Senior Legal Counsel

Location: Global

Team: General

About the Role

Wise is a global technology company building the best way to move and manage the world’s money with min fees, max ease, and full speed. We’re looking for a Senior Legal Counsel to join our growing Legal Team in New York, focusing on disputes to help deliver Wise’s mission of money without borders. This role offers a unique opportunity to build on your litigation experience, grow in a fast-paced listed company, and protect the business amid rapid global expansion. Your mission is to enable, protect, and empower Wise by leading on high-value US and international disputes, including litigations, arbitrations, regulatory, competition, IP, consumer, and asset recovery cases. You’ll collaborate with internal teams like Treasury, Risk, Compliance, and Operations, build trusted advisor relationships across business units, manage risks pragmatically, and work with our global Legal Team reporting to the Head of Legal, Disputes in London. Choose your path to impact with high autonomy, ownership from day one, and feedback from smart colleagues. Be part of making money without borders the new normal in a diverse, inclusive environment where you’ll thrive without judgment or prejudice.

Key Responsibilities

• Advise and lead on a broad range of disputes both US-focused and globally, including high-value litigations and arbitrations, regulatory matters, competition disputes, IP disputes, consumer disputes and asset recovery cases
• Work closely with internal and external stakeholders on contentious matters, including junior lawyers and external counsel
• Advise, update and liaise with internal stakeholders on the status of ongoing contentious matters, including Treasury, Banking and Expansion, Risk, Compliance, Operations and various Boards and committees
• Build relationships with multiple business units and become a trusted advisor on financial and consumer regulations, sanctions, AML and anti-bribery issues, banking arrangements, new products, partnerships, employment issues etc.
• Identify, assess, manage and report risks to the business and provide practical advice solutions to reduce or mitigate risk
• Work with the Legal Team across London, New York, Austin, Tallinn, Singapore, Brussels and São Paulo to deliver initiatives that will impact the wider business
• Report to Head of Legal, Disputes in London

Required Qualifications

• Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from an ABA accredited law school
• Qualified to practice law in New York
• At least 7 years of professional experience as an attorney
• Background in commercial disputes

Preferred Qualifications

• Mix of private and in-house experience
• Experience of securities and shareholder litigation
• Banking or payments industry-related disputes

Required Skills

• Litigation and disputes experience
• Ability to lead on multiple contentious matters across different jurisdictions
• Ability to evaluate and summarise legal advice succinctly and pragmatically
• Ability to navigate difficult issues and multiple stakeholders
• Advising the business on key risks and developing solutions
• Get-it-done, collaborative approach to problem solving
• Committed and dependable work ethic
• Experience with regulatory matters, competition disputes, IP disputes, consumer disputes
• Knowledge of financial regulations, sanctions, AML, anti-bribery
• Strong communication and relationship-building skills

Benefits

• RSUs (stock options)
• Flexible working
• Parental leave
• Learning budget
• Paid sabbatical after 4 years
• Health insurance
• Company retreat
• Wise card

Wise is an equal opportunity employer committed to building a diverse workforce.