Legal Counsel - APAC

Vectra Search Pte Ltd; Kuala Lumpur; On-site; MYR 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

An established international payments organization is seeking a Legal Counsel based in Kuala Lumpur. The role involves providing legal guidance across financial services in Southeast Asia, focusing on corporate, regulatory, and compliance matters. The ideal candidate is legally qualified with over 8 years of experience, including Greater China legal matters and a technology background, preferably in payments or fintech. This position offers exposure to a multicultural environment and innovative business models.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in a reputable law firm or in-house legal environment.
• Strong experience in Greater China legal matters and contracting.
• Experience in in-house technology sectors with payments or fintech exposure.

Responsibilities

• Provide legal advice across various matters including corporate and compliance.
• Draft and negotiate commercial agreements in the payments ecosystem.
• Advise on new business products such as Cloud and AI.
• Deliver legal training and maintain contract templates.
• Liaise with external counsel and manage legal workflows.

Skills

Legal advice across corporate, commercial, regulatory, and employment law

Contract negotiation and drafting

Business-level proficiency in Chinese

Stakeholder management

Legal risk management

Education

Legally qualified in a common law jurisdiction

Job description

An established international payments and financial technology organisation is seeking a Legal Counsel to provide legal guidance and support to its Financial Services and Merchant Services businesses across Southeast Asia and Greater China.

This role works closely with Sales, Project Management, Product, Executive Leadership, Compliance, and other internal stakeholders to ensure alignment with regional legal strategy and applicable laws and regulations, with a particular focus on Greater China.

The Legal Counsel will be part of a regional Northeast and Southeast Asia Legal Team, based in Kuala Lumpur, and reporting to a senior regional legal leader. The role offers exposure within a multinational, multicultural environment and a fast-evolving technology-led business.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide legal advice to business stakeholders across a broad range of matters, including corporate, commercial, regulatory, employment and labour law, data privacy, dispute resolution/litigation management, and legal compliance
• Draft, review, and negotiate a wide variety of commercial agreements across the payments ecosystem, including sales, procurement, strategic partnerships, joint ventures, investments, and innovative business models, covering issues such as intellectual property and data protection
• Advise on new business products and delivery models, including Cloud, SaaS, and AI, while remaining current on evolving regulatory and statutory requirements
• Deliver legal training and drive ongoing awareness of internal policies across regional entities
• Develop, maintain, and update contract templates
• Monitor and maintain up-to-date knowledge of contract law and regulatory developments across jurisdictions in Southeast Asia and Greater China
• Support corporate and M&A activities, including post-merger integration matters
• Manage and liaise with external counsel as required
• Support initiatives to digitise contract management and legal workflows, including contract lifecycle management systems
• Apply effective legal risk management practices and provide proactive advice on potential legal issues
• Communicate, negotiate, and collaborate effectively with internal and external stakeholders

Required Qualifications

• Legally qualified in a common law jurisdiction with 8+ years of experience gained in a reputable law firm and/or in-house legal environment supporting international businesses.
• Must be called to the bar.
• Demonstrable experience handling Greater China legal matters and contracting
• Excellent written and spoken English, with business-level proficiency in Chinese; additional Asian languages are an advantage
• Prior in-house technology experience(software, hardware, platforms, cloud, networks), with payments or fintech exposure strongly preferred

Preferred Experience & Attributes

• Strong grounding in contract law
• Experience in data privacy matters
• Demonstrable legal experience across the Asia-Pacific region
• Proactive, commercially minded, and detail-oriented, with strong stakeholder management skills
• Comfortable operating in a fast-paced, matrixed environment
• Collaborative team player with a pragmatic, solution-oriented mindset