Lead Counsel (United Kingdom) in London

Requirements

• Minimum 10 years PQE (or equivalent experience), qualified in the UK
• Significant in-house experience advising senior business and policy stakeholders on UK laws and regulation; collaborating with business and policy teams to develop strategic positions and policy and comms strategies for new and existing regulation; devising and advocating for specific regulatory positions
• Excellent understanding of the UK legislative process
• Experience working closely with colleagues based in multiple jurisdictions and timeframes and co-ordinating, consolidating, and interrogating cross-jurisdictional advice and advice from outside counsel
• Experience advising on UK consumer protection regulation, eCommerce Directive, and Online Safety Act
• Fluent in English
• Highly desired: Expertise in the platform liability regime in the UK and EU. Experience advising international digital businesses on the application of UK law and regulation. Understanding of UK short-term rental and/or planning regulation. Experience managing a team. Fluency in other European languages
• Empathetic and ethical approach, excellent judgment, well-honed organisational and analytical skills, strong oral and written communications skills
• Intellectually curious, adaptable, and comfortable with ambiguity and risk. Adapts easily to shifting priorities and business needs, able to produce their best work in demanding and fast-paced environments
• Confident working on sensitive and complex issues with senior business leaders. Strong ability to inspire trust and confidence, forge relationships quickly, and influence decision making. Readily able to translate a deep substantive knowledge into clear and practical advice, and comfortable briefing senior stakeholders
• Able to distill and interrogate complex advice from outside counsel, together with input and opinions from multiple internal stakeholders, into clear and succinct recommendations
• Proactively identifies risks and friction in working practices and finding practical solutions, devising new processes and workflows where appropriate, and leading process improvement and change management to evolve how the team works
• Operates with a high degree of autonomy and minimal supervision, taking ownership of complex, ambiguous matters that have broad impact across the UK business
• Owns the legal agenda for the UK business: frames and delivers analysis strategically, secures buy-in across senior stakeholders, and demonstrates advanced strategic thinking that weighs multiple stakeholder perspectives
• Contributes to and leads diversity, inclusion and belonging initiatives within the EMEA legal team

What the job involves

• Airbnb’s Legal Department is a global team that will require working with diverse international colleagues around the world
• The successful candidate will be someone who is adaptable, collaborative and embodies Airbnb’s Core Values
• Candidates will be required to approach complex legal issues with a balance for local and global perspectives, while being adaptable to cultural differences and nuances
• A genuine and demonstrated interest in Airbnb and a commitment to ethics, integrity and fostering a workplace that emphasizes diversity and belonging is a must
• We are looking for an experienced, business-focused lawyer to serve as Lead Counsel for the UK
• Based in our London office and reporting to the Associate General Counsel Product EMEA, you will be the trusted legal adviser to the UK business and the legal point of contact for the Northern Europe and Middle East (NEMEA) Leadership Team, with a particular focus on regulatory, reputation and public policy matters
• Responsible for all legal matters related to the UK business, including:
• Working closely with the public policy and communications teams, tax team, other legal team members, and outside counsel to devise and implement strategic positions on new and existing regulations that affect Airbnb and its users, including short term rental and planning regulations, tourist tax, content liability, digital regulation, and consumer protection
• Trusted adviser to the UK business on a broad range of regulatory and general legal issues, providing business-focused and creative advice to address complex issues
• Identifying and briefing the business, policy, and communications teams on relevant legal and regulatory developments; collaborating closely with other EMEA country counsel both to understand the interplay between UK and EU regulatory developments and strategies, and on pan-EMEA policy initiatives and regulatory issues
• Advising on UK B2C and B2B product launches or updates; working with other legal team members to ensure oversight over UK litigation, commercial, marketing, corporate, real estate, competition, data protection, intellectual property, tax, and payments regulatory matters
• Legal point of contact for the NEMEA Leadership Team, attending weekly meetings and periodic team gatherings, coordinating advice from other NEMEA country counsel, and contributing to strategic planning and execution of NEMEA business priorities
• The role will include work on commercial agreements, and may involve leading pan-EMEA legal projects, and supervision of junior lawyers (notably the paralegal responsible for small claims matters in the UK)
• Instruct and manage outside counsel where appropriate, ensuring the delivery of cost-effective, business-oriented legal advice
• Proactively draft, review and refine internal processes, policies and workflows
• Identifying, consolidating and escalating material legal risk to the appropriate decision makers