LEGAL COUNSEL, FACILITIES AND LEASING -

Shopify’s mission is to make commerce better for everyone. From building a new product feature for our commerce platform, to helping a merchant troubleshoot an issue over the phone, we want to empower our ecosystem through our work.

Having a unified vision, a north star, is vitally important to ensure that we are all headed in the same direction. No matter the size or experience, we want to power every merchant’s experience. This is why we’re all here.

Shopify is now permanently remote, and we’re working towards a future that is digital by design. That location you see above? Consider it merely an example of hundreds of potential locations across the Americas where Shopify is hiring. Learn more here: https://www.shopify.com/careers/work-anywhere

Shopify is the world’s fastest growing commerce platform, with no plans to slow down, powering over 1.7 million stores in more than 175 different countries. It takes a whole team of dedicated lawyers working behind the scenes to help Shopify create a platform that makes commerce better for everyone.  Lawyers on our team must be able to apply their knowledge and experience to novel scenarios and provide the best possible advice on sometimes unprecedented legal issues, in ways that allow Shopify’s business to stay agile and competitive.  Every person on our team is committed to making commerce better for everyone, and it truly shows.  

About the team

Within the Shopify Legal team, the Product and Commercial team’s focus is supporting Shopify’s business teams by providing project and product counseling, negotiating a wide variety of agreements, and creating efficiencies in the contract management process for our business teams.  

To be successful on our team, collaboration and engagement are key.  Our team members regularly collaborate with each other and with internal stakeholders, effectively guiding business strategies and communicating legal risk.  We build trust with internal business teams, and show up for our clients both proactively, to ensure our business teams don’t run into problems, and reactively, when issues do come up. Real talk: being a member of a fast-moving team doing cutting edge legal work is not always easy. That said, practicing at the top of your game with smart, dedicated and highly-engaged colleagues and clients is incredibly fulfilling and a great catalyst for personal growth.

About you

Our team is looking for a passionate and driven mid-level commercial lawyer with expertise in real estate, leasing, property, construction and commercial matters to champion Shopify’s legal support of the Facilities and Workspace Operations teams. We are looking at candidates across Canada and the United States who are willing to work within a 3-hour window of Eastern Standard Time.

This will be a specialist role - you will be laser-focused on working closely with our internal facilities teams, and will tackle a high volume of requests, including drafting/reviewing bespoke and standardized construction contracts, leasing agreements and technical infrastructure contracts, as well as advising on facilities and physical property needs, amongst other needs and agreements. You will also refine and shape processes, including drafting and updating templated agreements and playbooks to be used by our legal, facilities, and contract administration teams. Effectively, you will be responsible for helping to execute, optimize and grow specialized support provided by the Legal team within our world-class Product and Commercial team. 

We’re looking for​ ​an​ ​independent​ ​go-getter​ ​who​ ​thrives​ ​without​ ​someone standing​ ​over​ ​their​ ​shoulder.​ You have to be a contracts geek, an effective and confident negotiator, with strong drafting skills and excellent attention to detail. You must be adept at using business acumen, creativity and collegiality (both internally and in dealing with external parties) to negotiate terms that protect and propel your client’s business forward.

Success on the Shopify Legal team requires intellect, humility and a sense of humour. You need to take the work seriously, but not take yourself too seriously. You also need to be comfortable with being uncomfortable, able to work with many different types of personalities, really connect with people, and work as a team player. Above all, you must have grit: the ability to persevere in the face of adversity, deal with being challenged, and come through the other side stronger and with your optimism intact, ready to do it all over again.

Requirements

• A J.D. or LL.B.

• A license to practice law in the US or Canada. You do not need to live in a major urban centre! For Shopify, home is where the Internet is. 

• Relevant commercial property law experience, ideally in an in house environment, and a passion for practicing in commercial legal areas.

• Substantial experience drafting and negotiating legal agreements, especially leasing arrangements and construction contracts. 

• Big-picture thinking. You will need the ability to think strategically about how a given issue may impact Shopify beyond specific matters, and even more importantly, how the issue may affect the businesses that use Shopify and their end customers.

• Experience managing multiple projects, priorities, stakeholders, and deadlines.

• A​ ​desire​ ​to​ ​work​ ​on​ ​an​ ​agile and lean​ ​team.​ ​​​You will get asked to help with strange, one-off disputes in areas of law you know nothing about, and you should feel comfortable working through these types of unique matters.

Bonus experience:

• Experience establishing, implementing, and improving contract management procedures to streamline a high volume practice.

• Experience handling other commercial and technology agreements, including those related to procurement, licensing, SaaS, and other cloud-based offerings. 

• Familiarity with workspace operations and change management towards hybrid or remote working environments. 

• Another legal super power (tell us about it in your cover letter!)

We know that applying to a new role takes a lot of work and we truly value your time. Please address your cover letter to Sheldon Klootwyk, Senior Legal Counsel.  He’s looking forward to reading your application. In your cover letter, please tell us about an interesting construction project, office retrofit, leasing arrangement, or other commercial contract you’ve negotiated, without breaching confidentiality.

Closing date: TUESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2021 at 11:59PMEST Successful candidates can expect to hear back from us by October 19, 2021.

Our belief is that a strong commitment to diversity & inclusion enables us to truly make commerce better for everyone. We encourage applications from Indigenous peoples, racialized people, people with disabilities, people from gender and sexually diverse communities, and/or people with intersectional identities. Please take a look at our Sustainability Reports to learn more about Shopify’s commitments to our communities, and our planet.

At Shopify, we understand that experience comes in many forms. We’re dedicated to adding new perspectives to the team - so if your experience is this close to what we’re looking for, please consider applying.