Senior/Principal Legal Counsel

Copello; West of England; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Copello is seeking a Senior/Principal Legal Counsel in Bristol, offering a challenging role with broad commercial legal responsibilities. You will be the sole in-house lawyer in the UK, partnering with senior leadership to manage risk and enable growth across contracts, employment and corporate matters, including potential M&A.

You don’t need defence experience; we value pragmatic, commercially minded advice and the ability to work across diverse functions in a growing SME, shaping the legal

Qualifications

• Qualified solicitor with strong commercial legal experience.
• Experience across contracts and employment law is preferred.
• Corporate/M&A exposure would be advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Advise on a broad range of legal and commercial matters to senior leadership.
• Draft, review and negotiate commercial contracts.
• Provide employment law guidance and handle employee-related matters.
• Support potential M&A activity and strategic transactions.

Skills

Commercial awareness

Contract drafting

Negotiation

Employment law

Corporate/M&A exposure

Education

Qualified solicitor

Tools

Contract management tools

Job description

Senior/Principal Legal Counsel- Bristol- up to £100,000.

We’re looking for a Senior or Principal Legal Counsel to join our growing defence SME and provide broad, commercially focused legal support across the business. This is a fantastic opportunity to join as sole legal counsel in the UK and join a company on the brink of extensive growth!

This is a varied role with exposure to commercial contracts, employment law, corporate matters and potentially M&A, working closely with senior leadership and teams across the organisation.

You don’t need previous defence experience. We’re more interested in your ability to understand a business, provide pragmatic legal advice and help manage risk in a commercially sensible way.

What you’ll be doing

• Advising the business and senior leadership on a broad range of legal and commercial matters.
• Drafting, reviewing and negotiating commercial contracts.
• Advising on employment law and employee-related matters.
• Supporting corporate activity, including potential M&A and strategic transactions.
• Managing legal risk and working with the business to find practical solutions.
• Working with and managing external legal advisers where required.
• Helping develop legal processes, contracts and policies as the company continues to grow.

About you

We’re looking for a qualified solicitor with strong commercial legal experience, ideally with experience across contracts and employment law. Corporate/M&A experience would be an advantage.

You could be an experienced in-house lawyer looking for a broader role, or a solicitor currently working in private practice who is ready to make the move in-house.

Most importantly, you’ll be commercially minded, pragmatic and confident working with senior stakeholders. You’ll enjoy having a broad remit and being part of a growing business where you can make a real impact.

Defence experience is not essential — we’re open to candidates from a range of sectors with strong transferable commercial legal experience.

The opportunity

This is a great opportunity to join a growing SME at an exciting stage of its development, with the chance to work closely with senior leadership, take ownership of a broad range of legal matters and help shape the legal function as the business grows.