Commercial Legal Counsel

As a Commercial Legal Counsel at Canva, you'll be responsible for reviewing, drafting, and negotiating commercial agreements with vendors, customers, and partners. You’ll respond promptly to legal requests from various stakeholders while closely collaborating with sales and procurement teams. Additionally, you'll advise on contract process improvements and stay updated on relevant industry standards, laws, and data privacy regulations.

To qualify for the Commercial Legal Counsel position at Canva, candidates should possess a strong technical background in commercial law and hands-on contracting experience at a technology company. Admission to one bar is essential. Good communication skills, risk awareness, and experience with contract management tools like Canva, Ironclad, and Docusign are also critical.

Canva emphasizes work-life balance by offering flexible leave options that allow employees to recharge, along with an annual Vibe & Thrive allowance promoting social connections and personal wellbeing. With its supportive company culture, employees can balance professional commitments while prioritizing their mental and physical health.

As a Commercial Legal Counsel at Canva, you'll work in a collaborative and dynamic environment where innovation thrives. The role involves partnering with cross-functional teams across various locations, enabling you to engage with diverse perspectives and enhance your legal expertise in a fast-paced setting.

Canva seeks candidates who are proactive, have excellent communication skills, and can simplify complex legal matters. Being risk-aware—not risk-averse—is crucial, along with a collaborative team spirit. Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to effectively manage relationships with various stakeholders are essential attributes for success in this role.

When answering this question, provide specific examples of past agreements you've negotiated, highlighting your role in the process, the challenges encountered, and how you overcame them. Discuss any tools you used and the outcome of your negotiations.

To respond effectively, share how you regularly engage with industry resources, attend workshops, or subscribe to legal updates. Mention any specific publications or networks you rely on and show your commitment to continuous learning.

Discuss your systematic approach to evaluating risks, illustrating it with a real-life example where you successfully identified and managed risk in a transaction. Emphasize your understanding of business implications and legal implications.

Talk about your hands-on experience with these tools, discussing how they helped streamline your contracting process and improve efficiency. Highlight any challenges you faced and how you addressed them.

Explain your method for prioritization, considering urgency, impact, and the nature of each request. Mention any tools or techniques you use to manage your workload and ensure timely responses.

Provide an example where your ability to communicate complex information effectively made a significant difference. Focus on how you tailored your communication style to suit your audience while ensuring they grasped the key points.

Share an example where you've identified process inefficiencies, how you analyzed them, and the steps you took to implement improvements. Highlight the outcomes and how they benefitted the overall contracting process.

Discuss your experiences working with non-legal teams and the importance of understanding their needs and challenges. Provide examples of successful collaborations and how they contributed to achieving business objectives.

Reflect on why this career path excites you, whether it’s being part of innovative projects, the challenges presented, or the impact of your work on business success. Your passion and motivation is essential in drawing a connection to the role at Canva.

Illustrate a conflict resolution strategy where you engage in open dialogue, listen to the stakeholder's concerns, and work collaboratively to find an acceptable compromise. Mention the importance of maintaining professional relationships during negotiations.