General CounselExperience: 8+ Years
Location: New York, NY (Hybrid)
Reporting To: Chief Executive Officer
Position Overview: RQD is seeking a General Counsel to serve as the company's senior legal executive and a trusted advisor to the CEO, Board of Directors, and leadership team.
This role requires deep, hands-on experience with SEC and FINRA regulation applicable to broker-dealers, particularly carrying, clearing, and custody businesses. The General Counsel will advise on regulatory strategy, examinations, commercial agreements, product development, corporate governance, financings, employment matters, disputes, and global regulation.
This is a highly practical and hands-on role. The successful candidate must be able to analyze complex regulatory issues, make clear recommendations, and work closely with Compliance, Risk, Operations, Technology, Finance, and commercial teams.
Key Responsibilities:- Serve as RQD's senior legal advisor on SEC and FINRA rules applicable to broker-dealers, clearing firms, carrying firms, and custody businesses.
- Advise on customer protection, net capital, margin, books and records, supervision, regulatory reporting, clearing arrangements, custody, and financial responsibility requirements.
- Support new products and business initiatives, including securities lending, fully paid lending, portfolio margin, overnight trading, digital assets, tokenized securities, and international client arrangements.
- Lead or oversee SEC and FINRA inquiries, investigations, and enforcement matters.
- Partner with Compliance and Risk on client activity, account restrictions, customer exits, low-priced securities, market manipulation concerns, omnibus accounts, and cross-border activity.
- Negotiate and draft clearing, custody, brokerage, securities-lending, technology, vendor, strategic partnership, and other complex commercial agreements.
- Advise on corporate governance, Board matters, financings, strategic investments, acquisitions, and other corporate transactions.
- Oversee employment matters, litigation, claims, investigations, subpoenas, privacy, cybersecurity, intellectual property, and outside counsel.
- Build scalable legal processes, templates, policies, and approval frameworks.
- Identify and communicate material legal and regulatory risks to senior management and the Board.
Required Qualifications:- Juris Doctor degree from an accredited law school.
- Active membership in good standing in at least one U.S. state bar.
- Approximately 8 or more years of relevant legal experience.
- Significant experience advising SEC- and FINRA-regulated broker-dealers.
- Deep working knowledge of the regulatory framework applicable to carrying, clearing, custody, or self-clearing broker-dealers.
- Direct experience with SEC, FINRA, exchange, or other securities-regulatory examinations or investigations.
- Strong knowledge of broker-dealer financial responsibility, customer protection, supervision, margin, books and records, and clearing obligations.
- Experience advising senior executives and Boards of Directors.
- Experience negotiating sophisticated financial-services or technology agreements.
- Ability to provide practical, independent advice without excessive reliance on outside counsel.
Preferred Qualifications:- Prior experience as a General Counsel, Deputy General Counsel, Chief Legal Officer, or senior regulatory counsel at a regulator, clearing firm, broker-dealer, exchange, ATS, custodian, market maker, fintech, or other regulated securities business.
- Experience working at the SEC, FINRA, an exchange, or another securities regulator.
- Familiarity with SEC Rules 15c3-1, 15c3-3, 17a-3 and 17a-4, Regulation T, FINRA margin rules, and applicable clearing-agency requirements.
- Experience with securities lending, fully paid lending, portfolio margin, options, omnibus accounts, foreign financial institutions, digital assets, or tokenized securities.
- Experience supporting capital raises, private equity investors, and high-growth companies.
What We Are Looking For:- A true securities-regulatory expert who understands how clearing firms operate in practice.
- A practical, commercially minded lawyer who can distinguish material risk from theoretical risk.
- Strong judgment and the confidence to provide direct advice in high-stakes or ambiguous situations.
- Someone who can say "no" when necessary, while remaining focused on finding a compliant path to "yes."
- The ability to explain complex legal and regulatory issues in plain English.
- A low-ego, intellectually honest leader who takes ownership and works well across functions.
- A builder who wants to create a legal function that can scale with the business.
Benefits: - UnitedHealthcare medical coverage (multiple plan tiers, including HDHP options) - company covers 90% of premium costs, effective your first day of employment. Dental and Vision included.
- Health Savings Account (HSA) and Flexible Spending Account (FSA) options
- Paid Time Off - 20 accrued vacation days/yr, 6 sick days/yr (with carryover), 2 personal days/yr, and 1 volunteering day/yr
- 401(k) with a strong employer match - 100% match on the first 4% of employee contributions, immediately vested
The salary range for this position is $250,000 - $300,000. Actual compensation will be determined based on experience, qualifications, and other job-related factors. The role is eligible for an annual discretionary performance bonus and equity compensation. Salary Range
$250,000-$300,000 USD
