Director, Legal - Mergers & Acquisitions

Banyan Software is the best permanent home for software businesses that serve specialized industries, their employees, and their customers. We are on a mission to acquire, build, and grow great companies worldwide, helping them modernize through shared AI expertise and operational discipline. The Banyan Software Foundation, endowed with $100 million in Banyan stock, leverages technology to build a greener and more equitable world. Banyan is Great Place to Work Certified, a five-time Inc. 5000 honoree, and a top 10 company on the Deloitte Technology Fast 500. Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Atlanta, Banyan operates more than 100 portfolio companies across North America, the UK, EU, and APAC. 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, 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 matte