Legal Counsel

Purpose of Position

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.

Key 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.
• Company Secretarial – drafting minutes, resolutions and presentations for board and shareholder meetings, preparing documents and filings for all companies.
• Finance – reviewing and advising on banking and tax documents and filings.
• Instructing and managing external counsel and service providers for the department, dealing with invoices and approvals and tracking department spend and budget.
• Proactively managing matters and deadlines, contributing to precedents and management of departmental workflow, preparation of contract summaries, correspondence and filings and general administration support.
• Assisting on contentious and non-contentious intellectual property issues if and when required.
• Any other tasks as requested.

Skills and Experience Required:

• Qualified solicitor - 1-3 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. 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 10-4pm).
• 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.