Overview
Associate Attorney Jobs in California, United States at Fellow
Title: Associate Attorney
Company: Fellow
Location: California, United States
About Fellow
Fellow is a San Francisco-based AI-first law firm built for startup founders. We exist because legal should not be a blocker – it should disappear. We deliver legal services through AI-powered systems, proprietary workflows, and a deep commitment to understanding our clients' businesses. Every person at Fellow does the work of ten because our machine handles the rest.
We are not a traditional law firm. We do not bill hourly for most work. We do not hide behind legalese. We solve problems – fast and clearly – and we reward the people who do that work.
The Role
We are looking for an Associate Attorney based in San Francisco who wants to fundamentally change how legal services are delivered. This is not a role where you sit in a library drafting memos the way it has been done for decades. This is a role where you use Fellow's tools, AI systems, and accumulated know-how to deliver legal work ten times faster than what you are used to – and you help us make it even faster.
Your day will split into two tracks.
Track 1 – Client Relationships
You will spend real time with clients understanding their businesses, their goals, and their problems. We do not push paper and disappear. We sit in our clients' Slack channels, answer their calls, and become the person they trust to handle everything legal so they can focus on building. You will be expected to:
- Respond to client questions the same calendar day – within 1 hour when possible
- Meet clients where they are: Slack, WhatsApp, phone, email
- Understand each client's business deeply enough to anticipate issues before they surface
- Build the kind of relationships where founders say, "I can like my lawyer"
Track 2 – AI-Powered Legal Delivery
You will use Fellow's production AI systems, templates, playbooks, and Knowledge Base to deliver legal work at a pace traditional firms cannot match. You will be expected to:
- Draft, review, and advise on startup legal matters including formation, financing (SAFEs, priced rounds), commercial contracts, employment agreements, corporate governance, and cross-border expansion
- Learn and master Fellow's AI workflows, using them to handle the intelligence-heavy layer (NDAs, SAFEs, formation docs, standard contracts) at machine speed
- Apply your legal judgment on the matters that still require it – fundraise strategy, founder disputes, board negotiations, complex structuring
- Continuously improve the system by documenting solutions, updating the Knowledge Base, and suggesting automations for repetitive work
What You Will Actually Do
- Deliver primarily fixed-fee legal services to startup founders across Fellow's service tiers (Output Packages, Advisory, Subscriptions)
- Handle end-to-end client matters: issue spotting, structuring, drafting, negotiation, and closing
- Design and optimize legal workflows, templates, and playbooks to improve quality, consistency, and speed
- Collaborate with the team to scope engagements, allocate resources, and manage timelines
- Contribute to Fellow's Knowledge Base – every novel problem you solve gets documented so the next one is faster
- Create mental maps and workflows that AI agents can understand and execute
- Stay current on relevant legal developments and translate updates into the firm's systems
Who You Are
Required
- Active California Bar membership or US license
- 2-5 years of experience in corporate, startup, or transactional law (BigLaw, boutique, or in-house at a high-growth company)
- M&A experience
- Genuine belief that AI is going to transform legal services – and you want to be the one doing it, not watching from the sidelines
- Strong client-facing instincts: you are warm, responsive, and you actually enjoy talking to founders about their businesses
- Comfort with technology: you do not need to code, but you should be excited about working with AI tools, automation platforms, and systems like Notion, Slack, and integrated AI workflows daily
- Ability to work independently with a high degree of autonomy – we do not micromanage, we trust you to solve problems
Preferred
- Experience advising startups on formation, venture financing, or cross-border matters (particularly European founders expanding to the US)
- Exposure to fixed-fee or alternative fee arrangements
- Experience with AI tools in a legal context
- Multilingual ability
Who This Role Is Not For
- Lawyers who want to be told what to do and wait for assignments
- People who measure success by hours billed
- Anyone who thinks "the way it has always been done" is a good enough reason to keep doing it
- Lawyers who want to originate but not execute – at Fellow, you do both
What Fellow Gives You
- Competitive base salary
- Profit sharing tied to firm performance – you benefit when Fellow wins, not just when you bill hours
- Unlimited PTO
- A real seat at the table – Fellow will never have more than ten people. Every person is critical. Your ideas shape how the firm operates.
- The machine – Fellow's AI systems, automation infrastructure, and Knowledge Base let you deliver work that would take other lawyers weeks in days. You will be more productive here than anywhere else.
- Autonomy and ownership – we hire problem-solvers and give them space to solve problems
Our Values (the short version)
- Proactivity over passivity. Do not wait. Propose.
- Truth over ego. The best idea wins, no matter who says it.
- Value over money. Solve for impact, not billables.
- Transparency always. Clear, open communication is our default.
- No bullshit. Always say what you think.
