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Legal Counsel

  • Job
    Full-time
    Senior Level
  • Legal
  • Pune
  • Quick Apply

AI generated summary

  • You need a law degree, 7+ years of corporate legal experience, fluency in English and preferably Tamil, strong drafting skills, and the ability to navigate complex legal concepts and business needs.
  • You will provide legal advice, negotiate contracts, support compliance, manage external counsel, and educate teams on ethics and policies for Health and Tax & Accounting businesses in India.

Requirements

  • Candidates are required to have both a bachelor’s degree in law from a highly regarded, nationally recognized educational institution and be fluent in English.
  • Proficiency in Tamil would be an asset.
  • The successful candidate will have a minimum of seven (7) years of progressively responsible corporate/commercial legal experience, preferably including experience with both a top-tier law firm and an established corporate law department.
  • This experience should include negotiation of commercial contracts involving information technology, as well as support of a large workforce in India and advising managers and human-resources professionals on issues of labor and employment law.
  • Experience with real-estate transactions also is desirable.
  • Fluent in English
  • Licensed to practice law in India.
  • Strong intellect, excellent legal acumen and rigorous analytical skills, including:
  • demonstrated proficiency in accurately evaluating, understanding and translating complex legal concepts, and converting that understanding into customary contractual terms or, when needed for enforcement or defense in contested situations, pleadings;
  • the willingness, talent and capability to be both an effective hands-on lawyer and a proactive manager of teams that may include internal cross-disciplinary business managers and outside counsel;
  • significant, substantive and up-to-date knowledge of a wide range of commercial, corporate, employment and intellectual property-related legal subject areas, with particular legal skill in dealing with the intersection of intellectual property and contractual law; and
  • sound and well-respected legal and business judgment.
  • Excellent legal drafting and negotiating skills, including competencies in:
  • eliciting critical technical, financial and business information from diverse client constituencies (including business managers across all levels and positions/roles);
  • understanding legal requirements and contractual provisions and their foreseeable, practical consequences, allowing management to make informed decisions regarding risk/compliance issues; and
  • translating business objectives into clear, pragmatic and legally comprehensive and protective agreements.
  • A “can do” solutions orientation, supported by:
  • eagerness to learn about the Wolters Kluwer’s businesses and their competitive landscape;
  • thoughtful, practical and creative problem-solving capabilities; and
  • the proven ability to manage and deliver execution of detailed, responsive actions, timely and reliably.
  • The ability to grasp and facilitate business and financial objectives, both as a strategic contributor and as a “hands-on” lawyer, while providing objective, independent legal risk assessments and advice, consistent with Legal Team’s standards, and identifying alternative solutions where appropriate.
  • Strong, proactive communications skills, including the demonstrated ability to translate into clear business terms and otherwise “demystify” complex legal concepts for less legally sophisticated client groups.
  • Unquestioned integrity and ethics in business and personal conduct, including scrupulous respect for confidentiality in dealing with non-public, sensitive information.
  • A proven track record of interacting well with, and influencing members of, business unit management teams.
  • The experience and confidence to push for change and, when appropriate, to challenge the status quo, in a way that will be heard and respected.

Responsibilities

  • Serve as legal advisor to Wolters Kluwer’s customer-facing Health and Tax & Accounting businesses in India, including direct negotiation of contracts with customers and vendors and advice on regulatory issues applicable to that business.
  • Provide legal and compliance support to Wolters Kluwer’s India-based internal software-development and business-support functions.
  • Advise people managers and India-based Human-Resources teams on issues pertaining to Wolters Kluwer’s 4,000 approx. employees in India.
  • Manage external counsel supporting Wolters Kluwer’s businesses in India, including in the context of regulatory compliance, commercial transactions, employment law and real estate;
  • Work closely with contract managers, corporate secretary and compliance professionals in India to ensure effective and efficient support for those functions;
  • Providing comprehensive legal counseling regarding a broad spectrum of corporate, commercial, and intellectual property matters impacting the businesses, including matters and legal issues related to on-premise and cloud-hosted software and software-related services.
  • Counseling on regulatory and compliance matters impacting the businesses.
  • Helping to educate the business teams about Wolters Kluwer’s Code of Business Ethics and related policies, contracting forms, intellectual property rights and obligations, commercial and legal risks and internal contract review and approval procedures.
  • Developing an in-depth knowledge and understanding of Wolters Kluwer, its people, organization, markets, products, customers, competitors and regulatory environment, in order to identify trends and provide high level legal/commercial advice to the businesses.

FAQs

What is the main location for the Legal Counsel position?

The Legal Counsel will be based at one of Wolters Kluwer's offices in India.

Who will the Legal Counsel report to?

The Legal Counsel will report to the Managing Legal Counsel, India.

What are the primary responsibilities of the Legal Counsel?

The Legal Counsel will serve as a legal advisor, provide legal and compliance support, manage external counsel, and advise on a range of legal matters including intellectual property and regulatory compliance.

What qualifications are required for this position?

Candidates must possess a bachelor’s degree in law, be licensed to practice law in India, and have a minimum of seven years of corporate/commercial legal experience.

Is proficiency in any language other than English required?

Proficiency in Tamil would be an asset, but fluency in English is required.

What type of legal experience should candidates have?

Candidates should have experience negotiating commercial contracts, supporting a large workforce, advising on labor and employment law, and experience with real estate transactions is desirable.

What are the key skills required for this position?

Essential skills include strong legal acumen, excellent legal drafting and negotiation skills, problem-solving capabilities, and strong proactive communication skills.

Is there any travel involved with this position?

Yes, the position requires traveling within India to meet with stakeholders, customers, partners, and to attend court hearings.

What is the size of the workforce that the Legal Counsel will advise on?

The Legal Counsel will advise on issues pertaining to approximately 4,000 employees in India.

Does the position involve working with external counsel?

Yes, the Legal Counsel will manage external counsel supporting Wolters Kluwer's businesses in India.

When you have to be right

Technology
Industry
10,001+
Employees

Mission & Purpose

Wolters Kluwer (EURONEXT: WKL) is a global leader in professional information, software solutions, and services for the healthcare, tax and accounting, financial and corporate compliance, legal and regulatory, and corporate performance and ESG sectors. We help our customers make critical decisions every day by providing expert solutions that combine deep domain knowledge with specialized technology and services. Wolters Kluwer reported 2022 annual revenues of €5.5 billion. The group serves customers in over 180 countries, maintains operations in over 40 countries, and employs approximately 20,000 people worldwide. The company is headquartered in Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands.