Legal Counsel

Athennian

33d • Remote

About The Position

We are seeking a commercially-minded Legal Counsel to join our team in Toronto. Reporting to the Sr. Director of Strategic Finance, you will serve as the founding member of our internal legal function — a unique opportunity to shape how Legal operates as a true strategic partner across the business. This is a high-ownership, high-variety role with real organizational influence. You'll be the primary legal voice at the table, advising leadership on a diverse range of matters and helping the business move forward with confidence. A cornerstone of this role is leading our commercial legal strategy, specifically managing the velocity of SaaS negotiations for our US customer base. You will act as a true business partner, applying sound commercial intuition to complex legal matters and providing decisive guidance even in the face of ambiguity. If you're a lawyer who thrives on variety, wants to build something meaningful from the ground up, and is energized by being a genuine stakeholder in business outcomes — rather than one voice among many in a large legal department — this is an exciting place to do that work.

Requirements

• 3–5 years of private practice experience, followed by 2+ years working in-house at a high-growth technology company.
• Juris Doctor (JD) or equivalent and a member in good standing with the Law Society of Ontario.
• A demonstrated ability to make commercial and risk-based decisions and operate with sometimes imperfect information — balancing legal soundness with business reality
• Strong familiarity with US commercial law and market standards (liability caps, indemnities, SaaS contracting norms), given our predominantly US-based customer base
• Proven ability to navigate ambiguity, manage a high volume of varied legal tasks autonomously, and build process where little exists
• Demonstrated proficiency with CRM (HubSpot), Contract Management Systems, and a genuine interest in Legal AI tools

Responsibilities

• Commercial Contract Management: Lead the end-to-end review, drafting, and negotiation of SaaS master service agreements (MSAs), NDAs, and vendor contracts. You'll be the primary point of contact for commercial legal matters and will own the process from intake to signature.
• Legal & Business Partnership: Work closely with Finance, Sales, and Leadership to ensure legal terms align with business objectives, revenue recognition policies, and long-term strategic goals. You'll provide counsel that helps the business move forward — identifying risk clearly and offering practical paths to resolution rather than simply flagging issues.
• Corporate Governance & Compliance: Advise leadership on corporate governance matters, intellectual property protection, and regulatory compliance (e.g., Sanctions, AML, privacy). Help ensure the company's legal posture is audit-ready as we scale.
• Product & AI Counsel: Act as a legal stakeholder for our "Athennian Intelligence" initiatives, advising on data privacy, AI ethics, and intellectual property rights related to our automated legal workflows.
• Legal Operations: Identify and implement legal technology to reduce contract turnaround time and manage external counsel spend. Help build the infrastructure that allows Legal to scale efficiently.

Benefits

• Minimum of 3 weeks vacation, 5 sick days, and 6 personal/flex days, plus a company-wide winter holiday shutdown.
• Health, dental, and vision, long-term disability, and a Health Spending Account (HSA).
• Flexible parental leave benefits, including top-ups.
• A dedicated work-from-home allowance to get you set up for success.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 11-50 employees