Corporate Counsel
About the role
Element451 is hiring its first in-house attorney. This is a generalist commercial counsel role built around a clear, immediate need: the volume and complexity of our contract work, including MSAs, DPAs, renewals, and redlines with colleges and universities, has outgrown what outside counsel and non-legal staff can handle alone.
You will own contract negotiation end to end and serve as the first point of contact for the full range of legal questions that come up in a growing SaaS company, from data privacy to insurance to employment matters. You will bring in outside counsel only where specialized or higher-stakes expertise is truly needed. This is not a General Counsel role: corporate structuring, M&A, and financing transactions stay with outside deal counsel, with this role supporting and coordinating rather than owning them.
You will report to the CFO within Finance & Strategy and work closely with the Chief of Staff, IT, People Operations, Sales, and Accounting.
What you will do
Commercial contracts and MSAs (primary focus)
Draft, review, and negotiate customer MSAs, order forms, DPAs, and amendments, including redlines with public and private higher-ed institutions and their counsel
Manage a queue of concurrent negotiations, prioritizing by deal size, urgency, and risk
Review and negotiate terms with resellers, integration partners, and data and technology vendors
Build and maintain standard templates, fallback positions, and an approval playbook so recurring issues like liability caps, indemnification, data-breach cost allocation, and insurance requirements are resolved consistently and without a legal bottleneck
Flag and resolve terms in state and public-institution paper, including systemwide or state-mandated terms
Data privacy and compliance
Support FERPA, state student-data-privacy law, and GDPR compliance in customer contracts and internal data handling
Advise on digital accessibility obligations for the platform and customer-facing content, including ADA Title II, Sections 504 and 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, WCAG 2.1 AA, and state-specific standards
Track subprocessor agreements and make sure DPAs are executed and current everywhere a signed MSA references them
Monitor and advise on emerging state AI regulations relevant to our product
Insurance and risk
Own the review of cyber and other insurance renewal applications with Finance and the CTO, making sure representations are accurate and complete
Help size and document risk exposure on large or unusual deals for leadership sign-off
Disputes and public records
Manage potential customer disputes in their early stages, including responses to customer counsel, and escalate to outside litigation counsel when needed
Own responses to public-records and FOIA requests from state-institution customers, including trade-secret and proprietary exceptions where appropriate
Employment and corporate support
Advise on employment matters alongside People Operations
Own the Proprietary Information and Invention Agreement program so every employee and contractor signs at onboarding and agreements stay current with the law
Support board resolutions, corporate-secretary filings, and Economic Disclosure Statements, coordinating with outside counsel on structuring, M&A, and financing
Must haves
J.D. and an active license to practice law in at least one U.S. state
5 to 10 years of commercial or contracts law experience, ideally in-house at a B2B SaaS company or in a law firm commercial practice serving SaaS clients
Demonstrated experience negotiating MSAs, DPAs, and enterprise SaaS agreements, including with public-sector or higher-ed customers
Working knowledge of FERPA, state privacy laws, and GDPR
Comfort operating as a generalist and prioritizing a high volume of concurrent matters with limited legal-team support
Strong written and verbal communication, with the ability to turn legal risk into plain-language guidance for non-lawyers
Nice to haves
Experience in higher-ed technology, EdTech, or another regulated SaaS vertical
Familiarity with insurance and cyber-coverage review and renewal processes
Exposure to PE-backed company governance and reporting
Why Element451
We are the leading AI Workforce Platform built specifically for higher education, helping colleges and universities build stronger relationships with prospective and current students. This is a remote-first role with a home office allowance, 20 days PTO, 10 company holidays, a 4% 401(k) match, and competitive medical, dental, and vision coverage.
