In-House Legal Counsel: Front-End Construction (Renewables)

Carlyle Kingswood Global; Sydney; Remote; AUD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

LexisNexis is seeking an experienced Legal Counsel - Pacific to join our commercial legal team. You’ll provide practical, commercially focused legal guidance across Australia and New Zealand, handling contracts, licensing, tech, and AI-enabled initiatives with autonomy.

You’ll partner with senior stakeholders, draft and negotiate agreements, assess risk, and help drive strategic projects while leveraging AI tools to improve efficiency and outcomes across the Pacific region.

Qualifications

• 5+ years' PQE and admission to practice in Australia or New Zealand.
• Strong commercial contracting experience, drafting, reviewing and negotiating agreements.
• Experience in top-tier law firms or large corporate/in-house teams.
• Ability to manage matters independently with sound judgement.
• Strong stakeholder management and negotiation skills.
• Experience using generative AI tools in legal work.

Responsibilities

• Draft, review and negotiate a broad range of commercial agreements.
• Negotiate directly with customers, suppliers and counterparties.
• Provide practical, commercially focused legal advice balancing risk and business objectives.
• Build relationships with senior stakeholders across Australia and New Zealand.
• Support key business projects and AI-enabled initiatives.
• Collaborate with Pacific and international legal colleagues.

Skills

Commercial contracting

Contract drafting

Negotiation

Stakeholder management

AI in legal work

Technology & IP law

Education

Qualified lawyer in Australia or New Zealand

5+ years PQE

Tools

Generative AI tools

Job description

About the role

This is an opportunity for an experienced commercial lawyer to join LexisNexis and work at the intersection of law, technology and AI.

As Legal Counsel - Pacific, you'll provide practical, commercially focused legal advice across the Australian and New Zealand businesses, managing a broad range of matters from end to end with a high degree of autonomy.

You'll work closely with business stakeholders and be trusted to negotiate contracts, assess commercial risk and help the business move forward with confidence.

It's a varied, fast-paced role where no two days will necessarily look the same. You'll have exposure to everything from customer and supplier agreements to content licensing, technology and new product initiatives, including AI-enabled products.

What you'll be doing

• Draft, review and negotiate a broad range of commercial agreements, including B2B customer agreements, content licences, supplier and technology agreements.
• Negotiate directly with customers, suppliers and other counterparties.
• Provide clear, practical and commercially focused legal advice while balancing legal risk with business objectives.
• Build strong relationships with senior business stakeholders across Australia and New Zealand.
• Support key business projects, new products and technology initiatives, including AI-enabled solutions.
• Use generative AI and legal technology to improve the efficiency and quality of legal service delivery.
• Develop templates, playbooks and practical guidance to support the wider business.
• Deliver legal training and participate in legal clinics.
• Support disputes and pre-litigation matters and manage external counsel where required.
• Collaborate with legal colleagues across the Pacific and internationally.

About you

You're a commercially minded lawyer who enjoys being close to the business and is comfortable taking ownership of matters rather than simply identifying legal issues.

Ideally, you'll bring:

• 5+ years' PQE and admission to practice in Australia or New Zealand, with a current practicing certificate or eligibility to obtain one.
• Strong commercial contracting experience, particularly drafting, reviewing and negotiating agreements.
• Experience gained within a top-tier, national or international law firm and/or a large corporate or multinational in-house legal team.
• The confidence to manage matters independently and sound judgement around when to escalate.
• Strong stakeholder management, drafting and negotiation skills.
• Practical experience using generative AI tools in legal work, whether for research, drafting, review or improving workflows.
• A commercially pragmatic mindset and the ability to manage competing priorities in a fast-moving environment.
• Curiosity, adaptability and an appetite to work with a business experiencing ongoing technology and product transformation.
• Experience in technology, intellectual property, competition and consumer law, content licensing, SaaS, AI or legal technology would be advantageous, but you don't need to tick every box.

Why join us

This role offers a chance to move beyond traditional legal advisory work and become a genuine commercial partner to the business.

You'll have the opportunity to:

• Work with an international legal technology and AI business where technology is changing both the products we build and the way legal work is delivered.
• Build broad commercial experience across a diverse Australian and New Zealand business.
• Take genuine ownership of matters and develop the stakeholder management skills needed for your next career step.
• Work alongside specialist legal colleagues across areas including employment, privacy and IP, as well as regional and global teams.
• Use and develop your skills with AI and legal technology in your day-to-day legal practice.
• Connect with the broader APAC legal team, including an annual team get-together involving international travel.

About LexisNexis

LexisNexis is a global leader in legal technology and AI, helping legal professionals make better decisions, work more efficiently and deliver better outcomes for their clients and organisations.

We combine trusted legal content and expertise with innovative technologies, including generative AI, to transform how legal work gets done. Our products and solutions support customers across law firms, corporations, government and other organisations around the world.

As part of a global business, you'll join an environment that brings together law, technology, data and AI, with opportunities to collaborate with colleagues across Australia, New Zealand and internationally.

Benefits and Working Conditions

We are committed to a fair and accessible hiring process. If you have a disability or other need that requires accommodation or adjustment, please let us know by completing our Applicant Request Support Form or please contact.

We are an equal opportunity employer: qualified applicants are considered for and treated during employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, national origin, citizenship status, disability status, protected veteran status, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law.

The role offers flexible working and can be based across Australia or New Zealand, excluding Perth due to the time-zone requirements of the team.