General Counsel
At January, we work to ensure that borrowers who fall behind on debt are treated with fairness and respect. Owing to outdated processes and bad actors, traditional debt collection is rife with harassment and fraud. Our products tackle this by helping financial institutions modernize collections, giving borrowers simpler and more compassionate ways to get back on track.
As our General Counsel, you won’t just navigate the complexities of the legal landscape. You’ll stand at the forefront of a mission transforming debt collection, turning it into a humane and respectful process. You will play an instrumental role in our expansion into new product lines, shaping our approach to third-party collections and beyond. Reporting directly to the CEO, you will collaborate with diverse teams, ensuring legal acumen remains central to our business decisions and growth strategies.
Your impact
- Champion Legal Excellence: Lead the legal initiatives by developing and maintaining critical legal documents, negotiating contract terms skillfully, and managing redlines for sales. By ensuring the highest standards of legal integrity, you will directly contribute to fair and ethical debt collection practices, aligning with our core mission. Your role will play a central part in ensuring our legal approaches go beyond compliance and demonstrate innovation, paving the way for our entry into new product lines and geographies.
- Elevate Compliance Standards: Work closely with our Compliance Counsel to redefine compliance standards. Your strategic approach to regulatory compliance will be crucial in upholding our commitment to transforming debt collection into a process marked by empathy and fairness. You will play an instrumental role in innovating internal auditing, quality assurance, and dispute resolution processes. Your expertise will prove vital in developing relationships with regulatory bodies and industry peers, anticipating and mitigating emergent compliance risks, and actively participating in relevant roundtables and boards.
- Create Scalable Legal and Compliance Processes: Shape scalable legal processes, making compliance an integral part of our business operations and product development.
- Inspire and Propel Organizational Greatness: As a leader, you will set new benchmarks in legal and compliance excellence. You will drive the cultivation of a workplace where swift, strategic actions and agile thinking become the norm, transforming rapid decision-making into a competitive advantage for January.
- Strategize and Accelerate Business Growth: In your strategic role, you will shape and execute January’s growth strategies. Your contributions will prove crucial in closing larger partnership opportunities, contributing to brand building, and ensuring our legal strategies align with our mission.
Qualifications
- Active membership in good standing with the New York State Bar or eligible for in-house counsel registration in New York
- 10+ years of experience as a lawyer: experience in a senior legal role, leading a team in a high-growth startup environment and some experience at a top corporate law firm
- Proven track record of leading, mentoring, and developing a legal team.
- Strong experience in working closely with product and engineering teams, providing critical legal insights that shape product strategy and development
- Demonstrated ability in aligning legal expertise with commercial objectives, and adeptness in legal aspects of product innovation and market expansion.
- Experience in collaborating with product and engineering teams, contributing legal insights to the development of new features
- Demonstrated ability to navigate and lead effectively in the ambiguous and rapidly changing environment of a growing startup
- Exceptional verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to articulate complex legal concepts to non-legal stakeholders
- A proactive, hands-on approach, ready to engage directly with various aspects of our business
- Optionally, some experience with FDCPA, TCPA, FCRA, and general debt collection rules and regulations is a nice to have.
Our compensation range for the General Counsel role is $250,000 to $300,000. We determine the final package by considering experience, applicable education and training, and relevant skills derived throughout our interview process. This role also includes a competitive equity package, giving you a chance to feel true ownership of your work. January believes in doing its part to help close the wage gap that continues to plague much of the US workforce. We offer transparent and equitable compensation packages to all existing and future January team members.
What We Can Offer You
- Pet-friendly office (only in NYC, for now!)
- Competitive equity packages, giving you a chance to feel true ownership of your work
- Unlimited PTO so you can take the time you need to rest and recharge
- Hybrid work model, where our team comes in 3x a week
- Flexible work hours for better work/life balance
- 12 weeks fully paid new parent leave program for all employees to enjoy bonding time
- Free lunches for team socializing activities
- Annual learning and development budget to invest in your professional growth
- 401k so you can invest in your future
- Gym membership reimbursement
- Medical, dental, and vision insurance
- Free access to One Medical
- Free access to the mental well-being platform Spring Health plus 3 free virtual sessions with a Spring Health licensed therapist
- Commuter benefits for your travel to/from the office
- Endless growth opportunity and the ability to take on new and exciting challenges
Recognitions:
- Built In's Best Startups to Work For in New York (2023)
- Built In's Best Startups to Work For in New York (2024)
- Built In's Best Startups to Work For in San Francisco (2023)
- Built In's Best Startups to Work For in San Francisco (2024)
- Crain's Best Places to Work in NYC (2022)
- Crain's Best Places to Work in NYC (2023)
To learn more about what it’s like to work with us, check out our Glassdoor reviews . We think our track record speaks best.
January is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, ethnicity, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, disability, age, veteran status, or any other category protected by law.
At January, we believe that diversity of outlooks, demographics, identities, and life experiences enable companies to build the best products. More diversity means more empathy with different types of people. This matters a lot for us, since so many borrowers in financial distress with whom we engage come from underrepresented backgrounds. We practice what we preach and look forward to continuing to grow and build on our already diverse team.
