Overview
This role is offered on a US employment contract. Candidates must be based on the East Coast of the United States.
A legal team supporting a fast-moving media and sports technology business is seeking a Legal Counsel to manage a diverse caseload involving international commercial contracts, technology licensing, and media rights. The role involves working closely with commercial, delivery, procurement, and finance teams across multiple jurisdictions including Europe, Asia, the UK, and the US.
Responsibilities
Contract Negotiation & Drafting
- Draft, review, and negotiate a wide range of commercial agreements such as NDAs, Master Services Agreements, Statements of Work, SLAs, Terms & Conditions of Sale and Purchase, licensing agreements, and vendor/staffing and consultancy agreements.
- Lead negotiations directly with counterparties including clients, suppliers, partners, and their external counsel across multiple jurisdictions.
- Manage the contract lifecycle from term sheet through execution, including tracked-changes negotiation on long-form agreements.
Commercial & Bid Support
- Support private bid procedures by ensuring legal compliance and managing associated risk.
- Provide practical, commercially focused legal advice to various business areas.
Risk & Dispute Management
- Identify and advise on commercial and legal risks across the contract portfolio, communicating exposure clearly to non-legal stakeholders.
- Support debt recovery and dispute matters, including instructing and coordinating with external counsel across jurisdictions on litigation, settlement negotiations, and insolvency-related exposure.
- Review and negotiate settlement agreements to protect the organization's legal and financial interests.
- Prepare clear and concise briefings for senior leadership on active disputes or high-stakes negotiations.
- Keep the business informed of relevant regulatory developments such as EU/UK employment law changes and AI Act obligations relevant to HR and recruitment tools.
Operational Ownership & Reporting
- Act as the primary point of contact for assigned client and supplier relationships, managing matters with limited day-to-day supervision after handover.
- Maintain organized records of contract status, key dates, obligations, and open issues in line with internal reporting procedures.
- Contribute to the development of templates, playbooks, and internal processes to improve legal team efficiency.
- Manage and coordinate external counsel across jurisdictions when local expertise is required.
Requirements
- Qualified lawyer with 6+ years' post-qualification experience (PQE), including significant in-house experience. LPC, LLM, CLE, Bar admission, or SRA-approved equivalent required.
- Proven track record negotiating complex commercial and technology contracts such as MSAs, SOWs, licensing, SaaS, media/broadcast, or supplier and customer agreements.
- Comfortable working autonomously and making judgment calls on risk without constant sign-off.
- Experience managing or coordinating external counsel, including cross-border matters.
- Excellent drafting and negotiation skills with the ability to communicate legal risk clearly to non-legal, commercial, and executive stakeholders.
- Familiarity with industry practices and professional standards in commercial and contractual law.
- Working knowledge of contract reporting procedures and record-keeping.
- Ability to prioritize multiple concurrent matters while maintaining high accuracy.
- Fluent in English, both written and spoken.
- Willingness to travel when required.
Preferred Qualifications
- Additional European languages.
- Experience in media, sports, broadcast, or technology/software sectors.
- Experience supporting private bid procedures.
- Familiarity with data protection (GDPR) and emerging AI regulation (EU AI Act) as it applies to commercial and employment contexts.
- Experience with debt recovery, insolvency-adjacent risk, or commercial litigation management.
- Experience working in a lean legal team supporting a fast-growing or private equity-backed business.
Compensation & Benefits
Location
- Must be based on the East Coast of the United States.
Recruitment Process
- Introductory conversation to discuss the role and answer questions.
- One-hour technical interview focusing on experience and past responsibilities.
- One-hour competency-based interview with situational questions.
Accommodations for interview formats and accessibility needs are available upon request.