$200K–$300K base depending on experience (2–6 yrs post-JD). Virgil plans to match Cravath scale by end of Q1. In lieu of bonuses, associates receive a meaningful equity stake — because the firm is bootstrapped with no plans to raise capital, equity grants stay consistent and won't be diluted over time. This is a major differentiator vs. VC-backed AI law firms.
We are looking for a Corporate / ECVC Associate with 2–6 years of experience to serve as the primary corporate counsel for a squad of venture-backed startup clients at Virgil - a bootstrapped law firm founded by Eric Ries and Jeremy Howard that combines full-stack legal with back-office services. You'll work directly with founders from day one, own client relationships end-to-end, and help build the systems and culture of a fast-growing firm that's adding 20% MoM with zero marketing spend.
What will you be doing?
Serving as the go-to ECVC lawyer within a dedicated squad — handling board consents, equity grants, hiring/firing, and day-to-day corporate questions for startup clients (pre-seed through Series B)
Drafting and reviewing corporate governance documents, SAFEs, convertible notes, and priced round financing docs for Delaware C-Corps and PBCs
Interfacing directly with founders daily — answering unlimited questions over email and calls as part of Virgil's subscription model
Delegating to and managing paralegals, providing sufficient context so work flows smoothly downstream
Collaborating with engineers and non-lawyer teammates to refine internal tools and workflows — everyone is part product manager here
Key Requirements
2–6 years post-JD with real ECVC/startup corporate experience (Big Law, in-house at a startup, or solo practice all work — juniors must have at least some ECVC exposure)
Breadth of experience across multiple clients and industries — not concentrated on a single major client
J.D. from an accredited law school and active bar admission
Genuine excitement about building a firm from the ground up — not just looking for a remote job
Comfort with AI tools and technology; ideally already using AI in your legal practice or personal life
Virgil is a bootstrapped, fully remote law firm and back-office platform built specifically for venture-backed startups from pre-seed through Series B. Co-founded by Eric Ries (author of The Lean Startup), Jeremy Howard (one of the pioneers behind early large language models), and Luke Versweyveld (repeat founder, UVA Law), Virgil combines a full-stack startup law firm with integrated bookkeeping, tax, people ops, compliance, and general operations.
Launched in August 2024, the company has grown from 3 to 33 team members and is expanding at roughly 20% month over month, entirely through word of mouth with zero marketing spend. Virgil is customer-funded from day one with no outside capital raised, giving the team full control over growth and ensuring employee equity grants remain undiluted.
Clients - predominantly Delaware C-Corps across AI, health tech, ed tech, construction tech, biotech, and other verticals - are served through a dedicated squad model pairing senior ECVC and tech transactions attorneys, junior lawyers, paralegals, bookkeepers, and project managers for deeply embedded, always-on support. The legal team hails from elite firms including WSGR, Cooley, and Goodwin, and works side-by-side with an in-house engineering team that takes an anthropological, AI-discerning approach to rebuilding legal delivery from the ground up.
Virgil's culture is high-trust, high-autonomy, and genuinely collaborative - team members consistently say the remote environment feels more connected than any office they've worked in.
Virgil's team of ~33 people is a tight-knit, fully remote group that punches well above its weight.
The legal team is drawn from elite Big Law firms — WSGR, Cooley, Goodwin. An in-house engineering team works shoulder-to-shoulder with attorneys, taking an anthropological approach to understanding legal delivery and rebuilding it with thoughtful technology.
Culture at Virgil is defined by high trust, high autonomy, and genuine connection. Despite being fully remote, team members consistently say it feels more in-person than any office they've worked in
Virgil offers a subscription and flat-fee based, unified legal and back-office platform purpose-built for venture-backed startups (pre-seed through Series B). Each client is assigned a dedicated squad - typically composed of a senior ECVC attorney, a senior tech transactions/IP attorney, a junior lawyer, a bookkeeper, a people ops specialist, a project manager, and a paralegal - who build deep context on the company and serve as an always-on extension of the founder's team.
On the legal side, Virgil handles incorporations, corporate governance, equity grants, board consents, venture financings (SAFEs, convertible notes, priced rounds), commercial contracts (MSAs, SaaS agreements, DPAs), IP, data privacy, and day-to-day founder questions — all included in the subscription or priced as flat fees. On the back-office side, the firm manages bookkeeping, tax, HR, compliance, and general operations, creating a single point of contact for everything administrative.
Floating specialist departments (e.g., venture financing, and eventually immigration, executive comp, litigation, M&A, and patents) augment squads as client needs arise. An in-house engineering team builds AI-enabled and traditional software tools that automate document population, streamline workflows, and increase efficiency - with a disciplined approach to deploying AI only where it genuinely adds value. The subscription pricing scales based on company size, and Virgil earns its margin by becoming more efficient internally rather than raising costs on clients.