FreeHire

batoncorporation

Chief Legal Officer (CLO) ($1M-$5M salary)

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1. THE OPPORTUNITY

Baton Corporation is the development company that builds and maintains pump.fun — the dominant memecoin launchpad on Solana, processing $300M+ daily volume. Last year pump.fun generated more than $500M in profit with a team of fewer than 100 people.

We are a technology development company with our operational centre in New York, NY, serving hundreds of thousands of users globally — across the US, EU, Asia, and beyond. Our legal and regulatory environment is complex, fast-moving, and consequential. We are creating this role because we need someone who can own it.

This is a newly created, senior in-house position reporting directly to the General Counsel. The successful candidate will serve as the principal legal advisor across regulatory affairs, product counsel, corporate governance, and cross-border compliance. The role demands technical legal depth combined with the pragmatic, commercial instinct of someone comfortable operating at pace, in an environment with low bureaucracy and high expectations.

2. SCOPE OF RESPONSIBILITIES

Regulatory Affairs & Digital Asset Compliance

  • Serve as the primary internal expert on US digital asset regulation — SEC, CFTC, FinCEN, OFAC — providing timely, well-reasoned guidance across product, engineering, and commercial teams.

  • Own and manage the company's global regulatory posture across UK (FCA), EU (MiCA/DORA), and APAC jurisdictions; identify exposure and develop defensible compliance frameworks.

  • Lead regulatory engagement: respond to inquiries, manage investigations, and represent the company in proceedings alongside outside counsel.

  • Monitor legislative and regulatory developments across all relevant jurisdictions and translate them into actionable recommendations for senior leadership.

  • Oversee AML/KYC programme integrity in collaboration with the Head of Compliance, ensuring frameworks are robust, current, and audit-ready.

Product & Commercial Counsel

  • Provide timely legal review for all product launches, feature expansions, and go-to-market activities across multiple jurisdictions.

  • Draft, negotiate, and manage all commercial contracts: partnerships, exchange listings, data and API agreements, vendor relationships, and enterprise arrangements.

  • Advise on data privacy obligations (GDPR, CCPA) and consumer protection requirements embedded in product design and terms of service.

  • Review marketing and promotional materials for regulatory compliance across relevant markets.

Corporate Governance & Litigation

  • Advise on corporate governance and board matters across the UK parent entity and any US or international subsidiaries.

  • Lead the company's response to litigation, class actions, and law enforcement requests; manage outside counsel relationships effectively, controlling quality and cost.

  • Oversee IP strategy including trademark registration, brand protection, and global enforcement.

  • Manage cross-border corporate structuring matters as the company's legal footprint evolves.

Legal Operations & Team Building

  • Identify emerging legal risks before they become existential; build scalable internal processes that the business can actually use.

  • Manage and develop outside counsel panel relationships — driving quality up and costs down.

  • Contribute to building a world-class legal function appropriate to the company's scale and ambition.

3. CANDIDATE PROFILE

Qualifications & Experience

  • JD from an accredited US law school; admitted to the New York Bar or eligible for admission on motion. Additional UK or international qualifications are a plus.

  • 10+ years of legal experience, combining top-tier law firm practice with meaningful in-house time in crypto, fintech, payments, or regulated financial services.

  • Deep, practitioner-level knowledge of US digital asset regulation — you understand the current state of SEC/CFTC jurisdiction, FinCEN expectations, and OFAC sanctions compliance.

  • Genuine familiarity with international regulatory frameworks: UK FCA, EU MiCA, FATF standards, and at least one APAC regime.

  • Experienced in managing litigation, regulatory investigations, and enforcement actions — you have been in the room when things become difficult.

  • Experience with GDPR/CCPA, AML/sanctions compliance, and consumer protection regulation is expected.

Attributes

  • Commercially sharp — you give clear, actionable advice that enables the business to move forward, not opinions that generate more questions than answers.

  • Comfortable in genuine ambiguity — crypto law is unsettled and evolving; you make well-reasoned calls without waiting for certainty that will not come.

  • High-agency and direct — you own your work end-to-end and communicate clearly to non-lawyers at every level of the organisation.

  • Startup or high-growth company experience strongly preferred — you know how to do a great deal with a lean team.

  • Absolute discretion — the matters you will handle are sensitive; confidentiality is non-negotiable.