Legal Counsel

About the role

The Legal Counsel will support the Legal Function across commercial contracting, technology, corporate and M&A, intellectual property, disputes, and data‑privacy, AI‑governance, cybersecurity and compliance programmes. The role operates under direct supervision with a clear development pathway toward independent portfolio responsibility within 18–24 months.

Key responsibilities

• Draft, review and negotiate master service agreements, teaming agreements, referral agreements, supply contracts and other commercial agreements; manage contract registers and execution workflows.
• Support technology‑driven agreements such as software licensing, cloud, data‑centre and managed‑services contracts, embedding information‑security, data‑protection and AI provisions.
• Assist M&A transactions across the deal lifecycle, including due diligence, document review, drafting term sheets, SPAs and shareholder agreements, and post‑merger integration.
• Manage corporate secretarial duties, trademark and copyright filings, IP register maintenance and intra‑group licensing.
• Provide dispute support by preparing case files, demand letters and coordinating with external counsel.
• Maintain data‑privacy records, conduct first‑pass reviews of data‑processing agreements and support DPIA processes.
• Monitor regulatory developments (UAE PDPL, ADGM, KSA PDPL, GDPR, AI governance) and prepare briefing notes.
• Support compliance programmes including KYC, vendor onboarding, sanctions screening, AML, ABAC and policy refresh cycles.
• Act as first point of contact for legal queries from Sales, Procurement, Projects, Finance, HR, Marketing and IT.
• Maintain template suites, clause libraries and contribute to legal KPI dashboards.

Required profile

• LLB from a recognised institution and bar admission in a recognised jurisdiction.
• 5–8 years post‑qualification experience, including 3–5 years in‑house or law‑firm exposure in the UAE.
• Full professional fluency in English with strong analytical and drafting skills.

Required skills

• Experience drafting and negotiating commercial and technology agreements.
• Knowledge of M&A processes, corporate secretarial work and intellectual property administration.
• Familiarity with data‑privacy regulations (UAE PDPL, GDPR) and privacy credentials such as CIPP/E or CIPM (desirable).
• Understanding of cybersecurity, AI‑governance and compliance frameworks (KYC, AML, ABAC).