We're supporting a global commodities trading group with a lean but active Singapore hub as they hire an in-house Legal Counsel to support international trading and overseas operations.
This is a hands-on, broad role suited for someone comfortable owning matters end-to-end in a trading environment supporting commercial teams day-to-day while interfacing closely with risk, compliance, and senior management.
Key Responsibilities
- Reviewing and advising on international trade and commercial contracts (largely common law), including trading, logistics, and performance-related documentation
- Supporting the business on trade disputes and claims, working with external counsel on arbitration/litigation where needed
- Acting as a frontline legal partner to trading and risk teams on live issues and execution risks
- Managing external law firms across common law jurisdictions
- Covering overseas compliance matters, including export controls, competition/antitrust, and cross-border regulatory issues
- Providing general in-house legal coverage for the Singapore platform, with some interface with HQ
(Note: This is not an M&A-heavy role; focus is on trading, operations, and legal ownership.)
Key Requirements
- Qualified lawyer (Singapore / UK / US / HK), common lawtrained
- Experience in commodities trading, international trade, shipping, or a trading-house environment
- Comfortable handling both disputes and non-contentious work in a practical, business-facing way
- Able to operate independently in a sole or small-team in-house setup
- Mandarin and English proficiency to liaise with Chinese- and English-speaking stakeholders
- Hands-on, adaptable, and comfortable in a fast-paced trading environment
Why this role
- Genuine ownership and breadth not a narrow specialist seat
- Direct exposure to trading desks, risk, and senior management
- Opportunity to be the key legal point person for a growing Singapore platform
- Suitable for lawyers coming from private practice or in-house, who want to be closer to the business and senior management
