Deputy General Counsel - Head of Legal

You will lead the legal strategy, client support, and legal risk management for McKinsey across Asia, partnering with regional leadership to enable client impact while protecting the firm's interests.

You will lead a regional team of legal professionals responsible for all legal matters across the region. This includes client contracting and counseling on complex client matters, litigation and investigations, employment/labor and immigration, and regulatory matters. You will serve as the senior legal advisor to Asia regional, office and practice leaders and functional/operational leaders, including Risk, Compliance, Internal Audit, Finance, People/HR, IT/Technology in providing practical, business-oriented legal counsel across multiple jurisdictions.

You will shape the future of the Asia Legal organization by setting strategic priorities, building and developing a high-performing team, strengthening operational excellence, and fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement. You will be expected to translate strategy into action, establish clear priorities, remove barriers to execution, and ensure that important initiatives are delivered with pace, rigor, and measurable impact.

You will champion innovation in legal service delivery, including the thoughtful adoption and scaling of generative AI, automation, workflow redesign, and other emerging technologies to improve efficiency, knowledge sharing, risk management, and client support in a cost-efficient manner.

You will report to the General Counsel and serve as a member of the firm's Legal Leadership Team, helping shape the overall strategy, operating model, talent agenda, and future direction of the Legal Department globally. While accountable for Asia, you will be expected to contribute as an enterprise leader across the broader Legal function. Your success will be measured not only by the quality and judgment of the legal advice provided across Asia, but also by the leader’s ability to raise organizational performance, build enduring capabilities, develop exceptional talent, modernize legal service delivery, and contribute meaningfully to the continued evolution of McKinsey’s global Legal Department.

You will be based in Asia over-seeing ~27 colleagues of McKinsey's Legal Asia.

• Continuous learning: Our learning and apprenticeship culture, backed by structured programs, is all about helping you grow while creating an environment where feedback is clear, actionable, and focused on your development. The real magic happens when you take the input from others to heart and embrace the fast-paced learning experience, owning your journey.
• A voice that matters: From day one, we value your ideas and contributions. You’ll make a tangible impact by offering innovative ideas and practical solutions, all while upholding our unwavering commitment to ethics and integrity. We not only encourage diverse perspectives, but they are critical in driving us toward the best possible outcomes.
• Global community: With colleagues across 65+ countries and over 100 different nationalities, our firm’s diversity fuels creativity and helps us come up with the best solutions. Plus, you’ll have the opportunity to learn from exceptional colleagues with diverse backgrounds and experiences.
• Exceptional benefits: On top of a competitive salary (based on your location, experience, and skills), we provide a comprehensive benefits package to enable holistic well-being for you and your family.

• A law degree and current qualification to practice law in a relevant jurisdiction
• 12+ years legal experience, including significant in-house leadership experience and demonstrated success leading complex, multi-jurisdictional legal organizations
• 3+ years of leading and developing teams of legal professionals, with a track record of translating strategy into execution, setting clear accountability, simplifying complexity, removing obstacles, and delivering measurable results
• Demonstrated success leading and developing high-performing legal organizations across multiple countries, cultures and practice areas; ability to work in-person and travel as needed; schedules and office locations may vary
• Proven ability to influence senior executives, operate as a trusted advisor, and lead through complexity and ambiguity
• Demonstrated ability to build organizational capability, raise performance standards, develop talent, and lead teams through periods of change and transformation
• An enterprise mindset and demonstrated ability to contribute beyond regional responsibilities, lead global initiatives, and collaborate across the Legal Department and broader firm
• Strong judgment with the ability to balance legal risk, commercial objectives, and client service
• Practical experience applying technology, including generative AI and automation, to improve legal service delivery, knowledge management, operational efficiency, decision-making, and risk management
• Broad legal experience advising on sophisticated cross-border matters, which may include complex commercial contracting, litigation and investigations, regulatory matters, employment and labor, intellectual property, anti-corruption, pricing, and conflicts management
• Strong learning agility, resilience, humility, and growth mindset, with a commitment to continuous improvement for both the organization and its people
• Exceptional written and verbal English communication skills, including the ability to negotiate sophisticated legal and commercial matters, advise senior leaders, and communicate complex legal issues clearly in high-stakes settings. Proficiency in one or more Asian languages is desirable but not required