Description
We're seeking a Legal Counsel to join our team in London. You'll play a crucial role in enabling, protecting, and empowering our business and people to achieve growth with minimal distraction.
Responsibilities:
- Work closely with multiple business teams across the UK, EMEA, and globally to advise on various legal matters, including financial regulation, consumer protection, payments, banking, marketing standards, and partnerships.
- Collaborate with the business and global Legal team on new product launches, market expansions, license applications, corporate matters, and commercial agreements.
- Manage the contract lifecycle with bank partners, online platforms, and enterprise customers, from structuring and drafting to negotiation.
- Assess and advise on risks specific to API integrations, including country risk, feature launches, regulatory implications, and bank partner relationships.
- Structure and draft multi-party commercial agreements, allocating regulatory obligations, commercial terms, and KYC/AML responsibilities.
- Advise on regulatory positioning in new and emerging markets, reviewing external counsel memoranda, assessing local licensing and registration risk, and drafting contractual language.
- Mentor and upskill business teams and other Legal team members, supervising responses to Legal support queries.
- Identify and advise on operational impacts and practicalities of risks to the business.
- Review current practices, develop and maintain templates, and streamline processes.
- Stay updated on legal developments in the UK and advise on future-looking initiatives.
- Support the wider needs of Wise, including training and workshops.
Qualifications:
- 5-7 years of PQE, UK qualified (or another common law jurisdiction), with strong post-qualification commercial experience.
- Experience in the banking or payments industry.
- Previous law firm or in-house experience, focusing on payments, card processing, financial services, banking, or investments.
- Proven aptitude for commercial contract structuring, drafting, and negotiation.
- Strong interest and experience in financial services regulation, including payments, consumer protection, banking, and investments.
- Broad legal knowledge to spot and resolve various legal issues.
- Ability to distill complexity and communicate practical, risk-based solutions.
- Focus on impact through trusted relationships and attention to detail.
- Clear communication, project coordination, and management skills.
- Ability to navigate complex issues and multiple stakeholders.
- Collaborative approach to problem-solving.
What we offer:
- Stock options as part of the compensation package.
- Flexible working arrangements.
- Wellbeing support, including an Employee Assistance Program.
- 6 weeks of paid sabbatical after 4 years at Wise.