Legal Counsel in Ipswich

Role Summary

Reporting to the Group General Counsel, the Legal Counsel will be responsible for supporting and assisting the legal department by providing ongoing strategic legal and risk management advice and services across Pinewood Group.

Key Accountabilities

• Provide legal support and legal advice to the entire Pinewood Group (including Property, Studio Management, Production Management, International, Media Hub, Post Production, Finance, Corporate Affairs, Marketing, Human Resources, Health & Safety, Compliance, Projects, Facility Services and Technology departments) and its various businesses and subsidiaries, including international studios.
• Work with the other two lawyers in the team in providing legal and strategic advice to the Board of Directors, Senior Leadership Team and business units.
• Work with the other two lawyers in the team on contractual negotiations and other specific ad hoc projects including legal research, drafting, administration, instructing and managing external law firm work and managing legal spend.
• Assist with the satisfactory conclusion of any actual or potential litigation matters and insurance claims.
• Support in managing the Group’s trademark portfolio, breaches and infringement actions.
• Maintain, draft, update and administer contracts and standard terms for and with the Group’s suppliers, customers, international partners and service providers and assist in maintaining standardised group-wide terms and conditions and their integration into work practices.
• Negotiate on supplier/counterparty terms and advise the business of issues and risk.
• Assist with the Group’s compliance with key policies, procedures and legal compliance, including anti-bribery, anti-slavery, sanctions, reserved matters, studio regulations, data protection and internal contract approval processes, drafting such policies, ensuring they are up to date to current law and liaising with external law firms where necessary, training and rollout across the Group.
• Assist with company secretarial work for the Group and general departmental administration, including organisational updates, correspondence, training, and diary management.

Nature and Scope

The Legal Counsel role works on very close terms with the Group General Counsel and another lawyer to provide legal guidance and support to the entire Group, providing advice and guidance on a range of legal matters including commercial, corporate, contract, property law and compliance in partnership with the senior leadership team.

Essential Criteria

• Qualified solicitor in England and Wales.
• 2–4 PQE.
• Excellent results in LPC (and GDL if relevant).
• Minimum 2:1 undergraduate degree.
• Solid experience in general commercial law and legal drafting.
• Experience of contentious matters, litigation and risk management.
• Excellent legal research skills.
• Case management and procedure experience.
• Very competent writer of legal communications to external and internal customers and stakeholders.
• Proficient in MS Office (Outlook, Excel, Word), internet and e-mail.
• Adept in use of legal research tools and resources.
• Excellent analytical skills and thorough attention to detail.
• Ability to trouble-shoot problems, act on own initiative and think laterally.
• Ability to support the two other lawyers on larger/more complex legal issues and projects.
• Ability to manage own workload and take sole responsibility for specific areas (e.g., Master Services Agreements for Group’s suppliers, or JCT construction contracts).
• Ability to work to tight deadlines and manage a large and varied workload.
• Team player with strong communication skills, providing support and guidance across the entire business.
• Able to commute reliably to the office bases. Working hours will vary depending on Company requirements. Able to attend occasional meetings offsite and at other company sites.

Desirable Criteria

• Experience in-house or secondment to a business team.
• Experience of infrastructure, construction and/or property development advantageous.
• Knowledge of insurance.
• Experience in Construction, Corporate, Real Estate Development, IT, Data Protection, and Intellectual Property law.

Other Information

• Location: Pinewood Studios and Shepperton Studios.
• Competitive starting salary and discretionary annual bonus of up to 15% of salary.
• 25 days’ holiday as standard with the option to buy 5 additional days, plus English public holidays.
• Birthday leave, which gives employees an extra day annual leave to be used in the month of their birthday.
• Pension scheme 5% employer contribution and 3% minimum employee contribution.
• Comprehensive private medical healthcare from Bupa, including cover for pre-existing conditions, dental and optical cover.
• Income Protection for yourself, up to 75% of salary.
• Life assurance of 4 × annual salary.
• £3.20 per day Pinewood canteen subsidy.
• Two days per year volunteering allowance for our local communities.
• Invest@Work Saving Account with Fidelity.
• Various other staff perks including but not limited to, gym and retail discounts, free film screenings and staff events.

Values

• Teamwork
• Respect
• Integrity
• Pioneering
• Passionate
• Can-do

Closing date for applications is 27th January 2026. Pinewood Group is an equal opportunities employer. We are highly committed to building a diverse and inclusive culture for our people and actively welcome applications from people of all backgrounds.