Legal Counsel (Maritime)

INNERGY CONSULTING PTE. LTD.; Singapore; On-site; SGD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

An international shipping group in Singapore is seeking a highly experienced Legal Counsel to oversee legal, contractual, compliance, and governance matters across its maritime and logistics businesses. The ideal candidate will have at least 8 years of in-house legal experience, preferably within the shipping sector, and must be fluent in Mandarin due to regional stakeholder interaction. This role requires excellent drafting, analytical, and stakeholder management skills in a fast-paced environment.

Qualifications

• Minimum 8 years of relevant legal experience, preferably in-house.
• Prior experience in shipping, maritime, commodities, or infrastructure.
• Strong knowledge of shipping cargoes and maritime laws.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic legal advice on maritime and commercial law.
• Draft, review, and negotiate commercial contracts.
• Lead legal support for corporate transactions like M&A.
• Conduct and oversee legal due diligence for projects.
• Support compliance framework development.

Skills

Strong in-house commercial legal experience

Stakeholder management skills

Fluency in Chinese (Mandarin)

Excellent drafting skills

Analytical and negotiation skills

Organizational skills

Education

Bachelors Degree in Law (LLB or equivalent)

Job description

We are looking for a highly experienced Legal Counsel for an established international shipping group with regional and global operations. This is a key leadership role where you will oversee all legal, contractual, compliance and governance matter across the Groups diverse maritime and logistics businesses.

The ideal candidate will bring strong in-house commercial legal experience within the shipping or maritime sector, possess excellent stakeholder management skills, and be comfortable operating in a fast-moving, cross-border environment. Fluency in Chinese (Mandarin) is a mandatory requirement for this role due to regional stakeholder interface.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide strategic legal advice on maritime, admiralty and commercial law matter across local and regional operations.
• Draft, review and negotiate a wide range of commercial contracts including NDAs, vendor/supplier agreements, service contracts and licensing agreements.
• Lead legal support for corporate transactions, including M&A, joint ventures, and strategic investments (SPAs, SHAs, JVAs, term sheets).
• Partner closely with business units on deal structuring, regulatory issues, risk management and compliance strategy.
• Conduct and oversee legal due diligence for projects, acquisitions and investments.
• Support and strengthen the Groups compliance framework, including policy development, training and internal investigations.
• Manage corporate governance matters, including board and shareholder resolutions, minutes, regulatory filings and corporate secretarial support.
• Maintain and oversee the contract management system and internal legal database.
• Manage relationships with external counsels, regulators and internal stakeholders across jurisdictions.
• Act as a cross-functional legal advisor aligning legal requirements with commercial and operational objectives.
• Undertake special projects and ad-hoc legal/compliance initiatives as directed by management.

Requirements

• Bachelors Degree in Law (LLB or equivalent).
• Minimum 8 years of relevant legal experience, preferably in an in-house commercial legal role.
• Prior experience in shipping, maritime, commodities or infrastructure sectors is strongly preferred.
• Strong knowledge of shipping cargoes and maritime-related laws and regulations.
• Fluent in both English and Chinese (Mandarin) mandatory due to regional stakeholder interface.
• Excellent drafting, analytical and negotiation skills with strong attention to detail.
• Strong stakeholder management, communication and organisational skills.
• Able to work independently and cross-functionally in a fast-paced, evolving environment.
• High level of professional integrity, commercial judgment and risk awareness.

We regret that only shortlisted candidates will be notified. Thank you for your understanding.