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Senior Legal Counsel

Posted Oct 31
Full Time
Remote

About Shopify

Opportunity is not evenly distributed. Shopify puts independence within reach for anyone with a dream to start a business. We propel entrepreneurs and enterprises to scale the heights of their potential. Since 2006, we’ve grown to over 8,300 employees and generated over $1 trillion in sales for millions of merchants in 175 countries.

This is life-defining work that directly impacts people’s lives as much as it transforms your own. This is putting the power of the few in the hands of the many, is a future with more voices rather than fewer, and is creating more choices instead of an elite option.

About you

Moving at our pace brings a lot of change, complexity, and ambiguity—and a little bit of chaos. Shopifolk thrive on that and are comfortable being uncomfortable. That means Shopify is not the right place for everyone.

Before you apply, consider if you can:
  • Care deeply about what you do and about making commerce better for everyone
  • Excel by seeking professional and personal hypergrowth
  • Keep up with an unrelenting pace (the week, not the quarter)
  • Be resilient and resourceful in face of ambiguity and thrive on (rather than endure) change
  • Bring critical thought and opinion
  • Embrace differences and disagreement to get shit done and move forward
  • Work digital-first for your daily work

About the role

Within the Shopify Legal Team, the Commercial Revenue Legal Team is focused on supporting Shopify’s revenue and sales organization. The Commercial Revenue team targets small, medium, and enterprise merchants worldwide in connection with a number of sales product offerings, including Shopify Plus, Commerce Components by Shopify, Shopify Payments and Shopify POS. As a Senior Legal Counsel on the Commercial Revenue Legal Team you will draft and negotiate various sales and SaaS agreements with some of the worlds biggest brands, as well as provide general legal advice to various Commercial Revenue team members, assisting with expansions into new jurisdictions and product verticals, and advising on a diverse range of merchant issues that arise over the course of our merchants’ life cycle, some of which may require mediation of sensitive and high impact issues. The legal work is challenging, varied, and constantly evolving

To be successful on our team, collaboration and engagement is key. Our team members regularly collaborate with each other and with internal stakeholders, effectively guiding business strategies and communicating legal risk. We build trust with the internal business team, and show up for our clients both proactively, to ensure our business teams don’t run into problems, and reactively, when issues do come up.

About You

We’re looking for a curious, passionate, and dedicated senior commercial lawyer with a strong interest in technology to: (a) provide support and legal counsel to Shopify’s Revenue Team; (b) manage and scale our business; and (c) who will be committed to helping Shopify’s sales organization grow. You have to be comfortable working in a fast-paced environment, and be an effective and confident negotiator, with strong drafting skills and excellent attention to detail. You must be adept at using business acumen, creativity and collegiality (both internally and in dealing with external parties) to negotiate terms that you can explain and address legal risks in a way that protects and propels your client’s business forward.

Success on the Commercial Revenue Legal Team requires intellect, humility and a sense of humor. You need to take the work seriously, but not take yourself too seriously. The work is fast-paced and intense, so being able to balance that pressure with some levity is important. We care about our work but we also care about each other and having a positive and fun work environment. You need to be comfortable with being uncomfortable, able to work with many different types of personalities, really connect with people and earn their trust, and enjoy working as a team player. Above all, you must have grit: the ability to persevere in the face of adversity, deal with being challenged, and come through the other side stronger and with your optimism intact, ready to do it all over again.

Requirements for the role

  • A J.D. or LL.B.

  • A license to practice law in any common law province in Canada or any U.S. state

  • 5+ years of relevant legal experience, having a mix of law firm and in-house experience

  • Substantial experience drafting and negotiating complex legal agreements, preferably in the technology sector, such as sales, software and other licensing arrangements, including those related to SaaS, and other cloud-based services and technology-related offerings

  • Experience supporting a large sales organization

  • Experience leading and managing projects and multiple priorities, stakeholders and deadlines

  • The ability to both work collaboratively as part of a team and on an individual basis without a lot of guidance or oversight, always with a view towards being of service to clients and other legal team members

  • Exceptional business judgment, relationship-building skills and creativity

  • A keen interest in creative legal problem solving, including researching novel and ambiguous areas of law

  • The ability to thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic, and entrepreneurial environment

  • Strong written and interpersonal communication skills, with the ability to match your tone to your audience

  • Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic, and entrepreneurial environment

Bonus Experience

  • Regulatory, privacy, and/or ecommerce law experience, whether in-house or in private practice
  • Experience working with Ironclad