Senior Legal Counsel

About the role

This Senior Legal Counsel position at Shakepay involves navigating the legal and regulatory landscape for crypto and financial services in Canada. The role requires partnering with product, compliance, and leadership teams to develop and launch new offerings, ensuring they meet legal requirements while supporting business objectives. A key aspect is translating complex regulations into actionable advice for various stakeholders across the company.

The legal team operates centrally within Shakepay, collaborating closely with multiple departments including Product, Compliance, Operations, and Finance. This team emphasizes individual ownership, practical judgment, and the use of technology, including AI, to enhance legal workflows. The ideal candidate will contribute to this forward-thinking approach, helping to build and protect the business through proactive legal guidance.

Success in this role means providing clear, business-oriented legal advice that enables Shakepay to innovate and expand its services to over a million Canadian users. It involves leading regulatory initiatives, supporting audits, and contributing to policy development. The counsel will also identify opportunities to automate legal tasks and improve efficiency, helping the company move quickly while managing risk effectively.

The salary for this position ranges from $111,000 to $164,000 USD annually.

Skills that matter here

• fintech: Experience in this sector helps navigate the specific legal challenges of financial technology companies.
• payments: Knowledge of payment regulations is crucial for advising on Shakepay's financial products.
• financial services: Background in this area provides a foundation for understanding the regulatory environment Shakepay operates within.
• crypto: Direct experience with cryptocurrency legalities is valuable for addressing the unique aspects of Shakepay's core business.
• AML/ATF: Expertise in anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing regulations is necessary for compliance and risk management.
• consumer protection: Understanding consumer protection laws is important for safeguarding Shakepay's user base and ensuring ethical practices.

Who this role suits

• You are a Canadian-qualified lawyer with at least five years of experience, preferably in a fast-paced technology or financial services environment.
• You thrive working independently, making decisions with limited information, and driving projects forward without constant supervision.
• You possess strong business acumen, prioritizing product and business outcomes while effectively communicating legal risks and recommended paths.
• You are comfortable advising non-legal teams directly, even on ambiguous questions where definitive answers may not exist.

From the employer

• Partner with Product, Compliance and business teams to help design and launch new products, translating complex legal and regulatory requirements into practical solutions.
• Advise on a broad range of legal and regulatory matters across securities, AML/ATF, payments, consumer protection and other areas impacting Shakepay's business.
• Lead regulatory initiatives, including supporting examinations, audits, licensing work, policy development and engagement with regulators.
• Provide practical, business-oriented advice to leaders across the company, helping teams navigate ambiguity and make informed decisions while balancing legal, regulatory and operational considerations.
• Identify opportunities to leverage AI, automation and scalable processes to improve how legal work gets done and enable the business to move faster.
• Support the team on a variety of other legal matters as needed, including commercial agreements, corporate governance, employment and strategic projects.

• Canadian-qualified lawyer with 5+ years of experience, ideally in fintech, payments, financial services, crypto, or a fast-moving technology company.
• Able to operate independently in a lean team, make decisions with incomplete information, and move work forward without heavy oversight.
• Business-oriented legal judgment: you start from the product or business outcome, then help the team understand risk, options, and a recommended path.
• Comfortable advising product and operational teams directly, including on ambiguous questions where there may not be a perfect answer.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to turn complex legal issues into clear, practical guidance for non-legal stakeholders.

• Help shape the future of money: Be part of a team that's revolutionizing financial services in Canada, one sat at a time.
• Impact millions: As cryptocurrency continues to gain traction, our potential for growth is massive. You can help us bring Shakepay and Bitcoin to all Canadians.
• Grow your career: We’re growing, and so can you! We have programs in place to encourage continuous learning, growth, and development.
• Ideas, not titles: We want the best ideas to make their way through, no matter where they come from.
• 🤝 Be an owner: Every employee has stock options as part of their total compensation.
• 🥅 Reach your goals: Develop with continuous feedback and quarterly performance and compensation review.
• 🦷 Health & wellness: Access to health and dental coverage, including health and wellness spending accounts.
• 🌎 Remote-friendly: Work from anywhere in Canada, with optional access to our office spaces in Montreal and Toronto.
• 🆙 Level Up: A $2,000 annual budget for courses, certifications, and training to support your career growth.
• 🌴 Time off: 20 days of vacation per year. And if you use all your vacation, we give you a $1,000 bonus.
• 🐣 Parental leave: Enjoy a parental leave top up to 100% of your salary for 18 weeks.
• 🙌 Have fun together: quarterly team-specific or company-wide offsite to connect with each other.