J.D. and active state bar membership; California admission preferred.
8-15 years of post-J.D. experience with a focus on securities and capital markets.
Strong understanding of the Securities Act and Exchange Act frameworks.
Experience with public company SEC reporting and governance requirements.
Proven track record of managing complex legal processes to completion.
Ability to communicate legal concepts clearly to non-lawyers.
Comfortable working in ambiguous situations and performing hands-on tasks.
Responsibilities
Build governance and disclosure infrastructure for a public company.
Lead efforts for IPO execution and manage related working groups.
Drive legal execution on capital markets transactions and financings.
Oversee legal aspects of M&A and other strategic transactions.
Manage corporate governance and board committee operations.
Collaborate on equity compensation and compliance with associated regulations.
Handle SEC reporting and ongoing compliance post-IPO.
Engage in a broad scope of general corporate legal activities.
Benefits
Flexible work environment.
Opportunities for professional development and growth.
Engagement with a senior legal team and executive leadership.
Real ownership and impact in a small company structure.
Full Job Description
The opportunity
This is Kikoff's first dedicated securities and corporate counsel role. You will drive corporate and securities work, build the systems and discipline a public company requires, and be the in-house expert on financings, governance, and equity. If and when the company pursues an initial public offering, you will be central to it.
You will work directly with the Chief Legal Officer, the CFO and Finance team, the executive team, and the board. The legal team is small and deliberately senior, which means real ownership and very little hierarchy between you and the decisions that matter. What you will do
Public-company readiness. Build the governance and disclosure infrastructure of a public company: disclosure controls and procedures, a disclosure committee, reporting calendars, board and board committee support, insider trading and trading-window policies, Section 16 and Reg FD frameworks, and a 10b5-1 program.
IPO execution. If the company pursues an offering, help run the working group: registration statement drafting and diligence, underwriter and auditor coordination, publicity and quiet-period discipline, comfort and opinion support, and the exchange listing process.
Capital markets and financings. Lead legal execution on equity and debt financings, warehouse and credit facilities, convertible instruments, secondary transactions and tender offers, and the diligence that accompanies them.
M&A and strategic transactions. Lead legal execution on acquisitions, investments, and other strategic transactions: structuring, diligence, drafting and negotiating LOIs, purchase agreements, disclosure schedules and ancillary documents, and post-closing integration support.
Corporate governance. Handle board and committee mechanics - agendas, materials, resolutions, minutes, charters, delegations of authority, D&O questionnaires, related-party transaction review, and entity governance across our subsidiaries and holding structure.
Equity compensation. Partner with Finance and People on option and RSU grants, 409A valuations, Rule 701 compliance, plan amendments and share reserves, and the design work required to move an equity program to a public-company footing.
SEC reporting. Once public, own the ongoing periodic-reporting cycle - Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K and proxy materials - in coordination with Finance, Investor Relations, and external counsel.
General corporate. On a team this size, everyone carries breadth. Expect to touch commercial agreements, bank and vendor partnerships, intercompany arrangements, and the occasional problem that belongs to no one else.
What we are looking for
D. and active membership in good standing in a U.S. state bar; admitted in California or eligible to register as in-house counsel here.
8-15 years of post-J.D. experience, with substantial securities and capital markets work at a leading law firm.
Fluency in the Securities Act and Exchange Act frameworks that govern private financings and public reporting, and the judgment to know which questions are genuinely hard.
Public company experience required, including hands-on involvement with SEC reporting and disclosure (e.g., 10-K/10-Q/8-K and proxy materials, as applicable) and familiarity with disclosure controls and related governance requirements.
A record of seeing complicated processes through to closing.
The ability to explain legal requirements and risk to people who are not lawyers, and to be credible with a CFO, an audit partner, and a banker in the same afternoon.
Comfort with ambiguity, incomplete information, and doing unglamorous work yourself. There is no one below you to hand it to. You will need to build new structure, not inherit it.
Preferred
In-house experience taking a company public, or serving on the company side of an S-1 working group.
Fintech, consumer finance, or high-growth technology experience.
Familiarity with bank partnership models, consumer lending or earned-wage access products.
Experience building legal and governance functions.
