qualifications

• J.D. from an accredited law school
• Active membership in at least one U.S. state bar
• 3+ years of relevant legal experience, including time at a top-tier law firm and/or as in-house counsel
• Experience working with early-stage or high-growth companies, particularly in web3/AI
• Strong expertise in corporate governance, contract law, regulatory compliance, and risk management
• Familiarity working with web3 teams
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to work independently and proactively in a fast-paced environment
• Strong business acumen with the ability to balance legal and business priorities

Benefits

• Highly competitive compensation package
• Annual discretionary bonus
• Optimized tax structure compared to the vast majority of web3 startups
• Top 1% of benefits across the web3 startup space
• 100% of premiums covered on highest quality healthcare
• Aggressive company 401k match
• Participate in virtual and in-person events

About the company

Ritual is building a sovereign, execution layer for AI. The Ritual chain is the first blockchain custom-built to support AI-native operations.