Legal Counsel (12 month FTC)

Manolo Blahnik; England; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A luxury fashion house in the United Kingdom is hiring a qualified solicitor to manage legal advice and compliance for various business divisions. This 12-month maternity cover role involves advising on commercial contracts, preparing legal documentation, and ensuring adherence to deadlines. Ideal candidates will have 3-8 years of PQE and the ability to communicate complex legal concepts to non-legal teams. Benefits include a hybrid working model and unique perks like discounted footwear.

Benefits

4 pairs of Ambassador Shoes per year

50% Friends and Family Discount

25 days holiday plus bank holidays

Hybrid working model

Private Medical Insurance

Qualifications

• Must be a qualified solicitor with rights to practice in England and Wales.
• Experience in commercial/corporate/transactional law is required.
• Solution-focused with strong analytical skills.

Responsibilities

• Support the Legal team on commercial contracts.
• Review and negotiate various supplier and agreement terms.
• Prep contract summaries and manage departmental workflow.

Skills

Qualified solicitor

Analytical skills

Attention to detail

Commercial problem solving

Communication with non-lawyers

Education

Qualified in England and Wales

3-8 years PQE

Job description

Department

LEGAL

Reports to

HEAD OF LEGAL

Direct Reports

None

Our Values

• Every day the energy, creativity and passion of Manolo permeates through our business.
• We believe in the artist and the artisan; we are innovative while still protecting our heritage.
• We strive for timeless beauty and quality craftmanship.
• We celebrate curiosity and believe in working proactively and being solution focused.
• We believe in upholding family values; we treat everyone with honesty, respect and kindness while nurturing our teams to deliver excellence.
• We believe in making people smile.

Purpose

Advising and safeguarding the Manolo Blahnik group on legal, risk and compliance issues. Acting as a commercial and strategic advisor to all divisions in the global business. Proactively managing capacity, workload and matters to meet deadlines. Working independently and supporting all members of the Legal department on a variety of projects and tasks to deliver department and company objectives.

This is a maternity cover on a 12 month fixed term contract, starting in February - March 2026.

Responsibilities

Supporting the wider Legal team and divisions across the business on a range of commercial contracts including:

• Communications and Marketing – drafting and negotiating event and location agreements, supplier agreements, licenses and photographer agreements.
• Properties and Facilities – reviewing and amending supplier terms for properties and supporting on real estate transactions.
• Wholesale and Commercial – maintaining template distribution terms and agreements, advising on consumer rights and retail queries and competition issues.
• Digital, Systems and IT – reviewing and negotiating service provider and SaaS terms, assisting with data protection and information security advice.
• Internal Control – reviewing and revising policies and procedures and supporting on compliance issues.
• Finance – reviewing and advising on banking and tax documents and filings.
• Proactively managing matters and deadlines, contributing to precedents and management of departmental workflow, preparation of contract summaries, correspondence and filings and general administration support.
• Any other tasks as requested.

Skills and Experience Required

• Qualified solicitor, at least 3-8 years PQE.
• Commercial / Corporate / Transactional.
• UK Qualified or right to practice in England and Wales.
• Analytical skills, accuracy and attention to detail.
• Commercial and pragmatic problem solving and solution focused.
• Ability to prioritise and ensure delivery of results to meet specific deadlines.
• Communication of legal advice to non-lawyers within the business.

Our Commitment to Diversity, Equality and Inclusion

Manolo Blahnik is an equal opportunity employer and are committed to preserving a caring, diverse and inclusive culture with people who feel a real sense of belonging. We recruit and reward based on capability and performance. By joining Manolo Blahnik, you will be part of our 50 to 500 Commitment to “be a force for good” which seeks to create a lasting legacy and positively contributing to its continued expansion and success balancing our impact on people and the planet. Our diverse and multicultural teams ignite our creativity, and we celebrate the differences that we collectively bring. We are committed to equal employment and progression opportunities and the elimination of any form of discrimination. We all hold a responsibility to recognise and respect our diversity and to support this in our words and actions.

If you need reasonable adjustments at any point in the application or interview process, please let us know.

Our Benefits

• 4 pairs of Ambassador Shoes per year.
• 50% Friends and Family Discount.
• 25 days holiday with an additional day off for your birthday, plus bank holidays.
• Option to buy an additional 5 days holiday.
• Hybrid working model (core hours 10am-4pm).
• Pension Contribution.
• Private Medical Insurance.
• 2 Executive Coaching Sessions per year.
• Enhanced Family Friendly Policy.
• Workplace Nursery – salary sacrifice based childcare scheme.
• Cycle to work scheme.
• Employment Engagement Calendar.