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

• THE OPPORTUNITY

Baton Corporation is the development company that builds and maintains pump.fun http://pump.fun — the dominant memecoin launchpad on Solana, processing $300M+ daily volume. Last year pump.fun http://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, UK, 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.

• 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.
• 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.