Clare McCown has served as Associate General Counsel of Rakuten USA since 2013, previously serving as General Counsel for one of its subsidiaries, Rakuten Commerce (formerly Buy.com). She is responsible for managing litigation, labor / employment, risk mitigation and compliance matters, as well as providing general corporate and commercial legal support. She works with approximately ten Rakuten US subsidiaries in the e-commerce, online marketing, and logistics sectors. Clare also serves as a key legal interface between the company’s American subsidiaries and it’s Japanese parent and global affiliates.



In 2007, Clare left private practice to help build a technology company in the social commerce sector. She headed Legal, Operations, and Corporate Governance for the company through its acquisition by Rakuten in 2010. Prior to her in-house roles, Clare focused her practice in mass tort and commercial litigation.



Clare received her JD from the University of Maryland with a certificate in Environmental Law, and earned a dual Bachelors in Political Science and History from University of North Carolina Wilmington.