Senior Public Sector Counsel

Harvey
Chicago, IL
On-site

Who this role is best for

Public sector lawyers with government contracting experience and a technical background in AI SaaS will find this senior role at Harvey challenging and high-impact, with opportunities to shape the company's legal direction.

Best fit for

  • Candidates with a background in government contracts and a passion for AI technology
    — “Harvey is at the forefront of this change, and our mission is to make generative AI actionable and useful for our customers.
  • Experienced lawyers who thrive in fast-paced, mission-driven environments
    — “We act quickly on clear judgment over perfect information.
  • Individuals who are comfortable with cross-functional collaboration and building expertise in new areas
    — “We are a small, but growing company, and one of the best things about working in such an environment is that there is lots of opportunity to pick up other aspects of the legal work that supports our company.

Things to consider

  • This role requires in-office presence for three days per week in Chicago, San Francisco, New York, or Dallas.
    — “This role has flexibility to either be based in New York, N.Y.; San Francisco, CA; Chicago, IL; or Dallas, TX on a hybrid work model of 3 days per week in the office
  • Candidates must be admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, with California, New York, or DC preferred.
    — “Admitted to practice law and in good standing in at least one jurisdiction (California, New York, or DC preferred)

How to stand out

  • Emphasize experience with government procurement and AI-related contracts in your resume and interviews.
    — “Experience negotiating complex agreements with federal, state, and/or local government customers and prime contractors
  • Highlight your ability to manage multiple tasks and work independently in a fast-moving environment.
    — “Ability to think creatively, function independently and work proactively in a fast-paced environment
  • Demonstrate your understanding of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and agency-specific compliance requirements.
    — “Draft, review, and negotiate complex government contracts, AI SaaS agreements, and other technology-related agreements with federal, state, and local government customers and prime contractors, ensuring compliance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and agency-specific requirements
Pace · SteadyCollaboration · HighAutonomy · MediumDecision Impact · CompanyLevel · Senior

Derived from job-description analysis by Serendipath's career intelligence engine.

What success looks like

  • successful contract negotiations
  • compliance with regulations
Typical background
public sector lawlegal compliance

Skills & requirements

Required

Public Sector LawContract NegotiationGovernment Procurement ProcessesLegal Compliance

Preferred

AI Legal ImplicationsCross-functional Collaboration

About the role

Original posting from Harvey via Ashby

WHY HARVEY

At Harvey, we’re transforming how legal and professional services operate. By combining frontier agentic AI, an enterprise-grade platform, and deep domain expertise, we’re reshaping how critical knowledge work gets done for decades to come.

This is a rare chance to help build a generational company at a true inflection point. We have strong product-market fit and world-class investor support. We’re scaling fast and defining a new category in real time. The work is ambitious, the bar is high, and the opportunity for growth — personal, professional, and financial — is unmatched.

Our team moves fast, takes ownership, and is deeply committed to the mission — operating with intensity, staying close to our customers, and pushing each other for excellence. We live by three values: Decisiveness, Simplicity, and Job's Not Finished. We act quickly on clear judgment over perfect information, we believe simplicity is what scales, and we're never satisfied with where we are. If you want to do the best work of your career alongside people who share that drive, we'd love to build with you.

At Harvey, the future of professional services is being written today — and we’re just getting started.

ROLE OVERVIEW

We are looking for an experienced public sector lawyer to join our legal team to help build and lead Harvey’s government and public sector legal function. You will help drive our efforts to build relationships with, and sell to, government agencies. You will interface with our go-to-market, business and cross-functional teams (including Engineering, Product and Security) to help ensure the fast, efficient execution of our agreements with government customers and prime contractors.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

Generative AI has the power to greatly change the world and directly impact how things get done, including how governments and public sector agencies serve the public. Harvey is at the forefront of this change, and our mission is to make generative AI actionable and useful for our customers. This is a fast moving environment (we are a start-up!) that is serving some of the world’s most renowned law firms and professional organizations. And this role will put you in the center of all of this.

More specifically, you will:

  • Partner with cross-functional teams on potential opportunities and advise on public sector procurement processes, proposals, and strategies for selling Harvey’s platform to government agencies
  • Draft, review, and negotiate complex government contracts, AI SaaS agreements, and other technology-related agreements with federal, state, and local government customers and prime contractors, ensuring compliance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and agency-specific requirements
  • Provide contract lifecycle counsel across the public sector business, including contract administration, performance issues, and government contracting compliance obligations
  • Provide training and develop resources for legal and cross-functional teams

We are a small, but growing company, and one of the best things about working in such an environment is that there is lots of opportunity to pick up other aspects of the legal work that supports our company. While the principal job will be as described above, there will be ample opportunities to broaden your wheelhouse here at Harvey!

This role has flexibility to either be based in New York, N.Y.; San Francisco, CA; Chicago, IL; or Dallas, TX on a hybrid work model of 3 days per week in the office, or fully remote if based in another location within the US (DC preferred).

WHAT YOU HAVE

  • A law degree from an accredited law school
  • Admitted to practice law and in good standing in at least one jurisdiction (California, New York, or DC preferred)
  • 7+ years of law firm and/or in-house experience
  • Transactional background, including with strong experience with complex SaaS, technology, and/or IP licensing and commercial agreements, with a particular focus on government contracts and public sector transactions
  • Experience negotiating complex agreements with federal, state, and/or local government customers and prime contractors
  • Working knowledge of government procurement regimes, including the FAR, DFARS, and related government contracting regulations and processes
  • Experience advising businesses on selling into the government and public sector, including go-to-market and procurement strategy
  • Ability to think creatively, function independently and work proactively in a fast-paced environment
  • Team-focused and collaborative work style; willingness to build expertise and solve new challenges in an evolving practice
  • Hyper-responsive and service-oriented attitude
  • Ninja-like project management skills
  • Bonus qualifications include prior government service, experience with AI, supporting Go-To-Market/ Sales, and a love for solving hard problems with a small tight-knit team.

COMPENSATION

$210,300 - $300,000 USD

DEPENDING ON YOUR LOCATION, AN APPLICANT PRIVACY NOTICE MAY APPLY TO YOU. YOU CAN FIND ALL OF OUR APPLICANT PRIVACY NOTICES HERE https://harveyai.notion.site/Harvey-Candidate-Privacy-Notices-319ac3fcdd7a803bb807d5094f249922?pvs=74.

#LI-ML3

Harvey is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, national origin, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy or related condition, or any other basis protected by law.

We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities, and requests can be made by emailing accommodations@harvey.ai

Source: Harvey careers (Ashby)

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