Employment Counsel

Beacon Software•Toronto, ON

About The Position

Beacon is seeking a highly skilled and entrepreneurially-minded employment lawyer to join Beacon’s legal team as its first dedicated employment specialist. This is a foundational role where you will build Beacon’s employment legal function from the ground up. You will partner closely with HR to establish policies, templates, and processes that will underpin how Beacon and its portfolio companies operate as employers. Reporting to Beacon’s VP, Legal, you will serve as the go-to employment law resource across the organization, advising on the full spectrum of employment matters. This includes day-to-day questions arising across the growing portfolio, managing complex terminations, navigating employment claims and litigation, and building out the scalable infrastructure that a permanent-hold, multi-entity acquirer needs. This is a high-impact, high-autonomy role for a lawyer who thrives on building, is energized by variety, and wants to own an entire function rather than execute within one.

Requirements

J.D. or LL.B. from an accredited Canadian law school; member in good standing of the Law Society of Ontario.
6+ years of employment law experience at a top-tier law firm, or 5–7 years in an in-house employment counsel role at a technology company or high-growth organization — ideally with experience on both sides.
Deep, hands-on expertise in Canadian employment law, including the Employment Standards Act (Ontario), Human Rights Code, Occupational Health and Safety Act, and common law obligations.
Proven experience managing terminations and drafting separation agreements, including experience advising on appropriate severance entitlements and negotiating resolutions.
Experience managing employment claims and disputes, including responding to Ministry of Labour complaints, human rights applications, and wrongful/constructive dismissal actions.
Demonstrated ability to draft and maintain employment agreements, HR policies, employee handbooks, and employment templates from scratch or from precedent.
Strong track record of partnering directly with HR and People teams as a business-oriented, solutions-focused legal partner — not just a gatekeeper.
Highly proficient with AI tools for legal work (e.g., AI-assisted document drafting, legal research, policy review).
Comfortable operating as a generalist employment lawyer, capable of handling a wide range of matters simultaneously across multiple entities and jurisdictions.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to translate complex legal concepts into clear, actionable guidance for non-legal business partners.

Nice To Haves

Familiarity with federal employment legislation (Canada Labour Code) is a strong asset.
A genuine enthusiasm for integrating AI into day-to-day legal practice is essential.
Experience in M&A employment diligence and integration is a strong asset.

Responsibilities

Own the build-out of Beacon’s employment legal function, establishing the infrastructure from scratch: designing the governance model, setting employment law coverage across Beacon and its portfolio, and creating the workflows and escalation protocols that allow the business to operate at scale.
Work hand-in-hand with Beacon’s HR team to build the foundational building blocks of the employment relationship — employment agreements, offer letter templates, onboarding and offboarding documentation, HR policies, employee handbooks, and codes of conduct.
Ensure all policies and practices are legally compliant, commercially sensible, and scalable across a multi-entity, multi-jurisdiction organization.
Partner with HR on sensitive people matters, providing real-time legal guidance that balances risk management with practical business outcomes.
Serve as the employment law resource for Beacon’s portfolio of vertical market software companies, fielding and resolving the full range of employment questions.
Develop repeatable frameworks and toolkits that allow portfolio company operators to handle routine matters confidently while knowing when to escalate.
Manage and advise on all aspects of employee terminations and separations across Beacon and its portfolio, including without-cause terminations, performance-based dismissals, restructurings, and mutual separations.
Draft and negotiate separation agreements and releases.
Advise on appropriate severance entitlements under applicable employment standards and common law, minimizing legal exposure while achieving business objectives.
Provide practical, real-time guidance to HR and management on how to conduct terminations appropriately.
Own the management of employment-related claims and disputes, including human rights complaints, wrongful dismissal claims, constructive dismissal claims, and regulatory complaints.
Act as the primary internal contact for external counsel, managing the relationship, providing instructions, and ensuring alignment with Beacon’s objectives and budget.
Maintain a working knowledge of active matters and provide regular updates to leadership.
Build and maintain a library of employment law templates, precedents, and playbooks that can be leveraged across Beacon and its portfolio.
Monitor and manage ongoing compliance with employment standards legislation, pay equity, accessibility, workplace health and safety, and other applicable regulatory requirements across federal and provincial jurisdictions.
Advise on the employment law implications of M&A transactions — including employment due diligence during the acquisition process — and manage employment-related post-closing integration matters.
Leverage AI tools and technology to accelerate document drafting, policy review, legal research, and claims management.
Continuously identify opportunities to build AI-assisted workflows that increase efficiency and reduce cost across the employment function.