VP, Legal

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in California.

📋 Description

• Take ownership and lead the legal function for Dutch, encompassing corporate, regulatory, commercial, product, privacy, employment, litigation, and compliance issues.

• Act as a strategic legal advisor to the CEO, executive team, and board regarding critical business, regulatory, and risk-related decisions.

• Collaborate closely with clinical, pharmacy, product, operations, marketing, finance, people, and growth teams to facilitate compliant and scalable execution.

• Direct Dutch’s legal strategy concerning veterinary telemedicine, VCPR, pharmacy operations, prescribing, state-by-state regulatory requirements, and associated healthcare compliance matters.

• Support Dutch’s regulatory advocacy initiatives as the company strives to broaden access to virtual veterinary care throughout the United States.

• Establish legal frameworks that enable Dutch to introduce new products, expand into additional states, enter new business sectors, and enhance its pet health platform.

• Draft, review, and negotiate commercial agreements, which include vendor contracts, strategic partnerships, pharmacy-related agreements, marketing agreements, data/privacy agreements, and other essential contracts.

• Provide guidance on product and marketing initiatives, such as claims review, consumer protection, advertising compliance, subscription practices, and customer-facing disclosures.

• Oversee corporate governance, board materials, financing support, equity matters, cap table administration, and investor-related legal activities.

• Manage employment legal matters in collaboration with the People team, covering policies, employee relations, offer documentation, separations, and adherence to applicable employment laws.

• Develop and enhance internal legal processes, templates, policies, approval workflows, and playbooks that empower teams to operate more effectively and with better judgment.

• Efficiently manage outside counsel across regulatory, corporate, employment, litigation, pharmacy, privacy, and other specialized domains.

• Identify and proactively mitigate legal and regulatory risks without unnecessarily hindering business operations.

• Prepare Dutch for future growth, including potential strategic transactions, financing events, audits, and readiness for public company operations over time.

⛳️ Requirements

• Juris Doctor (JD) degree from an accredited law school and active membership in at least one U.S. state bar.

• Proven experience advising regulated businesses within consumer healthcare, telehealth, pharmacy, marketplace, subscription, fintech, insurance, or similarly complex industries.

• Strong regulatory judgment with the capability to interpret state-by-state requirements in practical, business-focused terms.

• Experience collaborating with executive teams and providing counsel to senior leaders on high-stakes legal, regulatory, and commercial matters.

• Exceptional skills in drafting and negotiating commercial contracts.

• Comfort in a fast-paced startup environment where the legal function must balance rigorous standards with practicality.

• Strong understanding of privacy, marketing, consumer protection, employment, and corporate governance issues pertinent to a consumer healthcare business.

• Ability to create scalable legal processes from the ground up, including templates, playbooks, workflows, and training programs.

• Strong project management abilities and the capacity to oversee multiple workstreams, outside counsel, and business priorities simultaneously.

• High integrity, sound judgment, and a tendency to seek legally sound solutions that lead to affirmative outcomes.

• Low-ego, collaborative leadership approach and readiness to engage in hands-on work.

🏝️ Benefits

• Health, dental, and vision insurance.

• Flexible paid time off (PTO).

• Remote-first culture.

• Opportunity to make a significant impact on pets and their owners.

• Chance to contribute to building one of the most vital consumer healthcare companies in pet care.