Senior Legal Counsel

About the role

Join Shakepay to influence how millions of Canadians manage their money. You will tackle complex legal issues at the intersection of cryptocurrency, payments, and financial regulations, working closely with product, compliance, and executive leadership. This is a hands-on position for someone who thrives in ambiguity and wants to actively contribute to business growth.

Key facts

What you'll do

• Collaborate with product, compliance, and business units to develop and launch new offerings, translating intricate legal and regulatory demands into actionable solutions.
• Provide counsel on a wide array of legal and regulatory matters, including securities, anti-money laundering, payments, and consumer protection relevant to Shakepay's operations.
• Drive regulatory initiatives, assisting with examinations, audits, licensing processes, policy creation, and engagement with regulatory bodies.
• Offer practical, business-focused advice to company leaders, guiding teams through uncertainty and enabling informed decision-making while balancing legal, regulatory, and operational factors.
• Explore and implement AI, automation, and scalable processes to enhance legal operations and accelerate business velocity.
• Support the team with various other legal needs, such as commercial agreements, corporate governance, employment matters, and strategic projects.

Requirements

• A lawyer qualified to practice in Canada with at least 5 years of professional experience, preferably within fintech, payments, financial services, crypto, or a rapidly evolving technology company.
• Ability to work autonomously within a lean team, make decisions with incomplete information, and drive progress with minimal supervision.
• Possess business-minded legal judgment, starting with the product or business objective and then clearly outlining risks, options, and recommended courses of action.
• Comfortable providing direct counsel to product and operational teams, including on ambiguous questions without definitive answers.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, capable of distilling complex legal concepts into clear, practical guidance for non-legal audiences.

Nice to have

• Prior experience in both a law firm and an in-house legal department.
• Experience in a startup or scaleup environment with shifting priorities and a need for pragmatic legal support.
• Familiarity with Bitcoin, cryptocurrency, securities, payments, AML, or regulated financial products in Canada.
• Experience utilizing AI, automation, or lightweight tools to improve legal output and team efficiency.

Skills & tools

• Fluency in English is required.

Practical notes

• Salary range: 150,000 - 220,000 CAD annually.
• Compensation includes base salary, equity, performance-based increases, health and dental coverage, and paid time off.
• Employees receive 20 days of vacation annually, with a 1,000 CAD bonus if all days are utilized.
• Parental leave provides up to 100% salary top-up for 18 weeks.
• An annual budget of 2,000 CAD is available for professional development, courses, and certifications.
• Health and wellness spending accounts are provided.
• Stock options are part of the total compensation package.
• Quarterly performance and compensation reviews are conducted.
• Access to optional office spaces in Montreal and Toronto.
• Quarterly team or company-wide offsites are organized.
• Shakepay utilizes AI and other technologies to support aspects of its hiring process, including scheduling and application review. All hiring decisions are made by the human hiring team.