Founded in 2024, Shield is a national IT services platform that partners with established providers to help them grow and expand what they can deliver to customers. Backed by Thrive Holdings, we combine engineering talent, hands-on operating support, and long-term capital while preserving each provider’s local leadership, culture, and customer relationships.

Our engineers work onsite with technicians and operators to build technology around their day-to-day needs. Our goal is to give IT professionals more time to solve complex problems, anticipate customer needs, and help businesses adopt new technology.

Today, Shield’s 20 partner companies serve more than 3,750 businesses nationwide, including construction firms, healthcare organizations, and legal and accounting practices. 

Shield is led by Jim Siders, former CIO of Palantir.

The Opportunity
We are seeking a practical, commercially minded Head of Legal to serve as Shield’s senior legal leader and build the function as the business grows. In this role, you will advise leadership as Shield acquires businesses, develops AI products, and serves customers across a growing national network. You will combine hands-on execution with the judgment to prioritize risk and engage specialist counsel when needed.
This is an opportunity to take on the full breadth of a legal leadership role. With the ambition to grow into a billion-dollar revenue business, Shield offers room to build a broader legal team over time and help shape how AI is applied in the real economy. 

● Advise the CEO and business leaders on legal and business risk, translating complex issues into clear recommendations that support sound decisions and timely execution.

● Lead the negotiation and management of complex enterprise commercial agreements, including master services agreements, SaaS agreements, statements of work, data processing agreements, and vendor and partnership contracts.

● Partner with Security, Technology, and operating teams on privacy, data protection, and cybersecurity obligations, including those arising from services delivered to healthcare companies, financial institutions, and other regulated clients.

● Serve as a critical leader within a cross-functional team to manage regulatory compliance and IT security programs, including HIPAA, SOC2, PCI, and related regimes. 

● Counsel product and technology teams on intellectual property, data use, and emerging legal issues associated with developing and deploying AI capabilities.

● Support employment matters for a large, geographically distributed workforce across multiple states, working with people leaders and specialist counsel as appropriate.

● Oversee legal support for acquisitions and integration, coordinating diligence, transaction execution, and the legal needs of acquired businesses with internal partners and outside counsel.

● Manage corporate governance, insurance coverage, dispute resolution, and general litigation, drawing on specialist expertise when needed.

● Establish the legal function’s priorities, processes, and resourcing. Develop contract templates and playbooks, improve legal workflows, manage outside counsel, and build the team as business needs evolve.

● 8 - 10 years of relevant legal experience, ideally with a mix of law firm and in-house experience

● JD from an accredited law school and active membership in good standing with at least one US state bar

● The judgment and readiness to serve as the senior legal leader of a growing business, take ownership across a broad remit, and recognize when specialist advice is needed

● Strong drafting and communication skills, with the ability to explain legal issues clearly to non-lawyers and build trusted relationships across the business

● A collaborative, low-ego approach and willingness to remain hands-on while establishing the processes and capabilities the business will need as it scales

● Extensive experience with complex enterprise commercial contracting; experience leading product counseling is also valuable.

● Three or more years of in-house experience, ideally at a technology company or in a fast-paced, high-growth environment

● Familiarity with the core functions of a midsized legal department, including intellectual property, privacy, M&A, corporate matters, and litigation

● Experience advising on employment matters for a large workforce operating across multiple states

● Experience providing regulatory and compliance counsel to a technology business, particularly on privacy, data security, and services for regulated customers

● Exposure to emerging legal issues around AI

● Experience supporting a business that has grown through acquisitions and integrated multiple companies