Legal Counsel - Litigation & Regulatory

About Betterment

Betterment is a leading, technology-driven financial services company that offers investing, savings 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 team is passionate about our mission, to empower people to build wealth with confidence and ease.  We're headquartered in NYC and offer hybrid NY-based positions (four days/ week in-office, with no required office days during the summer and winter holidays).

About the Role

We're looking for a versatile lawyer to join Betterment's high-impact legal team. Betterment is making investing smarter, easier, and more accessible for everyone - and this role sits at the center of the action, with responsibilities covering disputes and arbitration, regulatory inquiries, and policy advocacy. The ideal candidate is a talented litigator looking to expand their focus and expertise. 

You are:

• A sharp problem-solver with excellent legal judgment and outstanding attention to detail
• Strategic and practical, with a honed sense for which claims call for resolution and which should be contested vigorously 
• A clear and persuasive communicator to legal and non-legal audiences with varying degrees of sophistication
• Able to thrive in a fast-paced, technology-driven environment
• Comfortable making decisions in the face of ambiguity 
• Eager to own projects end-to-end, manage competing priorities, and build scalable processes that drive efficiencies for a lean team charged with covering a considerable amount of ground

In this role, you will build and own legal processes to manage and respond to claims and threatened claims. You will help to identify and mitigate legal risk; defend Betterment in litigations, arbitrations, and regulatory proceedings (both directly and by managing outside counsel); analyze legislative and regulatory changes relevant to Betterment's business; and advise business partners to improve Betterment's products and services. You will report directly to Betterment's Head of Regulatory and Policy, and sit alongside Betterment's product counseling team. 

This role is based out of our NYC office. Below we've reflected the base salary range for this position. Actual salaries may vary depending on factors including but not limited to location, experience, and performance. The range listed is just one component of Betterment's total compensation package for employees. 

• New York City: $170,000 - $185,000

This job may also be eligible for variable compensation in the form of a company incentive bonus. 

A Day in the Life

• Serve as trusted legal partner to business, triaging and investigating escalated concerns
• Resolve and avoid potential disputes, driving pre-litigation strategy
• Represent Betterment in litigation, arbitrations, and regulatory proceedings  
• Manage and collaborate with outside counsel 
• Coordinate responses to third-party subpoenas
• Navigate legal and regulatory requirements to address operational issues and enhance Betterment's products and services 
• Support Betterment's policy advocacy efforts by analyzing proposed legislation and rule-makings relevant to Betterment's business

What We're Looking For

• A JD, admission to the NY bar, and at least 4 years of relevant in-house or firm litigation 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
• Passion for Betterment's products and mission

Bonus Points If You Have:

• Knowledge of financial services regulation, especially the Advisers Act, ERISA, securities and/or banking law and related regulations
• Arbitration experience, especially FINRA or AAA proceedings
• Familiarity with privacy and/or information security issues
• Experience in retail financial services or representing financial services clients
• In-house experience at a startup or high growth company

Join a team built on these core values

We change lives

Be a part of a community of innovators working to transform financial outcomes for real people. Your work will make an impact, always laddering up to our mission; to empower people to build wealth with confidence and ease.

We set audacious goals

We set them for the company, our customers, and ourselves, and we won't stop until we reach them. We don't just show up; we give our all, then celebrate our wins.

We value all perspectives

When we collaborate, we're at our best. We believe diverse perspectives lead to better outcomes and strive to uphold our supportive and inclusive community.

We simplify financial services

We're financial services pioneers, always finding new ways to improve, optimize, and enhance. Constant improvement is in our DNA.

 Our Commitment to Your Total Well-being:

• We offer a competitive suite of benefits, including medical, dental, and vision coverage; life and AD&D insurance; short- and long-term disability; infertility support and WPATH-aligned transgender health benefits; an Employee Assistance Program (EAP); transit benefits and FSA and HSA options
• Ownership: Equity for all employees, including new hire and refresher grants.
• Time: Flexible paid time off, paid parental leave, and a fully paid four-week sabbatical in your sixth year.
• Growth: Company-paid professional coaching for all employees.
• Wealth: Day-one 401(k) match plus matching on qualified student loan payments.

What happens next

We'll take a few weeks to review all applications. If we'd like to spend more time with you, we'll reach out to arrange next steps, which will include 3-4 sets of meetings with your future colleagues.

In the interview process, we'll look to learn more about your skills, experiences, capabilities, and motivators. Many of our questions will be aimed at understanding how you might operate here at Betterment. Depending on the role, we may ask you to complete a case study exercise or technical assessments, as we want to collect a robust set of data points to better inform our decisions.

On average, it takes us around 3-5 weeks to make a hiring decision, depending on your availability and sense of urgency. As a best practice, we aim to interview at least 2-3 final round candidates before making a hiring decision. Please note that, as we usually receive an overwhelming number of  applications for open positions, we're unable to offer individual feedback during the interview process. 

We recognize that interviewing for a new role is a big deal. We appreciate you considering Betterment as the next step in your career, and our Recruiting Team is here to support and advocate for you through the interview process!

Betterment is dedicated to providing accommodations to candidates upon request. If you need accommodations at any point throughout the interview process, please reach out to your recruiter. 

Please note that in any materials you submit, you may redact or remove age-identifying information such as age, date of birth, or dates of school attendance or graduation. You will not be penalized for redacting or removing this information.

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.