General Counsel

I help companies figure out what to do when no one knows what to do.

I’m a general counsel with 15+ years in-house, most recently at deep tech and tech-enabled consumer companies, and I’ve twice been a company’s first lawyer. My work centers on commercial partnerships, complex financings, governance, and special situations.

I’ve taught law students to negotiate, managed in-house lawyers and large outside-counsel teams, and advised 3 presidents, 2 peace prize winners, and 1 mononymous TV host with a book club. I can vibe code, and I know when to pick up the phone.

New York | East Hampton | 917.549.5566 | craig.fleishman@mac.com

Areas of Expertise

Commercial Partnerships

First-of-their-kind agreements with Hermès, General Motors, Nike, Shopify, Intel, L’Oréal, and others (including a category-defining consumer electronics brand), often for products and markets with no template to work from.

Financing & Capital Strategy

Equity, debt, bond, and tax-driven financings, including a $94M Series D, a $90M tax-exempt private activity bond offering, and a $30M New Markets Tax Credit financing.

Special Situations & Restructuring

Board-level counsel through liquidity crises, lender negotiations, forbearance, and debt and vendor workouts, while keeping lenders, investors, suppliers, and partners at the table.

Building Legal Functions

I’ve built two legal departments from scratch: contracting, governance, board and corporate secretary work, and lean outside-counsel models. I know how to use technology without deferring to it.

Technology, Data & AI

Digital commerce, data-driven partnerships, and privacy compliance, plus hands-on experience moving faster with AI without handing over the judgment calls that matter.

IP, Litigation & Global Markets

Domestic and cross-border IP, employment, and commercial litigation, including class actions, along with international licensing, distribution, and regulatory advocacy that opened new markets in Asia.

Experience

MycoWorks

General Counsel

First general counsel of a late-stage biomaterials company backed by more than $350M in equity and debt from investors including BlackRock, Temasek, and Novo. Built the legal function and worked closely with finance, manufacturing, HR, and the executive team as the company scaled to commercial production. Negotiated agreements with General Motors, Hermès, Nike, and leading consumer electronics and luxury brands. Led a $94M Series D, a $90M tax-exempt private activity bond offering, a $30M NMTC financing, and related credit, equipment, and convertible note deals. Ran the legal work for a $130M manufacturing build-out and helped develop a public-private financing partnership with South Carolina. During a liquidity crisis, advised the board and executives daily through lender forbearance, contract restructurings, strategic alternatives, and an asset transfer. Later retained by an independent trustee to complete the transition of key assets.

Rebecca Minkoff

General Counsel & Executive Vice President, Corporate Development

First in-house general counsel of a global consumer brand known for early adoption of digital technology. Promoted to EVP with responsibility for legal, partnerships, corporate development, capital structure, digital and data, and international expansion. Sourced and closed partnerships with Shopify, eBay, Intel, L’Oréal, and others, and handled the legal side of the company’s digital commerce, SaaS, and data work, including GDPR/CCPA-compliant data policies. Structured licensing and distribution deals in the U.S. and abroad, managed cross-border IP and commercial disputes, and led an industry effort that changed Chinese regulatory policy, removing longstanding brand IP barriers and opening new manufacturing and distribution in Asia. Led a trade-debt restructuring while keeping supplier, lender, and investor relationships intact. Served as corporate secretary and took part in key board, bank, and investor meetings.

Act II

Counsel

Advised media, entertainment, technology, and consumer clients on business, legal, and strategy questions, including partnerships, startup launches, and early work connected to MasterClass.

Foundational Experience

In-house counsel at a global investment firm with $6B under management, and corporate/M&A and finance work at AmLaw 100 and AmLaw 10 firms, covering acquisitions, financings, restructurings, private equity and fund of funds investments, SEC reporting, and cross-border deals.

Public Service & Teaching

Full-time legal staff on the 2008 Obama campaign, leading legal teams across 34 counties in North Carolina. Campaign advisor to a congressional candidate. Former adjunct law professor, research assistant to President Bill Clinton, and recipient of NYU’s highest award for service to the school community.

About

A company’s biggest opportunities and hardest moments often ask the same question: how do we move forward when there is no established playbook?

Most of my career has been spent helping founders and companies do things they haven’t done before, and helping them regroup when the original plan stops working.

At MycoWorks, I built the legal function for a company creating a new category of material. I negotiated long-term deals with some of the world’s best-known brands, led the company’s major financings, and later helped the board work through a liquidity crisis. At Rebecca Minkoff, I joined as the first in-house lawyer and grew into an EVP role covering partnerships, corporate development, capital structure, and international expansion.

In both roles, my job was to understand what the business was trying to do, decide which risks actually mattered, and help the company choose a path and follow through.

I stay close to the business goals and ask uncomfortable questions early. I’m as comfortable briefing a board or negotiating with a global counterparty as I am going through numbers with the finance team, and I’ll get on a plane to repair a key relationship. When things get hard, I communicate directly and keep deals moving.

I do my best work at deep tech, technology, and technology-enabled companies doing something new, where strategy, capital, governance, and legal risk all have to fit together. I make clear recommendations and stand behind them.