Legal Counsel

Wayve; City Of London; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading deep tech company in London is seeking a Legal Counsel to provide advice on corporate governance and M&A matters. The candidate will support commercial contracts and employment-related issues while working in a hybrid environment. This role offers a fantastic opportunity for junior lawyers to broaden their skills in a wide range of legal areas.

Qualifications

• Demonstrable post-qualified experience.
• Solid grounding in corporate and commercial law.
• Exposure to M&A transactions.

Responsibilities

• Support on corporate governance and company secretarial matters.
• Assist with M&A activity, including due diligence and drafting.
• Support on HR and other employment-related matters.
• Manage employee equity schemes including drafting and issuing grants.

Skills

Technical skills

Drafting skills

Negotiation skills

Communication skills

Commercial acumen

Education

Qualified solicitor in E&W or major common law jurisdiction

Job description

At Wayve we're committed to creating a diverse, fair and respectful culture that is inclusive of everyone based on their unique skills and perspectives, and regardless of sex, race, religion or belief, ethnic or national origin, disability, age, citizenship, marital, domestic or civil partnership status, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, pregnancy or related condition (including breastfeeding) or any other basis as protected by applicable law.

About us

Founded in 2017, Wayve is the leading developer of Embodied AI technology. Our advanced AI software and foundation models enable vehicles to perceive, understand, and navigate any complex environment, enhancing the usability and safety of automated driving systems.

Our vision is to create autonomy that propels the world forward. Our intelligent, mapless, and hardware-agnostic AI products are designed for automakers, accelerating the transition from assisted to automated driving.

In our fast-paced environment big problems ignite us—we embrace uncertainty, leaning into complex challenges to unlock groundbreaking solutions. We aim high and stay humble in our pursuit of excellence, constantly learning and evolving as we pave the way for a smarter, safer future.

At Wayve, your contributions matter. We value diversity, embrace new perspectives, and foster an inclusive work environment; we back each other to deliver impact.

Make Wayve the experience that defines your career!

Wayve is looking for a talented Legal Counsel, with demonstrable post-qualified experience, to join our team. This is a fantastic opportunity for a junior lawyer who wants to broaden their skills and gain hands-on exposure across a wide range of legal areas in a global deep tech environment. As Legal Counsel, you will act as a trusted advisor to the business on a broad range of matters. While you will cover a broad generalist remit, your primary focus will be on corporate matters, M&A, employee equity schemes and employment matters. You will also provide day-to-day support on commercial contracts and general legal queries across the organisation. The role will also provide ample opportunity to skill up in a number of other areas including AI, intellectual property, data protection, regulatory compliance and product advisory work.

Key responsibilities

• Support on corporate governance and company secretarial matters not just in the UK but also across our global group of companies.
• Assist with M&A activity, including due diligence, drafting, and post-closing integration.
• Support on HR and other employment-related matters, including advising on employee relations issues, performance management, workplace investigations and supporting international teams with local counsel.
• Manage employee equity schemes including drafting and issuing grants, board minutes and resolutions, maintaining records and statutory filings, liaising with leadership and our People and Finance teams.
• Review and negotiate commercial contracts across suppliers, customers, and partners.
• Provide general legal support across the business, escalating complex issues appropriately.
• Draft policies and procedures and educate the business on compliance and best practices.

About you

In order to set you up for success as a Legal Counsel at Wayve, we’re looking for the following skills and experience.

• Qualified solicitor in E&W or another major common law jurisdiction, ideally trained at a top law firm or in-house.
• Solid grounding in corporate and commercial law.
• Exposure to M&A transactions, ideally on both the buy and the sell side, with experience in drafting and reviewing deal documentation, due diligence and integration planning.
• Exposure to employee equity/compensation structures, ideally with an international aspect is strongly preferred.
• Exposure to HR and employment matters advising on day-to-day employee relations is preferred.
• Strong technical, drafting, legal research, and negotiation skills.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills and an ability to explain complex legal matters in clear, accessible language to non-lawyers.
• Strong commercial acumen and judgement to effectively evaluate legal risk in the context of the company’s wider strategy.
• Ability to work autonomously, take initiative and be proactive in addressing new challenges.
• Well-developed prioritisation skills and ability to deal with multiple projects and internal clients.
• Ability to collaborate with colleagues across teams and jurisdictions.

This is a full-time role based in our office in Central London. At Wayve we want the best of all worlds so we operate a hybrid working policy that combines time together in our offices and workshops to fuel innovation, culture, relationships and learning, and time spent working from home.

We understand that everyone has a unique set of skills and experiences and that not everyone will meet all of the requirements listed above. If you’re passionate about self-driving cars and think you have what it takes to make a positive impact on the world, we encourage you to apply.

DISCLAIMER: We will not ask about marriage or pregnancy, care responsibilities or disabilities in any of our job adverts or interviews. However, we do look to capture information about care responsibilities, and disabilities among other diversity information as part of an optional DEI Monitoring form to help us identify areas of improvement in our hiring process and ensure that the process is inclusive and non-discriminatory.

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