Overview

Filecoin Foundation (FF) is an independent organization that facilitates governance of the Filecoin network, funds critical development projects, supports the growth of the Filecoin ecosystem, and advocates for Filecoin and the decentralized web. In 2017, the creators of Filecoin envisioned that an independent Filecoin Foundation would serve as the long-term governance body for the Filecoin Ecosystem. The Foundation is focused on growing an open ecosystem for decentralized storage and giving developers an open and sustainable platform to build, enhance, and monetize those services. The Foundation is similar to foundations for other open source projects like the Apache Software Foundation, the Mozilla Foundation and the Linux Foundation. The Filecoin Foundation operates independently of Protocol Labs, the organization that designed and built the Filecoin network. As a member of our early-stage team, you will have the opportunity to help define our growth as the organization scales.

Job Description 

Your role as a member of the Filecoin Foundation legal team will involve leading commercial legal support to the Foundation in support of the Filecoin ecosystem. In this role, you will work closely with a variety of internal and external teams and ecosystem contributors, including the Filecoin Developer Grants team, the Filecoin Foundation Social Impact team, and the broader Ecosystem Working Group as they work with a variety of Filecoin network developers, contributors, and partners on a variety of initiatives. In addition, you will work closely with the Filecoin Foundation Events and Marketing teams to support their efforts, including on events, publicity and marketing agreements, and agreements around retaining third party support for these efforts. You will draft and negotiate a variety of complex and strategic agreements spearheaded by the Filecoin Foundation executive team. You will also support internal contracting needs for the growing Foundation, such as vendor, internal event, and employment-related agreements. You will also provide general legal support for the organization on an as-needed basis.

This position is part of a positive, supportive, and growing legal team but will require a high degree of self-sufficiency, drafting and organizational skills, proactivity, and an ability to enjoy a quick-paced and busy environment.

Responsibilities

  • Provide proactive, forward-thinking, and creative legal guidance in a faced-paced environment.
  • Lead complex commercial deals and strategic partnerships for the business, closely collaborating with senior members of the company.
  • Draft new contract templates, playbooks, and operational workflows for strategic partnerships.
  • Partner with internal and ecosystem partners in evaluating strategic partnerships and advising on legal risk.
  • Collaborate on the development of policies and model contracts for ecosystem partners, involving topics such as privacy, security, and KYC.
  • Support internal contracting requests, including but not limited to IT, HR, internal events, comms/marketing, and employment-related matters.
  • Provide general legal support for the Foundation in other areas as needed.
  • Report to the General Counsel.

Your Profile

  • Qualified lawyer with Bar admission in the United States.
  • 7-15 years of relevant commercial experience preferred, but otherwise qualified candidates outside this experience range are encouraged to apply. In-house experience is preferred but not required.
  • Creative, flexible, and experienced commercial attorney with business-oriented outlook who enjoys wearing a “business” hat in addition to a legal one.
  • Experience communicating with senior business leaders in a clear, concise, and proactive manner.
  • Very strong commercial contracts experience with proven expertise leading complex deals, drafting unique complex agreements, and counseling business stakeholders on contractual provisions.
  • Strong, proven ability to work cross functionally with business partners.
  • General experience with working in an international and multicultural working environment with geographically dispersed team members.
  • Proven track record of quickly learning completely new areas of law and providing timely, effective, and strategic legal advice in a fast-paced environment.
  • A team player with excellent interpersonal skills.
  • Strong academic credentials.
  • Computer literacy with excellent written and oral communication skills.
  • High level of integrity, professionalism, intellectual curiosity, sense of humor, and willingness to grow.
  • The demeanor, confidence, and experience to thrive in the complexity and unpredictability of a start-up culture.