About Athennian

Athennian increases trust in business. Our products help legal, finance, and tax teams be transaction and audit-ready by organizing business entity and corporate structure information. Over a million business entities in almost every country are managed on Athennian to automate workflows for ownership, company secretarial, governance, tax, and compliance.

About the role

We are seeking a commercially-minded Legal Counsel to join our team in Toronto. Reporting to the Sr. Director of Strategic Finance, you will serve as the founding member of our internal legal function — a unique opportunity to shape how Legal operates as a true strategic partner across the business.

This is a high-ownership, high-variety role with real organizational influence. You'll be the primary legal voice at the table, advising leadership on a diverse range of matters and helping the business move forward with confidence. A cornerstone of this role is leading our commercial legal strategy, specifically managing the velocity of SaaS negotiations for our US customer base. You will act as a true business partner, applying sound commercial intuition to complex legal matters and providing decisive guidance even in the face of ambiguity.

If you're a lawyer who thrives on variety, wants to build something meaningful from the ground up, and is energized by being a genuine stakeholder in business outcomes — rather than one voice among many in a large legal department — this is an exciting place to do that work.

What you'll do

• Commercial Contract Management Lead the end-to-end review, drafting, and negotiation of SaaS master service agreements (MSAs), NDAs, and vendor contracts. You'll be the primary point of contact for commercial legal matters and will own the process from intake to signature.
• Legal & Business Partnership Work closely with Finance, Sales, and Leadership to ensure legal terms align with business objectives, revenue recognition policies, and long-term strategic goals. You'll provide counsel that helps the business move forward — identifying risk clearly and offering practical paths to resolution rather than simply flagging issues.
• Corporate Governance & Compliance Advise leadership on corporate governance matters, intellectual property protection, and regulatory compliance (e.g., Sanctions, AML, privacy). Help ensure the company's legal posture is audit-ready as we scale.
• Product & AI Counsel Act as a legal stakeholder for our "Athennian Intelligence" initiatives, advising on data privacy, AI ethics, and intellectual property rights related to our automated legal workflows.
• Legal Operations Identify and implement legal technology to reduce contract turnaround time and manage external counsel spend. Help build the infrastructure that allows Legal to scale efficiently.

Qualifications

• Experience: 3–5 years of private practice experience, followed by 2+ years working in-house at a high-growth technology company.
• Education & Credentials: Juris Doctor (JD) or equivalent and a member in good standing with the Law Society of Ontario.
• Commercial Judgment: A demonstrated ability to make commercial and risk-based decisions and operate with sometimes imperfect information — balancing legal soundness with business reality
• Cross-Border Expertise: Strong familiarity with US commercial law and market standards (liability caps, indemnities, SaaS contracting norms), given our predominantly US-based customer base
• Startup Agility: Proven ability to navigate ambiguity, manage a high volume of varied legal tasks autonomously, and build process where little exists
• Tech-Forward Mindset: Demonstrated proficiency with CRM (HubSpot), Contract Management Systems, and a genuine interest in Legal AI tools

Location

We have embraced a distributed model of working to reach the best talent in the world. While some roles may require proximity to our Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver offices, roles based outside our office locations can be remote in Canada and the US. Please only apply if you are able to live and work full-time in the US and Canada. 

Our Culture 

Our company thrives in a fast-paced startup environment where every team member plays a critical role in driving success.

• Outcome Driven: We focus on setting ambitious goals and achieving measurable results.
• Wide Responsibility: Our team is empowered to take ownership from problem identification to implementation.
• Learning Mindset: We embrace curiosity and reject the status quo.
• Strategic Speed: We make fast, effective decisions and embrace a bias for action.

Benefits at Athennian

We’re a remote-first company built on trust, autonomy, and accountability.

• Work-Life Balance: Minimum of 3 weeks vacation, 5 sick days, and 6 personal/flex days, plus a company-wide winter holiday shutdown.
• Comprehensive Coverage: Health, dental, and vision, long-term disability, and a Health Spending Account (HSA).
• Family Support: Flexible parental leave benefits, including top-ups.
• Remote Setup: A dedicated work-from-home allowance to get you set up for success.