In-House Legal Counsel

G-NIUS; City Of London; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

A dynamic software house in the City of London is seeking an In-House Legal Counsel to oversee a broad range of legal responsibilities. The successful candidate will draft and negotiate technology contracts and provide strategic legal advice to senior management. This role requires strong in-house experience in a fast-paced environment and offers the opportunity to work closely with the CEO and product teams. A commercial mindset and excellent drafting skills are essential for success in this position.

Qualifications

• In-house legal experience at a SaaS, scale-up, or fintech company preferred.
• Solid track record in drafting and negotiating technology contracts.
• Ability to handle disputes and litigation.
• Comfortable working as the only lawyer.

Responsibilities

• Draft and negotiate a range of commercial agreements.
• Manage disputes from correspondence to court claims.
• Advise on GDPR and technology regulatory issues.
• Support corporate work including board resolutions and inter-company agreements.

Skills

Strong preference for in-house experience at a SaaS

Numerate and analytical mindset

Excellent drafting and stakeholder management skills

Confidence managing disputes or litigation

Education

UK-qualified solicitor or Commonwealth equivalent

STEM first degree

Job description

In-House Legal Counsel

Location: City of London (Onsite withflexibility)

Contract Type: Permanent, Full-time

A profitable, self-funded and fast-growing British software house is hiring its first dedicated in-house lawyer. This is a true generalist role with huge ownership, high-performance, global technology business that operates across the UK, EU, US and APAC.

The successful candidate will take responsibility for a broad range of legal work and act as a core advisor to senior management.

Key Responsibilities

• Drafting, reviewing and negotiating the full range of commercial agreements – SaaS subscriptions, software licensing, services agreements, NDAs, DPAs, reseller/partner contracts, supplier agreements.
• Handling disputes end-to-end: pre-action correspondence, evidence gathering, managing county court claims and briefing counsel on high court matters when needed.
• Advising on UK/EU GDPR, data protection, consumer duty and broader technology regulatory issues.
• Supporting group corporate work – board resolutions, company secretarial tasks, inter-company agreements, occasional M&A or restructuring projects.
• Acting as the go-to pragmatic commercial advisor to the CEO and the product/engineering teams.
• Building and automating legal processes.

Candidate Profile

• Strong preference for existing in-house experience at a SaaS, scale-up, fintech or other fast-moving technology business.
• Numerate and analytical mindset – STEM first degree is a significant advantage.
• Comfortable being the sole lawyer.
• Hands‑on, commercial, “roll‑up‑your‑sleeves” attitude.
• Excellent drafting and stakeholder management skills.
• Dual UK/Australia qualification or experience across multiple common‑law jurisdictions is a bonus (but not essential).

Skills & Experience – Must Haves

• Solid track record drafting and negotiating SaaS and technology contracts.
• Exposure to GDPR/data‑protection work.
• Confidence managing disputes or litigation (at least at county‑court level).
• Ability to give clear, commercial advice quickly.

Desirable

• UK-qualified solicitor (or Commonwealth equivalent) with 1-4 years PQE.
• Interest in legal‑tech and process automation.
• Experience supporting international expansion.
• Previous start‑up/scale‑up environment.