Legal Counsel - Product & Regulatory

Job Description

About Betterment:

Betterment is a leading, technology-driven financial services company that offers investing and retirement solutions for retail investors and investment advisors as well as financial wellness solutions, including a 401(k) for small and medium-sized businesses. Our growing team of 400+ is passionate about our mission to make people’s lives better. We’re headquartered in NYC, with hubs in Philadelphia and D.C, and offer in-office, hybrid, and remote working based on role and location.

About the Role:

You are an outstanding attorney looking to join a category-creating company that is making investing smarter, easier, and more accessible for everyone. You are a problem solver with excellent legal judgment and outstanding attention to detail. You are mission-driven, business-oriented, independent, and quick to learn. You can communicate clearly and persuasively to a wide variety of audiences. You can thrive in a dynamic, technology-driven environment and are comfortable taking action in the face of ambiguity. You are eager to make an impact and are always seeking new and improved ways of doing things. You are adept at managing competing priorities and thrive building processes to standardize recurring tasks.

A Day in the Life:

• Navigate legal and regulatory requirements, operational issues, and related matters
• Support Betterment at Work, our 401(k) business line, as it scales
• Evaluate and advise on legal issues pertaining to our retirement plan programs, including ERISA
• Support Betterment’s new crypto offering as it scales, and advise on legal and regulatory issues related to crypto
• Negotiate complex commercial agreements and advise our client success and sales teams
• Build and improve our standard form agreements and legal processes
• Assist our product organization in developing and implementing new features and products, including drafting customer agreements, disclosures, and related documentation
• Help to resolve and avoid potential disputes
• Collaborate with outside counsel when necessary

What We’re Looking For:

• A JD, admission to a state bar, and at least 4 years of relevant in-house or firm experience
• An adaptable mindset and innate curiosity
• A bias toward action and solving problems, not just issue spotting
• The ability to take ownership over your work and manage projects independently
• Excellent writing ability
• Comfort navigating complexity and creating simplicity where possible
• Passion for Betterment’s product and mission

Bonus Points If You Have:

• Knowledge of ERISA and related regulations
• Knowledge of crypto and related regulatory environment
• A background in negotiating commercial agreements
• Familiarity with privacy and/or information security issues
• Experience in retail financial services
• In-house experience at a startup or high growth company

What Being at Betterment Means for You:

Joining Betterment means belonging to a community of folks passionate about change, being on a team that cares for your well-being, and continuing on a journey of non-stop growth and evolution.

You’ll join a Community that Cares:

• Betterment is a place to bring your whole self and make meaningful connections with your peers through interest groups, sports clubs, social events, meetups, and regular knowledge sharing.
• Join one or more of our 6 Employee Resource Groups as a member or an ally, and help us shape Betterment’s culture and product for years to come.

You’ll stay Happy and Healthy:

• We will ensure you're set up and cared for with a customizable workstation, benefit packages that fit your needs (including infertility support and World Professional Association for Transgender Health approved benefits), a Self Care stipend of $600 per year to invest in your wellness however you see fit, as well as additional professional development opportunity.
• You’ll have flexible paid time off, and a team that cares about you, not just what you’re working on.

You’ll Learn & Grow:

• Enhance your skills and abilities through Betterment University courses and additional allowance for outside learning.
• As part of a team that values knowledge sharing and transparency you can opt into mentoring and career coaching programs as well as weekly company meetings.

Please note that Betterment is dedicated to providing accommodations to candidates with disabilities. If you need accommodations at any point throughout the interview process, please reach out to [email protected]

What Happens Next?

We expect to take a few weeks to review all applications. If we would like to spend more time with you, you will hear from us to arrange next steps. You can expect 3-4 sets of meetings with your future colleagues in the weeks following your application.

Throughout the interview process, we’ll look to learn more about your skills, experiences, capabilities, and motivators. Many of our interview questions will be behavioral, aimed at understanding how you might operate here at Betterment. We may ask you to complete a case study exercise or technical assessments, depending on the role, as we aim to collect a robust set of data points throughout the interview process.

On average, it takes us around 2-3 weeks to make a hiring decision, depending on your availability and sense of urgency. As a best practice, we aim to interview at least 3 final round candidates before making a hiring decision.

Please note that we’re unable to offer individual feedback during the interview process. We usually see 1,000+ applications for open positions, and our hiring team simply doesn’t have the bandwidth to offer personalized feedback to each candidate.

We recognize that interviewing for a new role is a big deal. We appreciate you giving us consideration as the next step in your career. Our Recruiting Team is here to support and advocate for you through the interview process, so please let us know how we can help.

Come join us!

We’re an equal opportunity employer and comply with all applicable federal, state, and local fair employment practices laws. We strictly prohibit and do not tolerate discrimination against employees, applicants, or any other covered persons because of race, color, religion, creed, national origin or ancestry, ethnicity, sex, gender (including gender nonconformity and status as a transgender or transsexual individual), sexual orientation, marital status, age, physical or mental disability, citizenship, past, current or prospective service in the uniformed services, predisposing genetic characteristic, domestic violence victim status, arrest records, or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, state or local law.