Senior Legal Counsel, Disputes & Litigation

Fédération Internationale de Football Association; Miami (FL); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Continuous learning

Retirement plan

Generous vacation

Job summary

FIFA in Miami seeks a Senior Legal Counsel, Disputes & Litigation, to lead external disputes, provide strategic advisory across FIFA functions, and oversee budgets for external counsel. The role involves managing complex international cases, court hearings, and negotiations with senior leadership.

The ideal candidate is Florida-bar qualified with 8+ years’ experience, excellent English drafting, and strong negotiation and analytical skills. Proactive team player with global mindset preferred.

Qualifications

• Fully qualified to practise law with Florida bar eligibility and practical training.
• 8+ years PQE in disputes, litigation and external counsel management.
• Strong English drafting, negotiation and analytical skills.
• Experience with sports, media, sponsorship or regulatory matters is a plus.
• Ability to communicate with senior leadership and diverse teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead external disputes and contentious matters, including civil, criminal and arbitration.
• Provide legal advice across FIFA functions on litigation risks and outcomes.
• Manage settlement negotiations and budgets for external spend.
• Coordinate multiple cases across Switzerland and internationally.
• Engage external counsel and attend hearings, mediations, and related work.

Skills

Legal practice

English drafting

Negotiation

Client advisory

Team collaboration

Education

Florida Bar admission

Tools

Word

PowerPoint

Excel

Job description

Senior Legal Counsel, Disputes & Litigation

Department: Legal & Compliance

Employment Type: Permanent - Full Time

Location: Miami

Reporting To: Head of Corporate Legal

Description

We govern the beautiful game and ensure it's run with transparency and integrity. Join our team in Miami and support us on our mission.

THE POSITION

These are your key tasks:

• Responsible for the conduct of all external disputes and contentious matters involving FIFA, including civil and criminal matters and arbitration cases (note: this does not include the conduct of any sports-related matters in the CAS).
• Providing legal advice and guidance across all functional areas at FIFA related to contentious matters, including advising on litigation risks and outcomes;
• Conduct of settlement negotiations in the context of disputes;
• Managing multiple cases in Switzerland and internationally;
• Engagement and instruction of external counsel, and responsibility for budgets for external legal spend; and
• Attending court hearings, reviewing, drafting and commenting on documents.

YOUR PROFILE

We work hard at FIFA. We are dedicated, ambitious and innovative. We respect our values. Always. For all roles, we seek talented people with an entrepreneurial spirit and a global mindset.

The specific competencies we require for this position are:

• Fully qualified to practise law (admitted to the Florida bar or eligible to register as Florida Authorized House Counsel) having completed academic and practical training
• 8+ years of legal practice PQE
• Substantial professional experience of working with and drafting legal documents in English
• Excellent negotiation, drafting, problem solving and analytical skills
• Enhanced expertise: 8 years expertise "on the job" in a recognised firm or in a similar role in an in-house legal department
• Demonstrable interest in or experience of sports, media, sponsorship and regulatory matters, including and interest in the interplay between sports and competition law
• First class written and spoken English language skills, consistent with drafting and negotiating complex, high value and nuanced English language agreements
• Comfortable providing advice and recommendations to senior leadership
• Ability to provide and communicate effectively practical and solutions-based legal advice
• Excellent negotiation, drafting, problem solving and analytical skills
• Structured, reliable, highly organised with a strong eye for detail
• Ability to work as part of a high-performing team, fostering collaboration, driving results, and ensuring the successful achievement of organizational goals.
• Proactive, with a strong sense of personal responsibility with an ability to work autonomously on a wide variety of projects
• Resilient, with an ability to competently handle a large workload amid rapidly shifting priorities
• Open-minded team player with an affinity for working within a variety of cultures and excellent communication skills
• High degree of professionalism and confident demeanour
• Ability to be a good ambassador for FIFA in all manner of external facing situations, including during court hearings, mediations and negotiations, external workshops and during FIFA competition-related assignments
• Ability to create, develop and maintain strong and reliable relationships with FIFA senior management as well as external legal and commercial counterparts
• Willingness to operate outside of comfort zone
• Takes initiative to reflect on how to improve and develop working styles and methods to assist the organisation and internal clients
• Native level English (or equivalent), consistent with requirement to draft and negotiate complex and nuanced English language agreements and advice.
• Proficiency in any other FIFA language (French/Spanish/German) is an asset but not necessary
• Proficient in Word / PowerPoint / Excel
• Willingness to travel

PERKS & BENEFITS

The biggest benefit of a career at FIFA is the privilege to work for the beautiful game and create something that matters.

Alongside that privilege, we also offer some extra perks and benefits:

Health insurance: We offer generous medical, vision, and dental insurance coverage.

Continuous learning: We care about your development and encourage internal mobility, offering a variety of training and education to help achieve it.

Retirement: We offer generous 401(k) employer contributions.

Vacation: Maintain a healthy work/life balance with a generous vacation allowance.