Director, Legal - Mergers & Acquisitions

Location: Toronto, ON (Hybrid)

Reports to: General Counsel
The Opportunity

Banyan's Legal team is growing to support a high-volume M&A practice and an expanding portfolio of vertical-market software companies. We are looking for a Director, Legal to join our Toronto team and take ownership of deal execution across the full acquisition lifecycle. You will work alongside our M&A Directors, Operating Partners, and portfolio company leaders to close transactions and support operational legal needs across the business.

Initially, approximately 80% of your time will focus on deal work: due diligence, purchase agreement negotiation, closing mechanics, and post-close integration support. Over time, as Banyan's verticalized legal structure matures, you will step into a portfolio-level leadership role, effectively becoming the dedicated legal lead for an operating portfolio. This is the path to becoming a "Portfolio General Counsel," owning the full legal function for a group of software companies while remaining connected to a collaborative legal guild at corporate headquarters.
What You Will Own
M&A Execution

• Lead legal due diligence on acquisitions, identifying and escalating risks across corporate, IP, employment, and regulatory dimensions.
• Draft, review, and negotiate purchase agreements, disclosure schedules, and ancillary deal documents from LOI through closing.
• Manage external counsel relationships and coordinate specialist advice when required by deal complexity or jurisdiction.
• Partner directly with M&A Directors (Jesse, Sam) and Operating Partners to ensure transactions close on time and within risk tolerance.

Portfolio Legal Support

• Provide day-to-day legal support to portfolio companies on commercial contracts, NDAs, vendor agreements, and general corporate matters.
• Cover portfolio legal responsibilities during team transitions, including maternity leave coverage, ensuring continuity across the team.
• Advise portfolio company leadership on operational legal questions, acting as a trusted business partner to CEOs and operating leaders.

Growth into Portfolio Legal Lead

• Transition into the dedicated legal lead for one of Banyan's operating portfolios as the verticalized structure scales.
• Build and own the legal playbook for your portfolio: deal support, commercial contracting, compliance, and corporate governance.
• Participate in the Banyan Legal Guild, contributing to cross-portfolio knowledge sharing and best practices with the broader legal team.

What We Are Looking For

The ideal candidate is a 5th to 7th year lawyer with strong M&A fundamentals from a mid to large law firm, combined with a genuine interest in technology companies and a willingness to roll up their sleeves in a high-volume deal environment.

• 5 to 7 years of legal experience, including meaningful M&A transactional work at a mid-size or large law firm.
• Direct experience leading or supporting buy-side due diligence and purchase agreement negotiations.
• Familiarity with technology company legal issues: IP ownership, SaaS licensing, data privacy, and software-specific commercial terms.
• In-house experience at a technology company is a strong asset, even if gained informally (e.g., acting as outside de facto counsel for technology clients on commercial and corporate matters).
• Licensed to practice in Ontario (Law Society of Ontario member in good standing) or eligible for prompt admission.
• Canadian or US M&A experience; cross-border deal exposure is a plus.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills. You can translate complex legal concepts into clear guidance for non-legal stakeholders.
• Comfortable working independently with minimal supervision while staying connected to a collaborative legal team.

The expected base salary for this position is: CAD $160,000 - $190,000 excluding annual bonus and equity (when applicable). Salary is based on a number of factors including market conditions, location and may vary depending on job-related skills and experience.

Annual bonus target: 15% of base salary. Equity component included.

This position is for an existing vacancy.

In this role you will be working in a hybrid capacity, visiting our Headquarters team located in Toronto, ON, Canada. (Eastern Standard Time Zone).