Legal Counsel

White Gate Partners; Santo Niño 1st; On-site; PHP 5,629,000 - 9,381,000; Full time

Job summary

White Gate Partners is seeking a Legal Counsel for a prominent Asia-headquartered commodities group. The role supports the Singapore office and regional subsidiaries with practical, commercially focused legal advice across corporate, investment, and commercial activities.

The successful candidate will work closely with senior management on corporate transactions, fundraising and multi-jurisdictional agreements, including documentation with Chinese counterparties.

Qualifications

• Requires degree in law with professional qualification.
• Minimum 3 years of post-qualification experience in law.
• Strong hands-on experience in M&A and corporate transactions.
• Fundraising experience including equity/debt financing.
• Ability to draft and negotiate comprehensive commercial contracts.
• Proficiency in English and Mandarin for contracts with Chinese counterparties.

Responsibilities

• Lead and support legal workstreams for mergers, acquisitions, investments, JVs and other corporate transactions, including due diligence and drafting.
• Support equity and debt fundraising activities and related documentation.
• Draft, review and negotiate corporate and commercial agreements (investment, shareholders', JV, sale/purchase, supply and service).
• Provide day-to-day legal advice to the group and regional subsidiaries.
• Coordinate with external counsel across jurisdictions.

Skills

Law degree

M&A experience

Fundraising

Cross-border transactions

Commercial contracting

Mandarin proficiency

English proficiency

Education

Law degree with professional qualification

Job description

Our client is an established Asia-headquartered commodities group with operations across Asia Pacific. As the business continues to expand regionally, they are looking to appoint a Legal Counsel to support the Group’s corporate, investment and commercial activities.

Reporting to a senior member of the Strategy & Investment leadership team, this is a group-level individual contributor role with responsibility for providing practical and commercially focused legal advice to the Singapore office and its regional subsidiaries.

The successful candidate will work closely with senior management and business stakeholders across corporate transactions, fundraising, commercial agreements and other strategic legal matters.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and support legal workstreams relating to mergers and acquisitions, investments, joint ventures and other corporate transactions, including due diligence, transaction structuring, drafting, negotiation and completion.

• Support the Group’s equity and debt fundraising activities, including reviewing and negotiating investment, financing and related transaction documentation.

• Draft, review and negotiate corporate and commercial agreements, including investment agreements, shareholders’ agreements, joint venture agreements, sale and purchase agreements, supply and service agreements and other business contracts.

• Provide legal advice to the Group and its regional subsidiaries on day-to-day corporate and commercial matters.

• Support legal matters arising from the Group’s commodities-related activities and commercial operations.

• Review and negotiate agreements involving Chinese counterparties, including Chinese-language legal and commercial documentation.

• Work closely with internal stakeholders across Strategy & Investment, Finance, Commercial and other business functions to identify and manage legal and contractual risks.

• Coordinate and manage external legal counsel across relevant jurisdictions where specialist or local legal advice is required.

• Support corporate governance, restructuring, financing and other strategic initiatives as the Group continues to grow.

• Assist with legal work relating to future capital markets and corporate development initiatives where required.

Requirements

• Degree in Law with relevant professional legal qualification.

• At least 3 years of post-qualification legal experience gained within a reputable law firm and/or in-house legal function.

• Strong hands-on experience in M&A and corporate transactions, including drafting and negotiating transaction documents.

• Demonstrable exposure to fundraising, including equity and/or debt financing transactions.

• Good commercial contracting experience and the ability to provide practical, business-oriented legal advice.

• Strong command of both English and Mandarin, including the ability to review and draft Chinese-language contracts and communicate effectively with Chinese-speaking counterparties and stakeholders.

• Experience supporting cross-border transactions or businesses operating across multiple jurisdictions will be advantageous.

• Exposure to commodities, capital markets, corporate restructuring, investment transactions or financing documentation will be viewed favourably.

• Able to operate independently in a lean environment, take ownership of matters and manage multiple priorities effectively.

• Commercially minded, adaptable and proactive, with strong judgement and the confidence to work directly with senior stakeholders.

• Candidates who demonstrate stability and a genuine interest in building with the organisation over the longer term will be preferred.