Senior Legal Counsel

NEW LOOK; City Of London; On-site; GBP 125,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading fashion retail company is seeking an experienced Senior Legal Counsel to join their dynamic team in London. The role involves advising various business areas, drafting commercial agreements, and managing legal projects. Candidates should have approximately 8 years of post-qualification experience and significant in-house experience, ideally in retail or FMCG. A hybrid working model is offered with a supportive team environment.

Qualifications

• Approximately 8 years PQE, ideally with in-house experience in retail or FMCG.
• Strong expertise in commercial and IP law.
• Excellent drafting, negotiating, and communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Draft, review, and negotiate commercial agreements.
• Provide strategic legal advice on branding and marketing.
• Manage external counsel on disputes and litigation.

Skills

Commercial contract law

Intellectual property

Stakeholder management

Drafting and negotiating

Communication

Education

Qualified Solicitor

Job description

We're the feel-good fashion brand making style accessible and fun for over 55 years, on our website, mobile app and over 300 stores in the UK. By living our values - we play to win, customer obsessed, we are one and it starts with me - we deliver That New Look Feeling for our customers and each other.

Join Our Dynamic Legal Team! Are you a qualified Solicitor with approximately 8 years of post-qualification and management experience, ready to embrace a new challenge in a fun, fast-paced environment? We have an exciting opportunity for a Senior Legal Counsel to join our support centre in London on a 12-month maternity FTC. This role offers a hybrid working model and reports directly to our General Counsel & Company Secretary.

As a trusted Senior Legal Counsel, you will advise and support various areas of the business, including ecommerce, marketing, procurement, customer service, BMD, and property teams. You will work on key complex contracts, transactions, and projects, and lead as a legal advisor on large and complex projects. Additionally, you will manage two direct reports, providing guidance and support on their commercial and IP workloads.

What you'll be doing:

• Draft, review, and negotiate a wide range of commercial agreements.
• Provide strategic legal advice on branding and marketing materials.
• Support procurement, retail, and marketing teams with contract development and compliance.
• Oversee brand protection strategy including trademark portfolio management, enforcement of the New Look brand and third-party infringement claims.
• Advise on copyright, design rights, domain names, and trade secrets.
• Provide legal advisory services to all areas of the business on a variety of matters including competitions and promotions, advertising compliance, consumer law matters, dispute resolution, contract terminations/renewals etc.
• Ensure compliance with relevant laws and regulations.
• Collaborate with various teams to embed IP considerations from concept to execution.
• Manage external counsel on disputes, litigation, and specialist IP matters.
• Support the company governance framework and assist with company secretarial work.

Other Responsibilities:

• Managing upwards, keeping the General Counsel and other Commercial Solicitors in the team informed about important issues and be able to present clearly and precisely, enabling others to understand the key facts and issues.
• Provide training on relevant legal issues.
• Coordinate projects and manage external law firms.
• Working closely with other compliance related functions such as Data Privacy, Finance and HR where appropriate.

Who you are:

• Qualified Solicitor
• Approximately 8 years PQE (level of PQE suggested, but we will consider applications from candidates with suitable experience with other levels of PQE)
• Significant in-house experience, ideally within retail, FMCG, or consumer brand environment
• Strong expertise in commercial contract law and intellectual property
• Excellent interpersonal and stakeholder management skills
• Excellent IT skills
• Excellent drafting, negotiating and communication skills

Desired Attributes

• Excellent technical skills across the full remit commercial and IP law
• Previous experience of managing junior members of a team
• Personable and confident, able to build relationships with partners / key stakeholders
• Resilient and calm under pressure. Adaptable and flexible approach.
• Ability to take responsibility and act autonomously with minimal supervision
• Commercially astute, pragmatic, and solutions-oriented
• Excellent organisational skills - ability to plan, organise and prioritise tasks and projects
• Ability to work under pressure, to prioritise tasks and manage deadlines
• Innovative, proactive and able to respond creatively and effectively in offering solutions whilst managing expectations
• Commercial awareness and ability to produce innovative and cost-effective legal solutions
• A high degree of professionalism and willingness to constructively challenge the status quo

We care about you and the planet and believe fashion should be a force for positive change. We celebrate inclusion and diversity in everything we do. We're proud of our inclusive culture and our talented team members who embrace our shared purpose, behaviours and values.

We prioritise development, offering training to support your progression, so you can be your absolute best and achieve your goals.

We pride ourselves on being a flexible employer, our colleagues work a range of patterns. If you have a specific pattern in mind, we're keen to discuss this with you in line with the output needed for the role.