Senior Counsel

Visa Visa · Fintech · Mumbai, India, IN

Senior Counsel role at Visa in India & South Asia, focusing on commercial legal matters including complex agreements (incentive, partnership, product, interchange, marketing). Requires strong commercial law experience, excellent drafting and negotiation skills, risk assessment, and ability to work independently and with business units. The role involves advising on deal structures, navigating business/commercial issues in the fintech industry, reviewing contracts, and representing the legal team globally.

What you'd actually do

  1. Provide counsel and advice to business teams regarding deal structures and approaches to addressing issues
  2. Be a trusted strategic advisor to and an integral part of the India & South Asia team to help navigate complex business and commercial issues in the ever-changing payments/fintech industry
  3. Work closely with different functional business teams to review and advise using exceptional risk-based judgement on commercial and contractual enhancements, as well as day to day commercial related matters
  4. Draft, negotiate and drive to completion complex commercial, marketing, technology, and strategic partnership agreements that achieve business objectives
  5. Be an effective representative / stakeholder for the India & South Asia Legal team, liaise and cooperate with other members of the global and regional Visa legal teams

Skills

Required

  • Bachelor’s Degree or Advanced Degree (e.g. Masters/ MBA/JD/MD) or PhD
  • 10+ years of work experience
  • Qualified to practice law in India
  • Solid corporate/commercial law experience
  • Drafting and negotiating strategic and complex cross-border deals
  • Advising on legal issues in India
  • Strong academic background
  • Good commercial sense and analytical skills
  • Excellent command of written and spoken English
  • Ability to work independently and interface with executive level stakeholders with little or no supervision
  • Practical and proactive problem-solving skills
  • Strong business acumen
  • Confident, mature and calm under stress
  • Demonstrated ability to manage and drive complex cross-border commercial and technology transactions
  • Strong understanding of complex legal issues in multiple jurisdictions
  • Excellent legal analytical skills
  • Ability to integrate legal advice and business knowledge
  • Provide balanced advice regarding risks and benefits
  • Good attention to detail
  • Strong EQ and resilience

Nice to have

  • International experience
  • Desire to expand knowledge of regional laws and legal systems
  • Good knowledge of antitrust law, anti-bribery laws, privacy

What the JD emphasized

  • commercial legal matters
  • complex incentive, partnership, product, interchange, marketing agreements
  • strong commercial lawyer
  • excellent communication and analytical skills
  • self-motivated
  • work proactively and independently with minimal supervision
  • skillset and leadership mindset
  • effectively interact with business units and other support functions at all levels
  • influence business directions
  • positive outcomes
  • experience in commercial business law and management
  • excellent legal drafting skills
  • technical legal expertise
  • good commercial/legal risk judgement
  • juggle multiple priorities with tight deadlines
  • fast paced and challenging, but inspiring and rewarding, environment
  • Prior payments experience is not required
  • willing to learn Visa's business model and the payments industry
  • trusted strategic advisor
  • integral part of the India & South Asia team
  • navigate complex business and commercial issues
  • ever-changing payments/fintech industry
  • exceptional risk-based judgement
  • commercial and contractual enhancements
  • day to day commercial related matters
  • Draft, negotiate and drive to completion complex commercial, marketing, technology, and strategic partnership agreements
  • achieve business objectives
  • effective representative / stakeholder
  • liaise and cooperate with other members of the global and regional Visa legal teams
  • work-related travel
  • Perform such other responsibilities as may be assigned by the India & South Asia legal leadership team
  • Provides legal advice, counsel and support to Visa’s business operations in the India & South Asia region
  • serves as a trusted and respected advisor to senior management and a variety of business units
  • enabling Visa’s business and protecting Visa
  • drafting agreements
  • managing negotiations
  • advising on diverse areas of law for strategic partnerships and commercial transactions, technology and intellectual property-related matters
  • daily operations of the business
  • 10 or more years of work experience with a Bachelor’s Degree or at least 8 years of work experience with an Advanced Degree (e.g. Masters/ MBA/JD/MD) or at least 3 years of work experience with a PhD
  • 12 or more years of work experience with a Bachelor’s Degree or 8-10 years of experience with an Advanced Degree (e.g. Masters, MBA, JD, MD) or 6+ years of work experience with a PhD
  • 10 to 16 years of post-qualification legal experience
  • qualified to practice law in India
  • Solid corporate/commercial law experience
  • drafting and negotiating strategic and complex cross-border deals
  • top-tier law firm or multinational company
  • hands-on experience in advising on legal issues in India
  • Strong academic background
  • good commercial sense and analytical skills
  • Excellent command of written and spoken English
  • can work in India
  • Ability to work independently and interface with executive level stakeholders with little or no supervision
  • good team player
  • Practical and proactive problem-solving skills
  • strong business acumen
  • confident, mature and calm under stress
  • Demonstrated ability to manage and drive complex cross-border commercial and technology transactions
  • strong understanding of complex legal issues in multiple jurisdictions
  • Excellent legal analytical skills
  • ability to integrate legal advice and business knowledge
  • balanced advice regarding risks and benefits
  • Genuinely interested in technology and the payments industry
  • Good attention to detail
  • strong EQ and resilience
  • International experience preferred
  • desire to expand knowledge of regional laws and legal systems can substitute
  • Good knowledge of antitrust law, anti-bribery laws, privacy