Associate General Counsel

About Orchard

Orchard is transforming the way people buy and sell their homes. Simplifying it, to the way it should have always been; fair and true to market, straightforward, easy.  Every year in the U.S., $1.5 trillion of single family homes transact, generating over $120 billion of fees in a process that has changed little in decades. For the average American, the home purchase and sale process takes months, creates anxiety and is filled with uncertainty and hassle. Orchard offers a modern alternative, making one of life's biggest decisions -- the sale and purchase of a home –so stress free, fair and simple that people cannot imagine any other way. Orchard is headquartered in New York City, has 150+ employees, a network of 600 agents and has grown nearly 2x year over the last 2 years. We have raised equity financing from top tier investors including: Firstmark, Accomplice, Revolution Growth, Navitas and Juxtapose.

 

About the Role

Orchard is looking for an Associate General Counsel to join our dynamic and quickly expanding team. As the third member of the Legal & Regulatory team, you are ready to roll up your sleeves and make an immediate impact. You will play a key role in our rapidly growing business, partnering with teams across  the company to help build and evolve our product offerings, expand to new jurisdictions, and further  develop and mature our business lines, all while balancing business objectives and legal risk across the multiple highly-regulated sectors in which we operate. You will work across all of our business units and make meaningful contributions to each. And as the company continues to grow, there is significant opportunity to take on additional responsibilities and leadership roles. 

The ideal candidate is a highly self-motivated, business-minded attorney who enjoys operating  autonomously, successfully navigates ambiguity, and can manage multiple projects and competing  priorities comfortably. This person brings extraordinary judgment and interpersonal skills to the role.  While highly effective and an innovative thinker, you take a humble approach to your job, allowing your  work to speak for itself. By building a track record of sound advice and success, you will become a  trusted advisor to senior leadership and teams across the company. We are looking for candidates who  are excited about the opportunity to help grow Orchard’s business in an entrepreneurial yet compliant  manner, while working with diverse groups of stakeholders to get things done in a complex and fast moving environment. 

This is a full-time role that will report to the General Counsel and will be based out of our New York City office.  We are on a hybrid schedule, in office on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.  While our preference is for New York based candidates, we may be open to candidates in one of the following areas: Washington DC, CA, CO, FL, GA, MA, MI, MS, NC, NJ, NY, PA, SC, TN, TX, VA, or WA.

 

What You’ll Do Here

• Act as a legal swiss-army knife, working independently across several different legal practice  areas, but with a particular focus on commercial and regulatory issues and building out Orchard’s products and services in compliance with the legal and regulatory frameworks governing  residential real estate.
• Act as the go-to person for Orchard’s commercial partnerships. From inception to execution, you will have a seat at the table and will drive deals independently.
• Assist our mortgage company to build out that company’s product and service offerings and  delivery, as well as policies, controls, and structure to be compliant with applicable federal and  state legal frameworks, while also taking a leadership role in expanding its reach into additional  states. 
• Work with our title companies to help innovate, streamline and create customer delight in the  delivery of those companies’ services, all while maintaining compliance with applicable state laws  and regulations. 
• Partner with our Product & Engineering Teams to design and iterate how our products and  services are provided to customers, helping to intelligently balance innovation and growth with  legal and regulatory risk. 
• Engage with and build relationships with state regulators, in particular in connection with  expansion of our businesses into new states, our ongoing operational compliance, and any regulatory inquiries or examinations that may arise. 
• Manage outside law firms across a variety of practice areas, while balancing cost and  effectiveness in the delivery of legal services to our stakeholders. 
• Contribute to the continued development and improvement of our Data Privacy and Information Security policies, practices and procedures.  
• You also may have the opportunity to be involved in both equity and debt financings, involving both venture capital as well as traditional debt and equity capital providers. 

 

We’d Love to Hear From You if You

• Are a broad-based attorney with at least 7 years of experience in the commercial and/or regulatory space, gained ideally through a combination of law firm and in-house roles of increasing visibility and responsibility. 
• Have solid experience with commercial contracts, whether negotiating from a commercial  perspective or reviewing from a regulatory perspective, including leading negotiations or  discussions with large companies. 
• Ideally have experience with the laws and regulatory frameworks governing residential real estate, mortgage lending, title insurance, and settlement services, including RESPA, TILA, the Fair Housing Act, ECOA, GLBA, and applicable state licensing and regulatory requirements.
• Have experience navigating the application of evolving and sometimes overlapping regulations in a business context. 
• Are an entrepreneur who sees ambiguity as opportunity, and obstacles as chances to build new solutions. 
• Can successfully work independently with little guidance, but also to use good judgment and  escalate issues when needed. 
• Are eager to collaborate and comfortable and effective at building strong relationships with people across a variety of functional teams, skill sets and levels of professional experience.
• Have a demonstrated drive for results, work ethic and ability to prioritize risks and projects to focus on what’s important, get things done, and seize opportunities. 
• Have meticulous attention to detail and excellent planning and organization skills.
• Have experience with Data Privacy regimes and implementation of the related policies and procedures, though this is by no means required. 
• Have a state bar admission in good standing. 

 

The pay range for this position in New York City is $225K–$260K. The actual base pay offered may vary within the range provided depending on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Stock options and other incentive pay may be provided as part of the compensation package, in addition to a full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits, depending on the position offered. This information is provided per the New York City Human Rights Law. Please note that the range provided is applicable only to New York City-based applicants. Base compensation may vary if the work location is outside of New York City.