Lead Counsel, Corporate

Canva•San Francisco, CA

4h•$228,000 - $345,000•Hybrid

About The Position

As Managing Counsel, Corporate, you will be a seasoned, trusted adviser and a leader within our Corporate Legal Team. You'll take end-to-end ownership of our most complex, novel and high-stakes matters, lead company-wide initiatives, shape how the legal function operates, and mentor and develop attorneys across the team.

Requirements

8+ years of corporate legal experience, ideally trained at a law firm specializing in venture-backed or high-growth technology companies, with deep in-house experience
Extensive experience leading corporate transactions, including venture financings, secondary transactions and acquisitions
Fluent in equity and cap table management
Ability to lead significant, company-wide initiatives that redefine how we work, anticipating future legal risks and opportunities and aligning legal strategy with Canva's long-term vision
Proficiency in leveraging AI tools like Claude, ChatGPT, Glean, and others to automate and streamline work
Ability to jump into chaos, clean things up, add structure and run a tight ship, working with the team to keep minute books and subsidiary records in great shape across multiple jurisdictions
A Juris Doctor (JD) from an accredited law school and active membership in at least one U.S. state bar
Ability to apply the law commercially and pragmatically, give strategic advice that weighs the wider business impact, and be risk aware, not risk averse
Ability to create a culture of mentoring and development across the legal team
Highly collaborative with a positive attitude, humor, humility and the desire to build, lead and make an impact
Fearless, love a new challenge and are not afraid to get your hands dirty
Resourceful and self-motivated with exceptional time management and organizational skills
Comfortable working at an international company, with its headquarters in Sydney, AU, and shifting your calendar, when necessary (not always), to ensure overlap with stakeholders – which means you may need to attend some meetings later in the evenings and earlier in the mornings
Exceptional written and verbal communication skills and influence confidently and autonomously at the most senior levels — including founders, the board and investors — as a trusted adviser, bringing people along using storytelling, design and data
Self-starter and quick learner with the ability to operate independently and as part of a team in a fast-paced environment, appropriately prioritizing and managing numerous projects simultaneously under deadline pressure with minimal guidance
Excellent technology skills with proficiency in G Suite, Slack, Microsoft Word, Excel

Nice To Haves

Deep cross-border experience is a huge plus
Experience with board portals and subsidiary management databases is a plus

Responsibilities

Leading the most complex corporate securities matters, including secondary sales and tender offers
Owning and leading our most strategic mergers and acquisitions, end-to-end
Shaping and driving global expansion strategy, partnering with our global entities team and local counsel to grow our business worldwide
Advising the board and leadership on corporate governance matters, including board and stockholder actions and communications
Overseeing company capitalization matters, including the execution of share transfers
Leading employee equity and executive compensation programs, working with our equity ops, employment legal and total rewards teams
Advising on matters relating to the operation and governance of the Canva Foundation
Designing and redefining the processes, agreements, frameworks and AI-enabled ways of working the broader team and business rely on for transactional and governance matters
Overseeing the company's corporate insurance program
Managing external counsel, and mentoring and developing attorneys across the team