Legal Counsel, The Economist
Fixed Term Contract, 9 months
2-5 days a week in office
International weekly newspaper
Be an early applicant
International weekly newspaper
1001+ employees
Be an early applicant
2-5 days a week in office
1001+ employees
Company mission
To take part in a severe contest between intelligence, which presses forward, and an unworthy, timid ignorance obstructing our progress.
Role
Who you are
- Admitted as a lawyer in the UK or a relevant EU jurisdiction
- Ability to collaborate across a wide range of business stakeholders to drive initiatives through to conclusion
- A solution driven and risk-based mindset able to succinctly identify critical areas of concern and construct legally-compliant, commercially-viable solutions
- Excellent oral and written communication skills, including distilling complex legal and technical issues into clear, concise messaging
- Exceptional time management, planning, and organisational skills, ability to deliver within tight deadlines, with strong analytic capabilities. Attention to detail is a must
- Exceptional interpersonal skills with proven experience in relationship building and partnering
- Positive ‘can do’ attitude and a determination to succeed
- Commercial awareness and ability to understand the products and services sold by the businesses supported and the way those products / services are positioned to clients during the sales process as well as developed during the implementation process
What the job involves
- We have an exciting opportunity for a Legal Counsel to join our legal team
- This role will report to the Head of Legal Contracting
- The job is based in London but involves working with stakeholders across the globe, and in particular the UK, Europe and the US
- Draft, review and negotiate a wide range of contracts including:
- The Legal Counsel will be a key member of the legal team advising and working primarily for The Economist Group’s B2B businesses globally, reviewing, drafting and negotiating client contracts and supplier/vendor contracts; and providing legal advice on various aspects of the global operations of The Economist Group
- This includes licensing and brand/IP protection, disputes and marketing and advertising, while pragmatically managing material risks (brand/reputation, financial, and legal) and facilitating business in a manner consistent with the current Economist Group policies and processes
- Client agreements for our B2B businesses, including content licensing, subscription, sponsorship and advertising sales agreements; and
- Procurement contracts for key suppliers and vendors
- Other vendor and commercial agreements for our B2C (newspaper) business
- Provide clear, high quality legal advice and support on a wide range of commercial and corporate issues throughout the Group
- Minimizing risk for The Economist Group while facilitating business
- Help protect the Group’s brands and other intellectual property
- Assist with the execution of the Group’s strategy, in particular in connection with commercial contract compliance
- Keep up to date with, and understand, relevant laws and regulations globally and advise the business teams in respect of any measures to be implemented
- Work closely with Legal team members globally, Procurement, Sales, business heads, Finance as well as all other commercial departments supported to:
- Develop a reputation as a trusted and reliable resource for contract support
- Maintain an awareness of relevant operating policies and processes (including discounting approval authorities, signatory authorities, rate cards, editorial guidelines, etc.)
- Provide coverage for Contracts colleagues when they are on holiday or unavailable for an extended period (or if urgent matters arise)
- Help maintain high ethical standards throughout the Group
Salary benchmarks
Our take
Founded in 1843, the Economist is one of the best-known and well-read current affairs publications in the world, able to boast an ever-growing international circulation of around 1.5m readers. With sections ranging from US business news to the best new books & art, The Economist is a key figure within the huge journalism market.
Given its big market share, the key question for The Economist will be where it goes from here. Likely, the plan will be to carry on with business as usual. Critically, unlike many of its competitors, during the coronavirus pandemic The Economist has seen little decline in business, even as sales of paper-newspapers have declined globally. In particular, this is because the Economist has been operating a hybrid system of online and paper news for many years now, and so its core business has had relatively little to adapt to during the pandemic.
So, the key thing for The Economist will be ensuring that it keeps producing high-quality journalism into the future. In an age where the news is constantly plagued by distrust and misinformation, The Economist has a golden opportunity to set itself apart as a quality institution going forward.
Kirsty
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
Company
Company benefits
- Team +/ individual performance bonuses
- Extended life assurance
- Training and development programmes
- Funding available for further education
- Work from home opportunities
- Health insurance
Company values
- Independence
- Integrity
- Excellence
- Inclusivity
- Openness
Company HQ
London, UK
Articles
Leadership
Lara Salameh Boro
(CEO (Not Founder))Lara has prevoiusly been CEO at Top Right Group and Informa. They are also a Non Executive Director at RWS HOLDINGS PLC.
People progressing
Joined as Digital Marketing Specialist in 2016, promoted three times since to Head of Owned Audience.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at The Economist
- Commitment to equal opportunities and inclusion
- Applications from all backgrounds encouraged
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