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Morpho · 2 days ago

General Counsel

New York, NY

Full-time

Hybrid

Director/Executive

$260K/yr - $300K/yr

15+ years exp

Morpho is a leading Decentralized Finance (DeFi) lending protocol that aims to provide open access to capital. The General Counsel will build and lead a Legal & Public Affairs organization to enhance Morpho’s credibility and facilitate strategic partnerships, ensuring the company can scale effectively and navigate regulatory challenges.

BlockchainCryptocurrencyFinancial ServicesLending

Responsibilities

Build and scale a high-performing Legal & Public Affairs organization: empower and develop the existing team, design the org, hire through scaling phases, and implement lightweight playbooks and systems (including AI/automation) that increase leverage

Own the Legal + Public Affairs roadmaps to ensure they stay aligned with business priorities and evolve as Morpho scales

Lead US institutional readiness: negotiate complex, high-value partnerships (especially US institutional / TradFi) and build the frameworks (positions, escalation rules, playbooks) that let Morpho scale safely

Increase Morpho’s velocity and decision quality: turn ambiguous, high-stakes topics into risk-weighted paths to “yes” with clear options, trade-offs, owners, and timelines

Represent Morpho externally with credibility: act as a senior face of the company with partners, counsel, policymakers/regulators, and ecosystem stakeholders

Qualification

Legal & Public AffairsWeb3/crypto exposureNegotiating partnershipsTeam buildingStartup-compatibleFirst-principles thinkingBusiness-driven mindsetCrypto curiosityAdaptability

Required

15+ years of legal & public affairs experience, including significant in-house leadership in a high-growth tech/fintech environment

Web3/crypto exposure (digital assets, DeFi, trading/lending, product/regulatory interface)

Proven track record negotiating major, high-value partnerships — especially US institutional / TradFi-facing work — and operating effectively in the US context

Demonstrated ability to be a senior external representative with Tier-1 partners and regulators/policymakers

Experience owning both Legal and Public Affairs strategy (narrative, roadmap, stakeholder management) while balancing both

Experience building and scaling teams through growth phases (org design, hiring, performance/feedback, budgeting)

Startup-compatible (tools, agility)

Adaptability, comfort with ambiguity, and a bias for action

First-principles thinking and strong decision quality under imperfect information

Focus & simplicity: clear prioritization and crisp trade-offs

Low ego and collective success mindset

Business-driven: legal as an enabler, not a gatekeeper

Crypto curiosity and continuous learning