First Circle is the leading and fastest growing, technology-led financial service business for SMEs in the Philippines. We've already transformed access to credit for thousands of businesses, and now we're building a full service digital-first small business bank offering multi-currency bank accounts, payments, FX, corporate credit cards, and payroll. As we enter this next phase of growth, we're hiring exceptional talent with a track record of excellence to join us in shaping the next chapter.
The Legal Counsel supports the General Counsel and handles the day-to-day legal operations of the business. This role is well suited to a mid-level lawyer who wants hands-on exposure across a broad range of legal matters, with direct mentorship from the GC. The role covers three core areas of support: general legal advice for daily operations, assistant corporate secretary/housekeeping support, and general support to the GC as needed.
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Key Responsibilities:1. General Legal Advice
Performance Objective: Legal is never the reason a transaction or project slips. Positions taken are commercial but defensible. Escalation is timely: material issues are escalated to the CEO/CIO.
- Provide general legal advice and support for all FCGFC daily operations
- Review, draft, and negotiate contracts and other legal documents in the ordinary course of business
- Provide legal support across departments on day-to-day operational questions and requests
- Escalate matters to the GC where legal or business risk requires senior input
2. Assistant Corporate Secretary & Housekeeping Support
Performance Objective: Zero late or deficient statutory filings. Full corporate record set maintained. Any corporate record producible same day as requested.
- Act as assistant to the GC in the Corporate Secretary function
- Support the preparation and safe-keeping of board and stockholders' meeting minutes and corporate records
- Assist in the preparation and filing of SEC certificates, GIS, and other corporate housekeeping submissions
- Help ensure ongoing SEC compliance, including tracking statutory deadlines
3. General Support to the GC
- Provide general support to the GC on strategic, transactional, compliance, and other workstreams as needed
- Assist on ad hoc/special projects assigned to Legal
- Help maintain corporate records, filings, and documentation in good order
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A successful candidate is:
- Able to balance commercial mindedness with legal best practice.
- Able to drive progress across multiple workstreams in a fast paced environment.
- Comfortable voicing their opinions to strong-minded stakeholders.
- Able to balance urgency with thoroughness.
- Comfortable working in an expat-led organization.
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Team constructThe Legal counsel is supported by a team of five: General Counsel, a paralegal, Head of Compliance, a Compliance Assistance and a general administrative assistant.
Requirements
- 3–5 years of relevant legal experience.
- Experience in a startup or fintech environment.
- Admitted to the Philippine bar and in good standing.
- Experience supporting business operations legal needs (contracts, day-to-day legal questions).
- Exposure to corporate secretarial/housekeeping work (minutes, SEC filings) is an advantage.
- Strong drafting, negotiation, and communication skills.
- Ability to work independently while knowing when to escalate to the GC.
Benefits
- Hybrid work set-up: 2 days per week in our BGC office; remote the rest of the time.
- Additional perks & benefits: HMO coverage from week one, free catered lunches, monthly fitness allowance, transportation & accommodation allowance, and more.
- Join a team with a deeply collaborative culture! Learn more here: https://www.firstcircle.ph/careers
Skills Required
- 3-5 years of relevant legal experience
- Experience in a startup or fintech environment
- Admitted to the Philippine bar and in good standing
- Experience supporting business operations legal needs, including contracts and day-to-day legal questions
- Exposure to corporate secretarial and housekeeping work, including minutes and SEC filings
- Strong drafting, negotiation, and communication skills
- Ability to work independently and know when to escalate matters to the General Counsel
What We Do
Founded in 2016, First Circle is the fastest-growing fintech in the Philippines, led by an ex-Morgan Stanley and ex-Bridgewater Associates management team. We have offices in Manila, London and Hong Kong. First Circle offers SME financing and are building smart banking solutions for businesses. First Circle is a trusted partner of the Philippine government and is the official Finance Partner of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). We are also a pioneer data provider to the Credit Information Corporation (CIC) and the very first FinTech company to ever be licensed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the Philippines.
