Associate General Counsel, Ireland

At Coinbase, our mission is to increase economic freedom around the world , and we couldn’t do this without hiring the best people. We’re a group of hard-working overachievers who are deeply focused on building the future of finance and Web3 for our users across the globe, whether they’re trading, storing, staking or using crypto. Know those people who always lead the group project? That’s us.

There are a few things we look for across all hires we make at Coinbase, regardless of role or team. First, we look for candidates who will thrive in a culture like ours, where we default to trust, embrace feedback, and disrupt ourselves. Second, we expect all employees to commit to our mission-focused approach to our work. Finally, we seek people who are excited to learn about and live crypto, because those are the folks who enjoy the intense moments in our sprint and recharge work culture. We’re a remote-first company looking to hire the absolute best talent all over the world.

Ready to #LiveCrypto? Who you are:

• You’ve got positive energy. You’re optimistic about the future and determined to get there.
• You’re never tired of learning. You want to be a pro in bleeding edge tech like DeFi, NFTs, DAOs, and Web 3.0.
• You appreciate direct communication. You’re both an active communicator and an eager listener - because let’s face it, you can’t have one without the other. You’re cool with candid feedback and see every setback as an opportunity to grow.
• You can pivot on the fly. Crypto is constantly evolving, so our priorities do, too. What you worked on last month may not be what you work on today, and that excites you. You’re not looking for a boring job.
• You have a “can do” attitude. Our teams create high-quality work on quick timelines. Owning a problem doesn’t scare you, but rather empowers you to take 100% responsibility for achieving our mission.
• You want to be part of a winning team. We’re stronger together, and you’re a person who embraces being pushed out of your comfort zone.

The role will be based in our Dublin office. Working closely with our UK, Ireland, Germany and US-based executive teams, business stakeholders and colleagues in Legal and Compliance globally, you will play a key role in advising our business on a broad range of legal matters. This role involves handling cutting-edge and complex legal projects across regulatory issues, including compliance with applicable Irish e-money / payment services law, EU financial services law and regulations, and EU consumer protection laws in the context of crypto/digital assets. It requires working with a range of cross functional experts in the product, legal, business operations, finance and communications teams, among others, in order to enable new product roll-outs and other critical strategic initiatives. You will also help establish and manage the smooth running of legal operations to ensure that our business receives the highest quality legal advice as we continue to expand globally.

The ideal candidate will have excellent legal and business judgment, strategic thinking, and the ability to work across diverse teams, subject matters and countries. This is an opportunity to be a senior legal advisor for Coinbase products and services and to work on novel legal and regulatory issues at the forefront of technology in an exciting, fast-paced environment.

What you’ll be doing (ie. job duties):

• Work closely as legal advisor to business executives and the Compliance team to ensure compliance of EU and international operations with applicable e-money / payment services and financial services law and regulation and digital currency exchange best practices
• Provide legal guidance to international operating entities. Includes responsibility for ensuring legal and regulatory compliance of new products and services, inter-company operating arrangements, commercial relationships and banking partnerships, retail and institutional terms of business, assisting the business in rolling out products, services, or marketing/promotional efforts to new jurisdictions, and co-ordinating support and advice with the U.S. based legal team as appropriate
• Advise business leads and other key clients of new regulatory trends and developments involving digital currency in Europe and other key international jurisdictions, and help enable Coinbase’s advocacy for effective regulation
• Continuously assess operating risks and legal needs and ensure that the legal department is equipped to provide outstanding support as Coinbase’s international business continues to grow
• Manage outside counsel effectively where they are engaged in connection with specific projects, while establishing your own strong domain expertise.

What we look for in you (ie. job requirements):

• Qualified solicitor in Ireland with approximately 6 -10 years experience working in a regulated e-money / payment services or financial services institution in Ireland (e.g. e-money issuer, payment service firm, broker dealer / asset manager) or in a law firm supporting such clients (ideally with some previous in-house experience)
• Deep familiarity with financial services regulations (e.g. MIFID, PSD2) and digital asset regulations (e.g. Markets in Crypto Assets regulation (MiCAR) and VASP registration regimes) is strongly preferred
• Experience dealing with regulators - particularly the Central Bank of Ireland - and/or other key European financial services regulators is preferred
• Ability to manage complex projects involving coordination across multiple time zones, challenging legal issues and tight deadlines
• Ability to work closely with Compliance to deliver coordinated input to the business and other stakeholders
• Ability to exercise initiative and drive effective internal decision making across complex workstreams to enable Coinbase to meet its long-term goals
• Ability to manage a large and varied workload and exercise excellent judgment, analytical rigour and commercial pragmatism. Must be able to provide crisp and practical legal advice to business executives across a broad range of matters with limited supervision
• Highly driven and proactive. Must be keen to create process and structure and strive for continuous improvement
• Must be flexible, able to multitask, detail-oriented, and enjoy fast paced and high-intensity work
• Exceptional legal writing abilities and skilled at synthesizing the perspectives of various stakeholders
• Comfortable working independently in a fast-paced, growth-stage environment, subject to regulatory scrutiny, operating excellence and Coinbase’s demanding standards to operate the world’s most trusted digital currency exchange

Nice to haves:

• Enthusiasm for and a basic understanding of digital currencies/blockchain

Commitment to Equal Opportunity

Coinbase is committed to diversity in its workforce and is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, creed, gender, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, sex, gender expression or identity, sexual orientation or any other basis protected by applicable law. Coinbase will also consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with applicable federal, state and local law. For US applicants, you may view Pay Transparency , Employee Rights and Know Your Rights notices by clicking on their corresponding links. Additionally, Coinbase participates in the E-Verify program in certain locations, as required by law.

Coinbase is also committed to providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation because of a disability for any part of the employment process, please complete this intake form to let us know the nature of your request and your contact information. For quick access to screen reading technology compatible with this site click here to download a free compatible screen reader (free step by step tutorial can be found here) .

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