---
title: 'Director of Legal at Emergence Software'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/director-of-legal-emergence-software-united-states-ynt6fssanxqb'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-12'
---

# Director of Legal at Emergence Software

- **Company:** Emergence Software
- **Location:** United States
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** remote
- **Posted:** 2026-07-22
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-12
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/emergence/597d30e4-d27a-45b9-bc79-f123b7bdb330

## Job description

Director of Legal, Emergence | Remote, U.S.-based | Full-Time

## Who We Are

Emergence is a thematic holding company backed by the Pritzker Organization focused exclusively on acquiring and scaling category-defining software businesses. We invest in focused portfolios, specialized operating groups with deep domain expertise and proven playbooks. Emergence combines operational rigor with a growth equity mindset, driving sustainable ARR growth, profitability improvements, and industry-leading customer outcomes.

## About the Role

Emergence is hiring its first dedicated legal hire. This is a foundational role: you will build the company's day-to-day legal function from the ground up, serving as the primary point of contact for legal matters across our entire portfolio. You will work closely with a fractional General Counsel who will mentor you and a curated bench of outside specialist counsel who handle deal work, litigation, and matters requiring deep subject-matter expertise. You are not expected to be a specialist in every area — you are expected to know the business well enough to triage correctly, resolve what's routine, and route what isn't to the right place.

## What You'll Do

Portfolio legal operations and support

- Serve as the first point of contact for legal questions across all portfolio companies, using an AI-assisted intake and triage system
- Build and operate the infrastructure this function currently lacks: centralized matter intake and tracking, legal playbooks, escalation protocols, and portfolio-wide reporting.
- Coordinate the collection, organization, implementation, and ongoing administration of contract templates; partner with senior legal leadership and specialist outside counsel on substantive template design, negotiation positions, and risk parameters.
- Support the development and ongoing management of an outside-counsel panel, including matter routing, performance tracking, and coordination around pricing and engagement terms.

Commercial, corporate, and post-acquisition support

- Review and negotiate routine vendor and customer commercial contracts within approved playbooks and escalation thresholds.
- Manage entity and subsidiary governance across the holding structure.
- Support legal workstreams following new acquisitions, including coordinating legal intake, tracking remediation items, and escalating material issues to senior legal leadership and business stakeholders.
- Help establish repeatable post-acquisition legal integration processes across the portfolio.

Specialist coordination and risk escalation

- Route M&A, intellectual property, labor and employment, litigation, tax, and specialized regulatory matters (including healthcare privacy) to appropriate outside counsel.
- Develop sound judgment about when to escalate matters, which specialist to engage, and when issues require senior legal review.
- Coordinate with HR on employment-related legal matters and support consistent documentation, approvals, and follow-through.

## What We're Looking For

Must-haves

- J.D. from an accredited law school and active bar membership in at least one U.S. state
- 3-5 years of legal experience, ideally with meaningful time at a smaller company or an early-stage in-house function, not exclusively at a large law firm or a large corporate legal department
- Comfortable operating without an established process already in place — you build the playbook rather than execute one handed to you
- Strong commercial contract instincts and the judgment to know what's routine versus what requires outside counsel or escalation
- A bias toward finding the path that lets the business move, while being clear-eyed about the risk
- Ability to apply legal judgment across multiple industries simultaneously without deep expertise in each regulatory regime.

Nice-to-haves

- Prior experience in a small, still-forming legal function where you helped build process rather than inherited one
- Experience working across multiple business lines or subsidiaries simultaneously
- Experience coordinating with specialist outside counsel on equity, incentive-compensation, or corporate-governance matters
- Familiarity with legal matter-management, intake, contract-lifecycle, or AI-assisted legal-operations tools

## Compensation

- We offer competitive compensation and a full benefits package.
- The base salary range for this role is $275,000–$375,000, plus a performance-based bonus and equity. Placement within the range is based on job-related factors including experience, skills, qualifications, and location.

Location

- Remote, U.S.-based, with a preference for candidates near New York or San Francisco.

## About Emergence Software

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Emergence Software is a permanent equity partner that provides long-term capital and strategic support to high-potential B2B software companies.
- **Entity Type**: Private (family office / PE/Buyout firm)
- **Headquarters**: Palo Alto, California, United States
- **Founded**: 2023
- **Founders**: Led by Henry Zhang (founder/CEO); backed by The Pritzker Organization

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Private equity / investment management, with a focus on technology and software.
- **Target customers**: B2B software companies generating between $2M and $20M in revenue that are seeking patient, permanent capital rather than a traditional exit-driven investment.
- **Mission or purpose statement**: “To foster enduring growth stories that will shape the industry for decades to come” by building a thriving ecosystem through software and data.

## Products & Services
- **Permanent Equity Capital**: Long-term, non-dilutive capital investments with no fixed exit timeline, designed to support growth without the pressure of a typical fund lifecycle.
- **Strategic & Operational Support**: Tailored guidance on go-to-market, product strategy, and scaling operations, leveraging the network of The Pritzker Organization.
- **Portfolio Ecosystem**: Access to a curated network of portfolio companies (e.g., Gemtalk Systems, AlgoDriven, MedEvolve, PureInfluence, NYVUS) for cross-collaboration and best practice sharing.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation / Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed.
- **Key Metric**: Has made 6 investments since inception (latest deal: Gemtalk Systems, April 2026). Total assets under management not disclosed.
- **Notable Investors / Partners**: The Pritzker Organization (backer), 53 Stations, Asymmetric.
- **Growth Signals**: Rapid portfolio build (6 deals in ~3 years), active deal flow, and a team of 27 professionals as of 2026.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Permanent Capital Structure**: Unlike traditional PE funds, Emergence does not need to exit investments within a set timeframe, allowing long-term value creation.
- **Pritzker Affiliation**: Backed by The Pritzker Organization, a multi-billion dollar family office with deep industry connections and operational expertise.
- **Niche Focus**: Concentrates exclusively on B2B software companies with $2M–$20M revenue, a segment often underserved by larger PE firms.
- **Founder-Friendly Approach**: Positions itself as a partner rather than a controller, seeking to preserve founder autonomy.

## Strategic Focus
- **Current priorities**:
  - Expand portfolio by investing in additional high-growth B2B software companies.
  - Deepen support for existing portfolio companies through operational resources and network access.
  - Build a differentiated ecosystem where portfolio companies can share technology and go-to-market capabilities.
- **Growth direction**: Continue to be a “permanent equity partner” while scaling the team and investment capacity organically.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture highlights**: Small, boutique firm (27 employees) with a collaborative, long-term mindset. Emphasis on building enduring businesses rather than chasing quick returns.
- **Remote / hybrid policy**: Not publicly specified; headquarters in Palo Alto suggests an in-office expectation, but flexibility may be offered.
- **Notable perks or engineering culture**: As a PE firm, roles are likely in investment, operations, and finance rather than pure engineering. Perks typical of a family office environment (e.g., competitive compensation, direct exposure to deal-making, mentorship from Pritzker network).
- **For job seekers**: A chance to work closely with a small team on high-impact investments, with direct access to the resources of a major family office. Ideal for candidates passionate about B2B software and long-term value investing.

## Sources
1. [emsoft.com](https://www.emsoft.com/)
2. [pritzkerorg.com](https://pritzkerorg.com/investment/emergence-software/)
3. [pitchbook.com](https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/538967-26)
4. [cbinsights.com](https://www.cbinsights.com/company/emergence-software)
5. [jobs.ashbyhq.com](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/emergence)

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