Marketing Counsel

Responsibilities

• Own legal review for SDF’s outward-facing marketing and communications materials across channels, including social, web, mobile, PR, blogs, digital ads, decks, FAQs, event collateral, scripts, product explainers, disclosures, and early-stage campaign concepts.
• Advise Marketing, Communications, Product, Business Development, Ecosystem, Policy, and Legal stakeholders on public-facing content, campaign strategy, product messaging, partner marketing, and external positioning.
• Identify and help mitigate legal, regulatory, reputational, contractual, privacy, and consumer protection risk in external-facing work.
• Provide end-to-end legal support for marketing aspects of broader strategic business deals, including diligence, KYC coordination, drafting, negotiation, deliverables, and payment mechanics.
• Serve as a legal partner to Marketing leadership on marketing strategy, campaign planning, thought leadership, strategic messaging, and cross-functional issues involving Marketing, Product, BD, Comms, Events, Ecosystem, and Legal.
• Support SDF-owned and third-party events by advising on event strategy, venue and vendor contracts, sponsorships, waivers, releases, collateral, activations, and time-sensitive operational issues.
• Support SDF’s brand and IP function, including trademark portfolio management, brand policy questions, brand asset use, naming and rebrand initiatives, clearance coordination, contested IP matters, and brand protection.
• Review and advise on product-related launch materials, webpages, explainers, FAQs, and announcements where product functionality, user understanding, external messaging, or legal sensitivity intersects with Marketing or Communications.
• Help develop and maintain practical legal processes, templates, guidelines, playbooks, training, and intake workflows that allow teams to move efficiently while staying aligned with SDF’s risk tolerance and public posture.
• Draft, review, and negotiate marketing, advertising, SaaS, event, vendor, sponsorship, strategic partnership, grant, and services agreements related to Marketing and other outward-facing initiatives.

Requirements

• J.D. from an accredited law school and active membership in good standing with at least one U.S. state bar.
• At least 3 years of relevant law firm and/or in-house legal experience, ideally in marketing, advertising, product, media, technology, financial services, fintech, payments, blockchain, or digital assets.
• Working knowledge of laws and regulatory issues related to marketing, advertising, promotions, sponsorships, endorsements, social media, online advertising, consumer protection, privacy, IP, data protection, and consumer financial services.
• Ability to spot and assess legal, regulatory, reputational, contractual, privacy, securities, commodities, and consumer protection risks in public-facing materials and external communications.
• Strong drafting, editing, and written communication skills, with the judgment to review high-volume, fast-moving assets across many formats, including web copy, social posts, press materials, product explainers, contracts, decks, FAQs, scripts, disclosures, and event collateral.
• Sound business judgment and the ability to give practical, clear, risk-calibrated legal advice to non-legal stakeholders in a fast-moving environment.
• Ability to work independently, prioritize competing requests, manage time-sensitive projects, and make thoughtful decisions with appropriate escalation.
• Strong interpersonal and collaboration skills, with comfort partnering across business teams.
• Ability to advise on complex, evolving, and sometimes ambiguous issues where product functionality, public messaging, partner expectations, regulatory sensitivity, and SDF’s mission intersect.
• Experience drafting, reviewing, or negotiating marketing, advertising, SaaS, services, event, sponsorship, strategic partnership, grant, or similar commercial agreements.
• Interest in SDF’s mission and curiosity about blockchain, digital assets, payments, and open-source technology.

Nice-to-Haves

• Experience in blockchain, digital assets, crypto, payments, fintech, financial services, or another regulated technology sector.
• Prior in-house experience supporting marketing, product, advertising, media, or other fast-moving business teams.
• Familiarity with smart contracts, open-source technology, or the Stellar ecosystem.
• Experience supporting product launches, product marketing, user-facing flows, or technical content for external audiences.
• Experience with grants, sponsorships, marketing development funds, ecosystem funding, or partner incentive programs.
• Experience supporting events, conferences, sponsorships, speaker programs, attendee terms, waivers, or international event logistics.
• Experience with trademark portfolios, brand policies, naming reviews, rebrands, trademark clearance, contested IP matters, or online brand protection.
• Experience creating practical legal resources, such as templates, playbooks, guidelines, training, intake processes, or self-serve review frameworks.
• Active membership in the California or New York bar.

Compensation

Base salary range of $165,000 - $225,000 depending on job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and location. In addition, lumen-denominated grants along with competitive health, dental & vision coverage, flexible time off, 15 company holidays, generous paid parental leave, gym reimbursement, life & ADD insurance, short & long term disability, 401K with 4% match, FSA accounts, commuter benefits, HSA with employer contribution, family building benefits, wellbeing benefits, L&D budget, daily lunch and snacks in office, and company retreats.