Partner; fractional GC to clients - Northstar Legal

Partner (fractional GC to multiple clients) - Northstar Legal

New York or San Francisco

Northstar Legal is a boutique law firm that was founded in early 2023 by a seasoned lawyer with deep experience counseling CEOs in crypto and financial services. Northstar integrates with innovative companies that are pioneering a new kind of financial and digital engagement system. The firm provides flexible, high‑impact legal counsel through fractional General Counsel and Product Counsel services, helping early‑stage venture‑backed companies build from a firm position.

We are highly trusted strategic legal advisors to some of the most talented and ambitious CEOs in crypto. We operate on a modern, flat‑rate model, leveraging contemporary tech and AI to serve at the speed of our clients’ businesses.

The Firm acts as the chief in‑house legal resource to a number of first‑in‑class projects in crypto, including:

• L1 blockchains with 16B in tokenized real‑world assets
• Regulated‑to‑DeFi securities infrastructure provider pioneering peer‑to‑peer (p2p) transactions in securities
• Decentralized (i.e., p2p) applications with hundreds of millions in monthly volume and growing, powering deposits from the broad universe of alt and meme coins into stable coins on leading consumer dApps
• Cryptographically unprecedented zero knowledge proof infrastructure, proof‑of‑work L1 with native zk proving by lightweight consumer devices

Northstar Legal is seeking a seasoned Partner to join its senior leadership and shape the future of a uniquely positioned, technology‑forward boutique. The fractional GC model combines in‑house work style with law firm economics. You’ll work closely with Founder Josh Downer and take the lead in key client relationships, functioning as GC for high‑growth companies at the forefront of crypto, fintech, and digital assets.

This is a rare opportunity to operate as a true strategic advisor for multiple startups, owning the intersection of law, business, and innovation, while helping to expand a firm built for the next generation of technology.

• Own the client relationship as fractional GC: master the product/business, set the legal roadmap, and be the point of accountability to founders/execs and boards.
• Design and drive legal strategy across corporate, commercial, product, regulatory, and dispute matters.
• Own the drafting and output of a wide variety of legal documents with support of experienced counsel, a proprietary database of legal precedent and the use of a secure, internal AI virtual sidekick.
• Build pragmatic playbooks/templates that compound across clients, iterated through “Chat” and an agentic memory system.
• Skillfully engage and manage outside law firm specialists for financings, tax, litigation, international and other matters.
• Manage matters end‑to‑end: complex commercial agreements, financings, corporate governance, board and shareholder consents, token/DeFi questions, financial regulatory, employment and contractor issues, marketing/consumer, IP, privacy/security, incidents and crisis management.
• Cross‑functional collaboration:
  Experience working with internal engineering, product, business development, security, customer, operations and marketing teams throughout the product development cycle, advising on regulatory requirements and how to mitigate risks for new technologies.
• Regulatory leadership: coordinate multi‑track issues across SEC/CFTC/FinCEN/OFAC/state money transmission/NYDFS and international regimes; manage inquiries and outside counsel.
• Practice building: contribute to firm strategy, knowledge management, and business development; help recruit and grow the team.
• Team leadership: as we continue to grow, manage/mentor new associates; review work product; instill crisp writing, judgment, and client‑service standards.

• Licensed U.S. attorney with 10+ years total experience, including top‑tier law firm training and significant in‑house leadership (GC/AGC/Head of Legal or equivalent).
• Deep working knowledge of crypto/DeFi and adjacent regulatory frameworks (securities/commodities, BSA/AML, sanctions, money transmission, consumer…