Sole Counsel: AI‑Driven SaaS Legal Leader (Hybrid)

About us

Fifth Dimension is bringing the magic of AI automation to document-heavy industries. Today we work with leading real estate businesses in the UK and US, automating complex workflows, extracting valuable insights from documents, and empowering professionals to focus on high-impact work. Our AI workspace transforms how large investment managers handle leases, development documents, and investment decisions. We’re an international startup based in London, New York, and Singapore, backed by Tier 1 American and European investors. Our founders, Johnny Morris and Dr. Kate Jarvis, bring a powerful blend of expertise: Johnny has 18+ years applying data and analytics to real estate, while Kate holds a Stanford PhD and 12 years of executive experience across Silicon Valley and London startups. At Fifth Dimension, we’re demanding yet encouraging, valuing experimentation and thoughtful challenge. Our company values – Own It, Ship It, and Don’t Be Boring – drive us to deliver exceptional results whilst fostering a culture of innovation and continuous improvement.

A week in the life of our Sole Counsel:

• Monday: A new enterprise customer wants to redline our MSA. You’ve seen their playbook before – you’re back in their markup within hours, positions clearly reasoned, blockers flagged to the FD before they become deal delays.
• Tuesday: ISO 27001 surveillance audit is six weeks out. You’re working through the evidence pack with our vCISO – reviewing updated policies, closing out two open action items from the last cycle, and making sure the audit trail is clean.
• Wednesday: In the office on Oxford Street. You’re reviewing a new vendor DPA – the subprocessor list needs updating and their standard terms don’t meet our UK GDPR obligations. You redraft, send back, move on.
• Thursday: Employment matter. A new AE offer letter needs non‑compete language tightened following a recent market hire. You turn it around same day, flag the IP assignment clause to the FD, and update the standard template so it doesn’t happen again.
• Friday: Board prep support the FD needs a one‑pager on a contract’s liability position ahead of next week’s investor call. You draft it in an hour – clear, commercial, no unnecessary hedging.

This is legal at Fifth Dimension. You’re not a gatekeeper – you’re an enabler who moves fast and manages risk without slowing the business down.

What you’ll do

As our Sole Counsel, you’ll build 5D’s legal function from scratch – the contractual infrastructure, compliance posture, and risk framework that supports every major commercial and operational decision between now and Series B.

Commercial (50%)

• Own the full lifecycle of customer contracts – NDAs, MSAs, order forms, DPAs, and amendments – negotiating directly with procurement and legal counterparts at enterprise customers.
• Draft and negotiate vendor, partner, and employment agreements.
• Maintain and continuously improve our contract templates and negotiation playbooks.
• Manage a contract tracker; own the pipeline of open legal matters and keep deals moving.
• Brief and manage external counsel on matters beyond your scope.

Compliance (30%)

• Own our data protection function day‑to‑day: UK GDPR, US state privacy law, and cross‑border transfer mechanisms (UK/EU/US/SG).
• Work closely with our vCISO to maintain ISO 27001 and SOC 2 compliance – owning the legal and policy layer, supporting audit cycles, and closing out action items.
• Draft and maintain privacy notices, DPAs, and internal data governance policies.
• Advise product and engineering teams on privacy‑by‑design as we ship new features.
• Monitor the regulatory environment and flag material changes to the business.

Corporate, Employment & IP (20%)

• Handle UK employment matters: offer letters, contracts, IP assignments, restrictive covenants.
• Coordinate US and Singapore employment matters alongside external counsel.
• Support board consents, subsidiary maintenance, and cap‑table‑adjacent matters.
• Maintain our IP register and advise on licensing and ownership questions as the product evolves.

What we’re looking for

You’ve spent a few years in‑house at a SaaS or tech business – or you’ve trained at a commercial firm and spent enough time on tech clients that you know exactly how enterprise software contracts work and how to close them. You have a clear, low‑ego risk profile: you know when to hold a position and when to move on, and you never let perfect be the enemy of progress. You bring:

• Qualified solicitor (England & Wales), 3–6 PQE with US experience.
• SaaS or B2B tech experience – either in‑house or with a significant tech client base in private practice.
• Strong commercial drafter: fast, clean, and position‑led – you improve contracts, not just mark them up.
• Working knowledge of UK GDPR and practical experience managing compliance programmes or certification cycles (ISO 27001 / SOC 2 exposure strongly preferred).
• Genuine AI literacy – you use Claude or equivalent tools in your workflow; drafting without them would feel like leaving performance on the table.
• Pragmatic risk profile – you give clear answers, not endless caveats, and you understand that a 90% answer delivered today beats a perfect answer delivered next week.
• Project management instincts – you track your matters, close your actions, and keep stakeholders informed without being chased.
• Excellent communication skills – you have the ability to interact effectively when negotiating with customers, and communicating to the business internally.

Bonus points if you have:

• Experience with multi‑jurisdictional structures (UK parent, US/Singapore subsidiaries).
• Exposure to EIS/SEIS, investor rights agreements, or post‑Series A governance.
• Proptech, real estate, or financial services sector experience.
• Previous experience supporting a fundraise or regulatory due diligence process.

What we offer

We’re building something extraordinary – and we want extraordinary people. Our benefits package goes beyond the standard startup offering, from tailored support for life’s challenges to meaningful parental leave.

• £100–120k salary per annum + bonus + meaningful equity (on a standard vesting schedule).
• Enhanced pension contributions (5%).
• Unlimited annual leave.
• £100 monthly wellbeing budget.
• £1,000 annual training budget.
• Electric car scheme (salary sacrifice).

Tailored support for exceptional challenges, which may include contributions to:

• Gender‑affirming care.
• Private specialists and diagnostic scans.
• ADHD / Autism diagnosis.
• IVF / fertility care.
• Therapy.

Enhanced parental leave:

• 14 weeks full pay for primary caregiver (followed by statutory pay).
• 6 weeks full pay for secondary caregiver.

Flexible working – hybrid (Wednesdays in our Oxford Street office), judged on output not hours. Quarterly team weeks in London, regular travel to New York and Singapore as the business grows.

Department: Legal; Location: London; Remote status: Hybrid.