Senior Counsel

Visa is a world leader in payments technology, facilitating transactions between consumers, merchants, financial institutions and government entities across more than 200 countries and territories, dedicated to uplifting everyone, everywhere by being the best way to pay and be paid.

At Visa, youll have the opportunity to create impact at scale — tackling meaningful challenges, growing your skills and seeing your contributions impact lives around the world. Join Visa and do work that matters — to you, to your community, and to the world.

Progress starts with you.

Team Summary

The Visa India & South Asia Legal team manages Visas legal affairs in the India & South Asia region. Our team provides advice and services to ensure business goals are successfully met and that Visas brand and reputation are protected while minimizing legal liability and regulatory risk. Our vision entails each legal professional living the guiding principles to be a proactive partner who never loses sight of his/her responsibility to protect the company.

What a Senior Counsel does at Visa:

This position is for a seasoned business/commercial lawyer to join Visas growing legal team who would be responsible for all commercial legal matters in the India & South Asia region, including but not limited to complex incentive, partnership, product, interchange, marketing agreements. The position will be based in Mumbai and will report to a senior lawyer in the Visa India & South Asia Legal team, based in Mumbai.

We are looking for a strong commercial lawyer with excellent communication and analytical skills, who is self-motivated, able to work proactively and independently with minimal supervision, and has the skillset and leadership mindset to effectively interact with business units and other support functions at all levels across Visa to influence business directions and bring about positive outcomes.

The applicant should ideally have experience in commercial business law and management, and have excellent legal drafting skills. The applicant must have technical legal expertise with good commercial/legal risk judgement and be able to juggle multiple priorities with tight deadlines in a fast paced and challenging, but inspiring and rewarding, environment. Prior payments experience is not required, although the candidate must be willing to learn Visas business model and the payments industry.

In this role, you are expected to:

• Provide counsel and advice to business teams regarding deal structures and approaches to addressing issues
• 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
• 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
• Draft, negotiate and drive to completion complex commercial, marketing, technology, and strategic partnership agreements that achieve business objectives
• 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
• Have some work-related travel
• Perform such other responsibilities as may be assigned by the India & South Asia legal leadership team

Why this is important to Visa

The Senior Counsel provides legal advice, counsel and support to Visa’s business operations in the India & South Asia region and serves as a trusted and respected advisor to senior management and a variety of business units. The incumbent has responsibility for enabling Visa’s business and protecting Visa, through drafting agreements, managing negotiations, and advising on diverse areas of law for strategic partnerships and commercial transactions, technology and intellectual property-related matters as well as daily operations of the business.

What you will need:

We are looking for a strong leader who can bring a breadth of experience and knowledge to our business. As a candidate, you should have:

• 10 to 16 years of post-qualification legal experience; qualified to practice law in India
• Solid corporate/commercial law experience in drafting and negotiating strategic and complex cross-border deals in a top-tier law firm or multinational company; hands-on experience in advising on legal issues in India
• Strong academic background with 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, but also be a good team player
• Practical and proactive problem-solving skills; strong business acumen and be 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 with the ability to integrate legal advice and business knowledge, while providing balanced advice regarding risks and benefits
• Genuinely interested in technology and the payments industry
• Good attention to detail; strong EQ and resilience

What will also help:

• International experience preferred, but a desire to expand knowledge of regional laws and legal systems can substitute
• Good knowledge of antitrust law, anti-bribery laws, privacy law and intellectual property law preferred

Projects you will be a part of:

You will be a member of a regional legal team that works at the cutting edge of new payment technologies, innovation and the fintech industry in an increasingly regulated environment, which brings unique and novel challenges in the commercial/technology law space.

Visa is an EEO Employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or protected veteran status. Visa will also consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with EEOC guidelines and applicable local law.