General Counsel, Masterworks
Platform for art investment
Job no longer available
Platform for art investment
201-500 employees
Job no longer available
201-500 employees
Company mission
Masterworks' mission is to make art investable.
Role
Who you are
- Our ideal candidate is a sharp, rigorous, intellectually versatile lawyer who learns fast, solves problems creatively, and delivers practical answers in a fast paced environment, and who can inspire confidence and trust among business teams who will look to you as their primary source of legal guidance
- Hands on experience with securities offerings is strongly preferred, ideally including Regulation A, Regulation D, or registered offerings; familiarity with the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940 is a plus
- Approximately 7 years of legal experience, including training at a nationally recognized law firm in capital markets, corporate finance, or M&A, followed by in house experience in a similar area
- Comfortable operating as an individual contributor, personally executing matters end to end rather than relying on a large in house team, while still commanding credibility with the executive team and business partners; the outgoing General Counsel will be available on a consulting basis for support and mentoring during the transition
- A securities, capital markets, M&A, funds, or general corporate background is strongly preferred
- J.D. with strong academic credentials; admitted to a U.S. state bar in good standing
- Demonstrated facility with technology, including fluency with AI tools and a genuine interest in integrating them into legal workflows
- A business minded professional capable of balancing legal and compliance considerations with commercial objectives
- Exceptional attention to detail, analytical rigor, practical judgment, and excellent written and verbal communication skills
What the job involves
- Masterworks is seeking a General Counsel to take over primary responsibility for the company's legal function, reporting directly to the CEO
- This is a hands-on, individual contributor role rather than a traditional management position: the successful candidate will personally handle the substantial majority of day to day legal work rather than delegate it to a team of junior attorneys
- The outgoing General Counsel will remain available on a consulting basis during the transition, providing support and mentoring as needed, but the new General Counsel will be expected to own the legal function independently
- You will shape the company's legal strategy, drive its securities offerings and other corporate transactions, and support compliance with applicable U.S. federal securities laws, all while rolling up your sleeves on day to day drafting, negotiating, and problem solving
- Developing financial products and offering features, personally preparing and reviewing offering materials, overseeing ongoing Regulation A reporting and related SEC filings, and supporting compliance with U.S. federal securities laws across the company's offering, trading, and investor communication activities
- Assisting with regulatory analysis relating to the company's investment vehicles and new product structures
- Structuring and executing corporate transactions, including financings, strategic partnerships, and reorganizations, typically as the primary attorney driving the deal from start to finish (with outside counsel and consulting support available as needed)
- Negotiating commercial arrangements and agreements directly with business partners, vendors, and service providers
- Maintaining governance over the Company and its investment vehicles, and partnering with the Chief Compliance Officer to develop and implement compliance policies, procedures, and controls
- Providing hands on legal support across employment and HR matters, intellectual property, data privacy, Terms of Use, marketing review, and other general corporate matters, working cross functionally with the financial operations, marketing, HR, and art acquisition teams
- Maintaining and building on the legal function's infrastructure, including templates, processes, and outside counsel relationships, to support continued growth and any future legal hires
- Measurements of Success:
- Effective execution of all corporate transactions, including securities offerings by affiliated issuer entities
- Quality and speed of turnaround supporting the business teams
- Successful implementation and maintenance of governance and compliance policies and procedures
- Ability to independently manage a broad and varied workstream with minimal day to day supervision
- Effective cross functional collaboration and trust built with internal business partners, measured by their feedback
Our take
In the age of democratising access to financial platforms, Masterworks epitomises the trend through its platform, which breaks down the walls to art investment. Traditionally guarded by old institutions and reserved for the uber-rich, the company supplies a way for retail investors to access the space by pioneering the ‘fractionalising’ of art pieces.
Through Masterworks, SEC-qualified paintings by names like Banksy, Monet, and Picasso are portioned, allowing retailers to hold just a percentage of the piece via its platform. Having acquired over 100 assets, worth a total of hundreds of millions of dollars, the company has scaled well and remained agile as it capitalises on the ever-increasing popularity of alternative assets.
The company has also focussed on building out its technological capabilities. For instance, by leveraging proprietary data - acquired from becoming one of the most important buyers on the market - Masterworks believes it can deliver increased returns for its retail investors, adding further value to its platform that should attract and retain users.
Freddie
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
160% employee growth in 12 months
Company
Funding (1 round)
Oct 2021
$110m
SERIES A
Total funding: $110m
Company benefits
- Paid time off for vacation, sick time, and corporate holidays
- 401k option
- Daily buffet style catered lunch with options for every diet
- Lunch & Learns - Featured guests and Masterworks leadership share their experiences
- Monthly happy hours
- Medical, dental, and vision coverage for all our full-time employees
Company HQ
World Trade Center, New York, NY
Leadership
Scott Lynn
(Founder & CEO)Founded Virtumundo which developed one of the first viral internet games. Went on to found and chair V2 Ventures, which invested in or acquired startups in the online advertising space. Also founded Payability, an eCommerce funding platform.
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