Fractional General Counsel

Pantheon has a live product, enterprise customers, more than one legal entity, and a team that is growing across borders. That means a steady flow of legal work: the agreements a company runs on, clear ownership of the IP we build and acquire, and disputes that need someone who will see them through.

We do not have counsel today. We want one senior legal partner who handles the day-to-day paperwork well and who has the litigation experience to protect and enforce our rights when it matters, rather than a different lawyer for every matter.

• Company agreements. Draft, review and negotiate customer, partner and vendor agreements, and set up the templates and process so routine contracts move without you.
• Product terms and privacy. Own our terms of service, privacy policy and data processing agreements across our web, desktop and mobile apps and app store listings, and answer the legal and privacy questions enterprise buyers raise before signing.
• Corporate paperwork. Keep our corporate records, board and shareholder documents, and equity paperwork in order across our entities.
• Employment and contractor agreements. Set up offer letters, contractor agreements, confidentiality and invention assignment terms, and the policies a growing team needs.
• IP ownership and trademarks. Make sure the company owns what it builds, clean up assignments where needed, structure acquisitions of IP including the rights to enforce it, and register and protect our trademarks.
• IP enforcement and disputes. Assess claims, lead negotiations, and run litigation directly or manage outside litigation counsel, through to resolution.
• Legal support for our team and leadership. Take on or coordinate company-sponsored legal support for team members and leadership, including personal matters such as IP, employment and reputation claims.

This is a part-time, ongoing engagement. Expect a heavier start while we put our agreements and IP in order and take on active matters, then a regular monthly rhythm, with more time when a dispute is live.

The scope can grow with the right person or firm. We are choosing on fit and caliber.

Whether you are independent counsel or a firm, please tell us:

• How you would split your time between company work and disputes, and who would do each.
• Your litigation experience: the kinds of matters you have taken to resolution, and how they ended.
• Your experience with IP ownership, acquisition and enforcement for software or technology companies.
• Where you are licensed to practise, and how you work with counsel in other jurisdictions.
• How you structure fees, including whether you consider alternative arrangements for strong disputes.
• One or two companies you have acted for at a similar stage.

Use the application form below. In place of a resume, a short capabilities document or CV is fine.

• You can draft and you can litigate. You have run commercial and corporate work for companies and taken disputes through to resolution, or you lead a firm that covers both.
• You know IP. You have handled ownership, assignment, acquisition and enforcement of IP, including trademarks, for technology companies.
• You have advised early-stage companies. You know what a growing company needs now and what can wait.
• You work across jurisdictions. You are licensed in a North American jurisdiction relevant to our operations and can coordinate counsel elsewhere.
• You are direct about risk and cost. You tell us plainly which matters are worth pursuing, what they will cost, and how likely they are to succeed.

• You have enforced IP in court on behalf of an owner or acquirer.
• You have experience with defamation or reputation matters.
• You have worked with litigation funders or on contingency or hybrid fee arrangements.
• You have advised on privacy and data protection for software that handles personal communications.

We are a small core team with a live product. You will work with and report to both the founder and the COO, mostly in writing and in short, regular check-ins. We value clear recommendations over long memos.

1. An introductory conversation about your practice and the matters you have handled.
2. A working discussion about our current agreements, IP and active matters, and how you would approach them.
3. A conversation with the founder and the COO.
4. Agreement on scope, engagement terms, fees and expectations.