About the role
About Us Sydecar is on a mission to transform the world of private markets. Our goal is to make these markets more accessible, transparent, and liquid, and we're achieving this by revolutionizing the way investment vehicles are created and executed. At Sydecar, we're not just a platform; we're a trusted partner in venture capital. We're dedicated to simplifying and standardizing the private investing experience, empowering capital allocators to discover and support visionary entrepreneurs who are shaping the future. Our platform is designed with ease and efficiency in mind. We take care of all the behind-the-scenes tasks, from automating banking, ensuring compliance, handling contracts, managing taxes, to streamlining reporting. This leaves investors the freedom to concentrate on what matters most: making valuable deals and nurturing meaningful relationships. Join us at Sydecar, as we lead the charge in revolutionizing private investing. About the opportunity We are hiring our first Product Counsel — a securities lawyer who can sit alongside our PMs, EMs, and designers and help us ship product that holds up under regulatory scrutiny without grinding to a halt every time a feature touches Reg D, the Investment Advisers Act, or our customer agreements. This is not a role for someone who wants to write memos and wait for questions. The first 90 days are about embedding — sit in standups, shadow customer calls, read the friction memo, and start advocating for the changes the business is pushing for. We need someone who streamlines workflows while holding the line on rigor — and who can teach product teams enough about Reg D, the Advisers Act, and consumer-facing securities communications that they make better decisions before they reach the legal queue. You'll report to Shauna (Head of Legal & Compliance) and own the legal-product interface. Nik (CEO) will be your day-to-day partner. What you'll be doing Embed with product. Sit with the four product teams (Investors, Deal Organizers, Financial Systems, Operations) — attend standups, planning, and design reviews where it matters. Be the first call when a PM is scoping a feature with a legal dimension. Quick "yes / no / here's the path" beats a multi-day review every time. Build a working relationship with Nik, Tim (CTO), Pete (CX/Deal Ops), and the PMs so legal becomes a multiplier on speed, not a tax on it. Own securities and regulatory analysis on product changes. Reg D 506(b) / 506(c) offerings, accredited investor verification, ICA exemptions (3(c)(1), 3(c)(7)), and the substrate that makes SPVs work. Stand up the legal scaffolding for our boutique RIA strategy: Form ADV implications, advisory rules, scope decisions on what we can and can't offer. Banker / broker-dealer adjacencies, transfer of interests, and jurisdiction-specific issues as they arise. Quality-review what we say in product. Review and raise the bar on in-product copy that touches securities, suitability, and risk — labels, attestations, prompts, modals, error messages. Help PMs and content owners understand why a phrase matters so they don't keep relearning the same lesson. Customer agreements, ToS, and privacy. Refresh customer-facing legal docs as the product evolves, including the agreements that anchor our pricing and the ToS that binds the platform. Partner on data handling, AI-use policies, and vendor contracts where they intersect with product. Streamline the legal-product workflow. Build the playbooks, templates, and decision trees that let PMs self-serve on the 70% of questions that don't need a lawyer. Make the 30% that do need a lawyer move faster — clear intake, predictable turnaround, no surprises at launch.
