Legal Research Analyst

Engagement type: Freelance, project-based, remote Duration: Pilot project (3 states), then ongoing per-state engagements through completion of all US jurisdictions.

About Cairnul
Cairnul is agentic fundraising compliance infrastructure that runs a startup's early rounds end to end: SAFEs, advisor agreements, federal and state filings, and the records, deadlines, and governance behind them. We build for first-time founders raising their initial round under Reg D Rule 506(b) or 506(c).

At the core of the product is a compliance library: researched, cited, state-by-state entries covering the securities and corporate law requirements a startup triggers when it raises. Our agents draft only from library entries that outside counsel has verified. If an entry is unverified or stale, the agent declines to draft. That constraint is the product. Your work is what makes it possible.

The project
Every state has its own rules for what a company owes when it sells securities to an investor who lives there: notice filings, fees, deadlines, filing methods, renewal requirements. Roughly 46 states enforce a notice filing for Rule 506 offerings, and the details vary widely. Layered on top are corporate law requirements in key states: board authorization, consent formalities, interested-director rules.

We are building a complete, structured, citation-backed library of these requirements. Your job is to research each state from primary sources, capture the findings in Cairnul's standardized entry format, and produce entries clean enough that a reviewing securities attorney can verify them efficiently. You research and document. Counsel verifies. Nothing ships until counsel signs off.

What you'll do
-Research state securities law requirements for Reg D Rule 506(b) and 506(c) offerings from primary sources: state statutes, administrative codes, securities regulator websites, and official filing systems (EFD and state-specific portals)
-Research state corporate law requirements relevant to early-stage fundraising in designated states: board consent formalities, authorization requirements, interested-director provisions
-Capture findings in Cairnul's entry template: every fact tied to a pinpoint citation (statute or rule section) and a retrieval date
-Record the practical mechanics, not just the law: filing method, fee amount, payment method, deadline trigger, renewal cycle, consequences of late filing as stated by the regulator
-Flag ambiguities, conflicts between sources, and questions that require attorney judgment, rather than resolving them yourself
-Note where a state's official guidance contradicts its statute, or where secondary sources disagree; these flags are part of the deliverable, not a failure of it
-Revise entries based on feedback from Cairnul and, later, from reviewing counsel

On AI tools: Using AI research assistants to find sources and accelerate the work is fine and expected. The rule is that every fact in a submitted entry must be verified by you against the primary source it cites. An AI-generated claim is a lead, not a finding.

Deliverables
For each assigned state:
-A completed entry in Cairnul's template (provided), covering all required fields
-A source log: every authority consulted, with URL, citation, and retrieval date
-An open-questions memo: anything ambiguous, conflicting, or judgment-dependent, stated as a question for counsel

An entry is complete when a securities attorney could verify it by checking your citations, without redoing your research.

What we provide
-A v1 entry template and field definitions. This is a first version; part of the pilot is telling us where it breaks against real state material
-Prioritized state list and sequencing
-Direct access to the Founder for scope questions, with fast turnaround

How you'll work
You are the research function, not a contributor to one. That means high ownership and high agency: you set your approach, you own the accuracy of every entry you submit, and your name is effectively on the library. The team is small and obsessive about detail; the product's core promise is that it never drafts from an unverified fact, and your work is where verification starts.

You'll work directly with the Founder, who runs product, and coordinate with our two engineers on how entries map into the product's data structures. You'll also coordinate with a data engineer who builds the pipeline loading your verified entries into the product; your entries are captured in the structured template, so their work is plumbing, not editing your research. Once outside securities counsel is engaged, your entries go to them for verification and you'll field their questions directly. Clear, precise written communication with all of these audiences is part of the job.

Who this is for
Required:

-Demonstrated legal research experience with US statutes and administrative codes: paralegal background, JD or JD candidate, law librarian, or equivalent freelance track record
-Ability to read a blue sky statute and its implementing regulations and extract operative requirements accurately
-Rigorous citation habits; you distinguish between what a statute says, what a regulator's FAQ says, and what a law firm blog says
-Comfort saying "this is unclear" instead of guessing
-Strong written English; entries are read by engineers and attorneys, so plain and precise beats formal

Strongly preferred:
-Prior work with securities law, Reg D, or blue sky filings specifically
-Familiarity with the EFD system and state securities regulator websites

Not required:
-A license to practice law. This role does not provide legal advice or legal conclusions. You compile, cite, and flag.

What this role is not
-Not web scraping or data engineering. The work is reading and structured capture, done by a person, because accuracy is the point.
-Not legal advice. You do not interpret close calls; you surface them for counsel.
-Not content writing. Entries are structured records, not articles.

Scope and structure
Pilot: Three states assigned at the start, at full per-state rate. The pilot establishes format fit, accuracy, and pace, and it stress-tests the v1 entry template: we expect you to propose field changes where the template doesn't fit what states actually publish.

Continuation is at Cairnul's discretion based on pilot quality.

Ongoing: Remaining states assigned in batches, sequenced by Cairnul's priority list. Estimated total scope: 40 to 50 state entries. You control your schedule within agreed per-batch deadlines.

Terms: Work for hire; all research product is assigned to Cairnul, Inc. A confidentiality agreement covers the engagement. Payment per completed, accepted entry.

How to apply
Send the following:
-A short note on your relevant research background (no cover letter formalities)
-One sample of prior legal research or citation-heavy analytical work

Your answer to this screening question: What notice filing, if any, does the state of Texas require from an issuer selling securities under SEC Rule 506(b) to a Texas resident? Cite the specific authority and state your retrieval date.

The screening question is representative of the work. An answer with a pinpoint citation and honest treatment of anything ambiguous will stand out more than a fast one.