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Aave Labs is seeking a Legal Counsel to support its global business with a focus on commercial matters, acquisitions, and strategic transactions. You will work across teams to structure, negotiate, and execute commercial arrangements including strategic partnerships, acquisitions, asset purchases, and acqui-hires.
Key responsibilities include:
- Draft, review, and negotiate a broad range of commercial agreements (strategic partnerships, technology agreements, vendor/service agreements, integrations)
- Partner with Business Development, Product, and other teams to structure complex commercial arrangements and develop practical legal solutions
- Support negotiation and execution of strategic partnerships with financial institutions, fintechs, infrastructure providers, and digital asset ecosystem participants
- Provide legal support throughout partner integration lifecycles, from structuring through implementation and launch
- Advise teams on contract interpretation, rights, obligations, and commercial risk
- Support acquisitions, asset purchases, acqui-hires, and other strategic transactions from evaluation through completion
- Conduct and coordinate legal due diligence, identifying key risks and translating findings into clear recommendations
- Draft, review, and negotiate transaction documentation (NDAs, LOIs, term sheets, purchase agreements, IP transfer arrangements)
- Work with senior stakeholders and external counsel on transaction structuring and execution
- Advise on corporate, commercial, and IP considerations arising from strategic transactions
- Support post-transaction matters including contract transfer, IP integration, and asset integration
- Develop and improve commercial templates, contracting processes, and legal playbooks to enable efficient scaling
About Aave Labs: Aave Labs built the Aave Protocol, the world's largest and most trusted onchain lending market, connecting decentralized finance with individuals, traditional finance, and fintech. The company focuses on making financial services like borrowing, saving, and earning more accessible globally. The culture emphasizes building trusted, high-quality products with attention to detail, moving quickly while thinking long-term, and maintaining lean, impact-focused teams.
Requirements:
- 4+ years of experience as a practicing lawyer with strong background in corporate and commercial law and experience handling complex transactions
- Experience working in fintech, crypto, or digital assets with strong understanding of the commercial and legal environment
- Strong experience drafting and negotiating complex commercial agreements
- Experience advising on acquisitions, corporate transactions, and other complex commercial arrangements
- Working knowledge of digital asset regulatory frameworks, including securities law issues and token classification as they bear on deal structuring and diligence
- Familiarity with DeFi protocols and on-chain/DAO governance structures, including where they arise as transaction counterparties or acquisition targets
- Experience conducting legal due diligence and drafting/negotiating transaction documentation
- Experience structuring transaction consideration involving tokens, as distinct from standard cash or equity consideration
- Experience within a leading law firm and/or in-house legal team within a technology or financial services environment
- Strong commercial judgment and ability to identify material legal risks and translate them into practical recommendations
- Ability to operate autonomously, manage multiple workstreams, and take ownership of transactions from start to finish
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with confidence to work with senior internal and external stakeholders
- Experience working across multiple jurisdictions and coordinating specialist external counsel
