Chief Legal Officer

Dynamic Search Consulting (DSC); California (MO); On-site; USD 250,000 - 420,000; Full time

Job summary

Dynamic Search Consulting (DSC) is seeking a Chief Legal Officer to lead the legal function for a fast-growing, PE-backed SaaS company. You will shape strategy, governance, regulatory compliance, and enterprise risk management while partnering with the CEO and board.

Responsibilities include negotiating complex enterprise agreements, managing outside counsel, guiding data privacy and AI governance, and leading a high-performing legal team through acquisitions, integration, and growth.

Qualifications

• Juris Doctor from an accredited law school.
• Active state bar membership in good standing.
• Experience leading legal teams in high-growth SaaS/tech.
• Proven track record with PE-backed companies.
• Strong governance and regulatory compliance background.

Responsibilities

• Lead legal strategy, governance, and risk management.
• Oversee complex enterprise agreements and licensing.
• Partner with executive team to support growth while managing risk.
• Manage outside counsel and internal legal operations.
• Support M&A, financings, and strategic transactions.

Skills

SaaS contracts

Executive leadership

Contract negotiation

Governance

Data privacy

AI governance

Regulatory compliance

PE experience

Education

Juris Doctor

Bar admission

Job description

Dynamic Search Consulting (DSC) is a boutique retained executive search firm that specializes in VP and C-level placement nationally across various functions and verticals. This posting is not for a specific search but for the type of candidate profile we frequently recruit for, so please apply so we can get connected and keep you in mind as relevant retained searches arise.

Key Responsibilities

The following information is intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed. It is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities, or required skills.

• Lead the company’s overall legal strategy, corporate governance, compliance, commercial contracting, regulatory affairs, and enterprise risk management.
• Serve as the primary legal advisor to the CEO, executive leadership team, Board of Directors, and private equity sponsor on strategic, operational, transactional, and governance matters.
• Partner closely with Sales, Finance, Product, Engineering, HR, Security, and Customer Success to support commercial growth while appropriately managing legal and business risk.
• Oversee the drafting, negotiation, and execution of complex commercial agreements, including SaaS agreements, MSAs, enterprise customer contracts, licensing agreements, strategic partnerships, vendor agreements, and channel relationships.
• Develop scalable contracting processes, templates, policies, approval frameworks, and legal operations infrastructure to support continued revenue growth and organizational scale.
• Lead legal support for M&A, acquisitions, divestitures, financing transactions, recapitalizations, integrations, and other strategic initiatives in partnership with executive leadership and the private equity sponsor.
• Oversee corporate governance, Board matters, entity management, regulatory compliance, intellectual property, employment law, litigation, privacy, cybersecurity, and data protection.
• Establish and maintain appropriate legal and compliance frameworks around data privacy, artificial intelligence, software licensing, information security, and emerging technology regulations.
• Manage outside counsel and other legal service providers while improving efficiency, controlling legal spend, and determining when capabilities should be developed internally.
• Build, develop, and lead a high-performing legal organization capable of supporting a rapidly scaling SaaS business.
• Identify emerging legal, regulatory, and commercial risks and provide practical, business-oriented recommendations that enable growth while protecting enterprise value.
• Serve as a trusted legal and strategic partner to the CEO, Board, private equity sponsor, leadership team, employees, customers, and other key stakeholders.

Ideal Candidate

• Proven Chief Legal Officer, General Counsel, Deputy General Counsel, or senior legal leadership experience within a SaaS, software, technology, or other high-growth B2B organization.
• Significant experience operating within a private equity-backed company or partnering closely with private equity sponsors, Boards, and executive leadership teams.
• Strong background negotiating complex enterprise SaaS, software licensing, technology, data, partnership, and commercial agreements.
• Experience supporting companies through rapid growth, organizational transformation, acquisitions, integration, recapitalization, or exit preparation.
• Deep understanding of corporate governance, commercial contracting, regulatory compliance, intellectual property, employment law, litigation, privacy, cybersecurity, and data protection.
• Working knowledge of emerging legal considerations surrounding artificial intelligence, data usage, automated decision-making, software development, and AI governance.
• Demonstrated ability to balance legal risk with commercial objectives and provide practical recommendations rather than purely theoretical legal guidance.
• Experience supporting M&A transactions, due diligence, post-acquisition integration, financing activity, and other complex corporate transactions.
• Strong leadership experience building, developing, and scaling internal legal teams while effectively managing outside counsel.
• Experience partnering with Sales and Revenue organizations to streamline contracting processes and reduce friction throughout the enterprise sales cycle.
• Strong executive presence with the ability to communicate complex legal issues clearly to CEOs, Boards, investors, commercial leaders, and non-legal stakeholders.
• Juris Doctor from an accredited law school and active membership in good standing with an applicable state bar are required.

Leadership Style

We’re looking for a Chief Legal Officer who is commercially minded, highly pragmatic, strategically sophisticated, and comfortable operating in a fast-paced private equity-backed environment. This leader should understand that the legal function exists not only to manage risk, but also to help the organization grow, move faster, and make better decisions.

The ideal candidate will be comfortable operating at both the Board level and within the details of complex customer negotiations, acquisitions, compliance matters, and day‑to‑day business decisions. This executive should bring sound judgment, urgency, transparency, and the ability to distinguish between material enterprise risk and issues that can be addressed pragmatically.

Success in this role will be measured by stronger corporate governance, faster and more scalable commercial contracting, effective risk management, successful execution of strategic transactions, improved legal operations, reduced organizational friction, strong partnership with the private equity sponsor and executive team, and the legal function’s ability to support continued growth and enterprise value creation.