Sr Legal Counsel

Provide clear, pragmatic, and solution-oriented legal advice to enable business strategy while managing legal risk. Participate in complex problem resolution, providing expert legal advice on high-stakes issues and disputes. Ensure compliance with relevant laws and regulations. Partner with business counterparts across the enterprise to help drive the delivery of effective legal services. Escalate complex issues to senior legal leadership where appropriate. Negotiate merchant and partner deals in collaboration with the Global Markets Sales organization with a particular focus on commercial opportunities in Europe and the United Kingdom. Manage escalations, collaborate across teams and develop solutions to enable team and business partners to close deals. Build a strong rapport and working relationship with business counterparts across the enterprise to help drive the delivery of effective legal services. Work with the members of the global Commercial Legal team and others on process and contracting improvements to help create greater consistency and process efficiency (e.g., automation enhancements) within the organization, including appropriate contract standardization, templates and contract process improvement. Strategic legal advice: Provide high-level guidance on regulatory, contractual, and commercial matters—including partnerships, product launches, and expansion strategies—translating legal requirements into actionable business solutions. Compliance and regulatory support: Advise with a commercial mindset on compliance with UK, EU, and international regulations relevant to fintech, payments, data privacy (GDPR), anti-money laundering (AML), consumer protection and artificial intelligence. Innovation enablement: Engage on the adoption of new legal technologies and automation tools relevant to scalable growth in payments and fintech. 8+ years relevant experience and a Juris doctorate degree OR Any equivalent combination of education and experience. You will proactively shape the company's risk management strategies and legal processes, often leading initiatives that result in significant, global-scale improvements. Qualified to practice law in the United Kingdom or have an equivalent international legal qualification with eligibility for UK practice. Minimum of 10 years' relevant post-qualification experience, preferably in payments, fintech, or financial services, with prior in-house and/or top-tier law firm experience. Must have experience negotiating and advising senior business leaders on commercial deals including in the financial services sector. Strong background in commercial, corporate, and regulatory law, with hands-on experience in contract negotiation, compliance frameworks, and cross-border legal issues in the fintech or payments sector. Excellent drafting, written and verbal communication skills and ability to adapt legal requirements in balanced, creative, and pragmatic ways to facilitate clear and open communication at all levels of the organization. Exceptional stakeholder engagement and communication skills, with a pragmatic, business-oriented approach and the ability to provide clear, concise advice under pressure. Proven ability to work effectively within and across multifunctional teams, managing multiple concurrent projects in a fast-paced environment. Knowledge of the payments/financial services regulatory environment (FCA and EU regulations). Track record of leading high-value transactions and enabling legal innovation in technology-driven organisations. Experience with commercial contract standardisation and process improvements. Strong analytical, negotiation, and influencing skills.