VP of Legal

VP of Legal

Role Title: VP of Legal

Location: NYC (hybrid – 3 days from the office)

Reports to: COO

Position Summary

As VP of Legal, you will own Honeycomb’s legal strategy and lead the legal function end-to-end. You will be the principal legal advisor to the CEO, COO, and Senior Leadership Team (SLT) on governance, risk, and strategic transactions.

Key Responsibilities:

• Strategic legal leadership: Serve as principal legal advisor to the CEO, COO, and SLT, on enterprise strategy, business initiatives, product launches, partnerships, regulatory/licensing matters, fundraising, fronting carrier and reinsurance arrangements, corporate governance, contracts, and material risk.
• Develop and lead the legal function: Structure and manage external counsel relationships; own the legal budget and ensure cost-effective, high-quality outcomes across commercial contracts, licensing, regulatory filings, corporate governance, IP, data privacy and security, employment law, and litigation management.
• Board & governance: Act as corporate secretary for the company; prepare Board and committee materials, manage minutes and resolutions, and advise on directors’ duties, equity administration, and entity governance across the corporate structure.
• Insurance & regulatory strategy: Own the regulatory strategy across all jurisdictions in which Honeycomb operates — state DOI relationships, multi-state licensing, MGA/agency model integrity, P&C filings, market conduct, and surplus lines compliance. Anticipate regulatory shifts in insurance, insurtech, and data/privacy and convert them into operating decisions.
• Growth enablement: Drive the legal workstream behind growth — entering new states, new product lines, and new jurisdictions; ensure legal readiness, sequencing, and enablement so the business can ship on time.
• Carrier, reinsurer & partner negotiations: Lead the legal posture in negotiations with carriers, reinsurers, MGAs, wholesalers, agencies, and distribution partners, resolve red lines pragmatically, and protect Honeycomb’s long-term economics.
• Strategic transactions: Lead legal execution on fundraising rounds (equity and debt facilities), M&A, strategic partnerships, and capital structure work; manage diligence, deal documentation, and post-close integration.
• Legal operating system: Build, scale, and mature Honeycomb’s legal infrastructure — playbooks, standard contract templates, approval workflows, KPI dashboards, and stakeholder service-level expectations — so the function compounds as the company scales.
• Risk & cross-functional partnership: Partner with the CISO, CFO, and CUO to ensure legal support for insurance-related programs and operations, cyber, privacy, and data-governance risks; partner with Finance on enterprise risk and insurance program design.
• Trusted advisor: Translate complex legal and regulatory issues into clear, business-friendly recommendations — enabling the business to move fast without compromising quality.
• Regulatory & legal horizon scanning: Monitor relevant regulatory and legal developments (insurance law, P&C regulations, insurtech legislation, data/privacy, AI) and proactively advise the business on emerging risks and opportunities.

Qualifications & Experience

• J.D. from a prestigious law school; admitted to practice in relevant U.S. jurisdiction(s) and in good standing.
• 10+ years of legal experience, including 3+ years leading an in-house legal function or a major sub-function at a regulated company; insurance or insurtech experience strongly preferred.
• Deep familiarity with U.S. insurance regulation — state licensing, MGA/agency models, P&C underwriting, fronting carrier and reinsurance arrangements, distribution and agent relationships — plus working knowledge of technology, data, privacy, and AI regulatory matters.
• Demonstrated experience advising a Board of Directors, serving as (or partnering with) the corporate secretary, and supporting fundraising rounds, M&A, or other strategic transactions.
• Track record of building and scaling a legal function and operating system at a growth-stage company — hiring, structuring external counsel, and embedding playbooks, templates, and approval workflows.
• Strong commercial mindset: thrives by partnering with business stakeholders (product, underwriting, marketing, operations, sales, partnerships, human resources) to enable growth while protecting the company.
• Excellent communicator (written and verbal); able to simplify legal risk into actionable business recommendations for executive and Board audiences.
• High integrity, strong sense of ownership, and the executive judgment to make timely, high-stakes decisions in a fast-paced, scaling environment.
• Comfortable operating globally (US + Israel base/resourcing) and cross-functionally across operations, marketing, HR, finance, and risk.
• Preferred: Prior experience as a General Counsel, Deputy General Counsel, or Head of Legal at a startup/tech-enabled insurer or insurtech; multi-state licensing experience; reinsurance treaty negotiation; and experience standing up legal operations tooling.

Culture Fit / Behaviours

• Embraces our culture: takes full ownership, challenges the status quo, readily adapts (Flexibility), stays focused on what matters, prioritizes “we” over “I,” and acts with urgency.
• Executive presence: credible with the CEO, COO, SLT, regulators, carriers, and reinsurers; calm and decisive in high-stakes moments.
• Comfortable in a start-up/scale-up environment with ambiguity and rapid change.
• Collaborative; builds strong relationships across functions and geographies.
• Continuous improvement mindset: always looking to refine legal processes, enhance operational efficiency, and embed craftsmanship.
• Maintains the highest ethical standards — as an insurance business with regulatory/regime risk, trust and integrity are non-negotiable.
• Hybrid availability: Must be located in and able to work from our NYC office three days per week (Tuesday through Thursday).

Benefits

• Salary: $270,000 - $290,000 + 20% Bonus
• ISO stock options
• Medical, dental, and vision coverage for you and your dependents
• HSA with company contributions