Head of Legal / General Counsel

Head of Legal / General Counsel Our client is a fast-growing, venture-backed SaaS company in the AI space, serving a large, global customer base. The business is fully remote with a distributed, global team. The Role You'll own the legal function day to day — hands-on, pragmatic, and commercially minded. As the senior legal voice in the company, you'll work directly with leadership on a broad mandate: keep deals moving, protect the business, and use good judgment about what to handle in-house versus when to bring in outside counsel. You'll start as the sole senior legal hire and build out the legal function as the company grows. Key Responsibilities Lead commercial contracting — customer agreements, MSAs, DPAs, and vendor, partner, contractor, and consulting agreements — with fast turnaround and a commercial mindset that unblocks the business and flags only what truly matters. Manage disputes and demand letters — assess exposure, set strategy, and coordinate with outside counsel and insurers. Handle corporate matters — the insurance program (D&O/E&O renewals and claims), corporate governance, entity management, and support for financing or M&A activity as it arises. Coordinate employment law matters across the US, UK, Canada, and other jurisdictions with international contractors — agreements, background checks, terminations, and employer-of-record arrangements. Protect intellectual property and trademarks, including handling infringement matters. Partner closely with the compliance/privacy function on data protection matters (e.g., GDPR/CCPA, DPAs), serving as the legal backstop on compliance issues. Manage outside counsel relationships — selecting the right firms, scoping work narrowly, reviewing bills, and keeping quality high and costs controlled. Advise on legal matters related to people and people operations. What You'll Bring 8+ years post-qualification experience, with significant time advising US tech/SaaS companies. In-house SaaS experience with deep US commercial law fluency alongside familiarity with UK/EU legal frameworks. Comfort operating as the sole senior legal hire initially, with the ability to build out an in-house legal team over time. Strong contract drafting and negotiation skills across the full commercial contract stack. Experience managing disputes and outside counsel relationships end to end. Based in the UK or Canada. Nice to Have Background in B2B data or data-driven products. Experience supporting a company through a financing round or M&A process. Familiarity with email/marketing technology or adjacent regulated product areas. Familiarity with the sales engagement or lead intelligence software market. Experience at a fast-growing, remote-first company. Department Executive Locations UK, Canada Remote status Fully Remote About Remote People We specialize in connecting forward-thinking companies with outstanding global talent. Whether you’re looking to fill a critical role or expand into new markets without local offices, we’re here to support you every step of the way.