Senior Legal Counsel, Capital Markets

About Upstart

Upstart is the leading AI lending marketplace partnering with banks and credit unions to expand access to affordable credit. By leveraging Upstart's AI marketplace, Upstart-powered banks and credit unions can have higher approval rates and lower loss rates across races, ages, and genders, while simultaneously delivering the exceptional digital-first lending experience their customers demand. More than 80% of borrowers are approved instantly, with zero documentation to upload.

Upstart is a digital-first company, which means that most Upstarters live and work anywhere in the United States. However, we also have offices in San Mateo, California; Columbus, Ohio; and Austin, Texas.

Most Upstarters join us because they connect with our mission of enabling access to effortless credit based on true risk. If you are energized by the impact you can make at Upstart, we’d love to hear from you!

The Team

Upstart’s legal team is a key component of the company, helping Upstart innovate in the fintech space across multiple products and supporting its mission of expanding access to credit based on true risk.  We are a team of savvy, hardworking and genuinely nice individuals collaborating closely with the business in achieving its objectives.

The capital markets legal team is seeking a Senior Legal Counsel, who is able to lead and negotiate complex capital markets transactions,  as well as  support the rest of the capital markets legal team in day-to-day matters as they arise (including on asset-backed securitizations, warehouse financings, investment funds, and investor services support).  This role requires someone who is adaptable and can think outside of the box, while having a strong transactional and finance background (experience in private credit, debt finance, structured finance, securitizations, debt capital markets or structured lending strongly preferred).

 

Position Location - This role is available in the following locations: Remote

Time Zone Requirements - This team operates on the East/West Coast time zones.

Travel Requirements - As a digital first company, the majority of your work can be accomplished remotely. The majority of our employees can live and work anywhere in the U.S but are encouraged to to still spend high quality time in-person collaborating via regular onsites. The in-person sessions’ cadence varies depending on the team and role; most teams meet once or twice per quarter for 2-4 consecutive days at a time.

How you’ll make an impact:

• Lead and support legal negotiations on complex structured financing transactions
• Work closely with our capital markets and finance teams to structure novel deals with key investors in order to ensure capital commitments for Upstart
• Support other team members in structuring, drafting and negotiating securitizations and warehouse financing deals with sophisticated counterparties
• Provide legal and strategic guidance to assess and mitigate legal risk by building a deep understanding of the business and collaborating with internal clients, including accounting, data analytics, product, treasury, operations and tax
• Assist in general commercial transactions and agreements as needed

 

What we’re looking for: 

• Minimum requirements:
  • J.D. degree with solid academic credentials and a state bar membership (CA or NY preferred)
  • 5+ years of experience with a minimum of 3 years at a top-tier law firm; experience in debt finance, investment funds, capital markets, private credit or structured finance 
  • Self-starter who thrives under limited direction and is excited by challenges
  • Strong communication skills with a demonstrated ability to effectively and proactively provide quick, concise, and practical legal advice
  • Eager to develop expertise in new or unfamiliar areas of law
  • Adaptability: willingness to be flexible and excited to work in a dynamic and fast-paced environment
• Preferred qualifications:
  • Experience with asset-backed securitizations, secured and unsecured lending
  • Experience setting up joint ventures, co-investments  or funds; experience negotiating against or working with large private equity/credit funds 
  • Strong law firm training and some in-house experience at a fintech company preferred

What you'll love: 

• Competitive Compensation (base + bonus & equity)
• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage with Health Savings Account contribution