Legal Counsel - Pakistan & Middle East

About the role

10Pearls, a global AI-native digital engineering partner, is looking for a Legal Counsel to support its Pakistan and Middle East operations. You will review, draft and manage commercial contracts with clients, vendors and partners across Pakistan, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and the wider GCC, and handle day-to-day corporate and compliance matters for the regional entities. You will work closely with Sales, Delivery, Finance, HR and Operations, and with the US legal team on group-level matters.

Key responsibilities

• Review and draft commercial agreements (NDAs, MSAs, SOWs, software development, AI native engineering scope, SaaS, consulting, vendor, reseller and partner agreements) using company templates and playbooks
• Flag non-standard or risky clauses, suggest revisions and escalate material issues to senior legal leadership
• Check key terms such as limitation of liability, indemnities, warranties, IP ownership, confidentiality, payment terms, termination, governing law and dispute resolution (including local courts, DIFC/ADGM and arbitration)
• Support contract negotiations by preparing redlines and issue lists
• Review public and private sector tenders, RFPs and procurement terms, especially for government and semi-government clients in the GCC
• Help review data privacy and security terms, including Pakistan's PECA, the UAE PDPL, Saudi Arabia's PDPL and GDPR where relevant
• Handle corporate secretarial and compliance matters such as SECP filings in Pakistan, trade licenses and free zone or mainland requirements in the UAE and KSA
• Advise HR on employment contracts, offer letters, non-compete and confidentiality terms, policies, disciplinary actions, terminations and disputes under Pakistani and GCC labour laws, including UAE and Saudi visa requirements
• Maintain the contract repository, templates, clause library, powers of attorney and approval records; track renewals, amendments and license expiries
• Coordinate with external counsel in Pakistan and the GCC on litigation, registrations and specialist matters, and keep up with legal and regulatory changes affecting technology services
• Manage legal and commercial risk, maintain a risk register and support disputes, claims and notices

Required profile

• Law degree from a recognised institution; an LLM is a plus
• Enrolled as an advocate with the Pakistan Bar Council, or equivalent qualification
• Minimum 3-5 years of experience in commercial contracting, corporate law or an in-house legal team
• Good understanding of the legal obligations of software and IT services companies, including IP, software licensing, data protection, cybersecurity, export controls and service-level commitments
• Familiarity with AI and its legal side, and comfortable using AI tools in legal work
• Clear written and verbal communication in English, able to explain legal points simply to non-legal colleagues
• Able to manage several contracts at once, meet deadlines and know when to escalate; willing to travel to the Middle East as needed

Required skills

• Working knowledge of the Contract Act 1872, Companies Act 2017 and related Pakistani corporate laws
• Some exposure to UAE or Saudi commercial, labour or company law
• Strong drafting and contract review skills
• Nice to have: Arabic, experience in technology, IT services, SaaS or consulting companies, and familiarity with CLM tools