In-House Counsel

A media services company based in the South of England is conducting a search for a capable In House Legal Counsel to join their legal team on a contract basis to cover a period of maternity. This is a remote working role, initially requiring attendance at the office by agreement a couple of times a month, located in the Greater London area. Thereafter, the role will be predominantly working from home.

The company represents the intellectual property rights of many prominent publishing brands in the UK, such as leading newspapers and magazine publishers, in print and online. They have been operating for 25 years and continue to grow and evolve in a technology-focused direction, with projects underway to explore data mining, Big Data, and data analytics activities.

You will have the opportunity to be involved in the daily operations of the business and contribute to the process improvement of the teams. There is a good breadth of work, and the client offers a friendly, flexible work environment.

As the In House Legal Counsel, you will directly report to the General Counsel, in a role that touches all parts of the organisation while providing the opportunity to work with publishers. You will have strong knowledge of Litigation/Disputes and Commercial Law, gained either through in-house exposure, secondment experience, or law practice experience.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Reviewing client contracts to identify breaches of contract and compliance.
• Identifying key issues and enforcing the terms of the contracts through composing breach of contract letters, pre-action letters, and putting together process checklists and letter templates.
• Working with publishers and all departments, including Licensing, Publisher Services, Accounts, Business Development, IT, and International, advising on a range of contentious matters and managing litigation and disputes arising within the business.
• Assisting with correspondence from publishers and clients.
• Managing business compliance with the requirements of ‘The Collective Management of Copyright (EU Directive) Regulations 2016’ and with Data Protection laws, including the General Data Protection Regulation.
• Advising on copyright issues, acting as a point of escalation for non-compliant organisations, pursuing legal action, and assisting the finance team and credit control function.
• Keeping abreast of any changes to applicable laws and relevant court judgements, ensuring that business licences, policies, and procedures are compliant and up to date.
• Reviewing and preparing responses to relevant government consultations as required.

To succeed in this role, you will need to hold the following qualifications and demonstrate the following experience:

• Be a UK qualified lawyer with 2 years PQE + years post qualification experience.
• Have extensive knowledge of litigation/disputes law, particularly in relation to contract law, with contracts experience ideally gained in an in-house environment or law firm.
• Possess sound interpersonal skills to deal with staff at all levels inside and outside the organisation.
• Demonstrate an ability to articulate and communicate clearly and with authority.
• Have good attention to detail and strong analytical skills.
• Be able to work independently.

In return, you will receive an excellent package of benefits, a strong pension, generous annual leave allowance, life assurance, an excellent Employee Assistance Programme, and healthcare, along with a very competitive market salary.

If this position sounds of interest, please submit your CV confidentially, and we will be in touch shortly to discuss the opportunity in further detail. Alternatively, if you prefer to chat about the role confidentially before submitting a CV, please get in touch via the contact details provided.