[Hiring] Head of Legal @PatSnap

Role Description

We are seeking an experienced and commercially focused Head of Legal to lead the legal function across PatSnap's Western region, supporting our operations across the UK, North America and Canada. Reporting to senior leadership, you will be responsible for providing strategic legal counsel across:

• Corporate transactions
• Commercial contracting
• Governance
• Legal risk
• International business operations

As a trusted advisor to the executive team, you will play a key role in supporting business growth, enabling strategic decision-making and ensuring legal considerations align with commercial objectives. This is a broad, high-impact leadership role with responsibility for:

• Leading complex M&A activity
• Supporting international expansion
• Partnering with stakeholders across Finance, Sales, Product and People
• Working closely with colleagues across APAC to ensure a globally aligned legal function

We're looking for a commercially astute legal leader with strong technical expertise, sound judgement and the ability to balance legal risk with business opportunity. Someone who builds trusted relationships, influences at senior levels and sees legal as a strategic partner to the business.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of combined legal experience, with significant time spent in-house at a high-growth technology or SaaS company
• Proven experience leading or playing a central role in M&A transactions — from due diligence through to completion
• Strong background in corporate law, commercial transactions, and legal risk management
• Demonstrated ability to manage litigation and disputes, including experience engaging and directing external counsel cost-effectively
• Qualified solicitor; comfortable navigating multi-jurisdictional legal environments
• Commercially astute with the ability to balance legal risk with business pragmatism and budget awareness
• Exceptional negotiation skills and a track record of delivering favourable outcomes on complex deals
• Strong communicator — able to distil complex legal matters into clear, concise guidance for non-legal stakeholders

Requirements

• Mandarin language skills and/or experience working closely with Chinese or broader APAC business teams — highly advantageous given the cross-regional nature of this role
• Experience with IP law, data privacy (GDPR, PIPEDA, CCPA), or regulatory compliance in a SaaS/technology context
• Exposure to cross-border transactions bridging Western and Asian markets
• Prior experience working with investment firms, private equity, or venture-backed companies
• Familiarity with both UK, US and Canadian corporate law

Benefits

• Patsnap is proud to be an equal opportunity employer (EOE) that champions diversity
• We do not discriminate based on race, religion, national origin, citizenship, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, pregnancy, age, or marital, veteran/military, or disability status, or any other protected status in accordance with federal, provincial/state or local laws