Commercial Legal - Senior Legal Counsel, Brand ...

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:

• Key role within the Commercial Legal Team, with responsibility for the worldwide implementation and management of A Football Association as well as advising on a wide range of legal matters to ensure the safeguarding of tournament brand assets, intellectual property, and sponsorship agreements.
• Responsibility and oversight for all litigation of IP matters and dispute resolution worldwide.
• Provide legal advice, guidance, and support on a wide range of legal matters related to A Football Association tournaments, including establishing and implementing an anti-counterfeiting strategy, managing an on-line enforcement strategy, reviewing contracts, compliance, intellectual property, regulatory issues and access to information requests.
• Provide clear and consistent direction to A Football Association World Cup 2026 and other tournament legal teams and working with local Brand Protection Counsel on brand protection matters, including implementation of the local brand protection programs, on-site programs, legislative analysis and legal review of agreements.
• Establish comprehensive strategies to safeguard A Football Association Intellectual Property against unauthorized use, counterfeiting, and piracy.
• Manage A Football Association ambush marketing cases, ticketing enforcement, customs recordals and seizures as well as IP infringement cases worldwide.
• Stay informed of changes in relevant laws, regulations, and industry best practices and benchmarks, and provide proactive advice to ensure ongoing compliance.
• Manage and enforce brand guidelines for sponsors and partners, ensuring consistent representation and compliance with contractual obligations.
• Develop and maintain educational materials and training programs for internal and external stakeholders to raise awareness of brand protection measures.
• Prepare comprehensive reports and provide guidance and recommendations for senior management, summarizing brand protection activities, challenges, legal actions, and future strategies as required.
• Stepping in for Senior Counsel IP, when needed, to provide day to day advice to legal colleagues, internal clients and senior management on a range of brand protection and general intellectual property (IP) issues including the management of all A Football Association trademarks, copyrights and designs as well as managing IP litigation.
• Effectively building and maintaining strong external and internal relations at a senior level and across global offices.
• Best practice outside counsel management, including outside counsel selection.
• Extensive cross-functional collaboration with internal clients and stakeholders.
• Guiding other team members and developing more junior team members.

The specific competencies we require for this position are:

• Minimum of 8-10 years expertise "on the job" in a multinational IP team with global IP experience in either an in-house IP department or a reputable law firm focusing on intellectual property brand protection, anti-counterfeiting and/or IP litigation/enforcement work for multinationals.
• Fully qualified to practice law (registered on the roll / admitted to the bar of an appropriate jurisdiction) having completed all necessary academic and practical training
• First class written and spoken English language skills, consistent with drafting and negotiating complex, high value and nuanced English language agreements.
• Ability to provide and communicate effectively practical and solutions-based legal advice
• Good understanding of the global sports marketing, sports merchandising, licensing, retail, digital marketing, sponsorship, licensing, e-commerce and business intelligence industry landscapes
• Excellent negotiation, drafting, problem solving and analytical skills
• Structured, reliable, well-organized with a strong eye for detail
• Ability to perform consistently within a high-performing team, fostering collaboration, driving results, and ensuring the successful achievement of organizational goals.
• Strong commercial acumen with an ability to transfer legal knowledge into commercially and operationally oriented solutions
• 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 demeanor
• Ability to be a good ambassador for A Football Association in all manner of external facing situations, including during contractual negotiations, external workshops and during A Football Association competition-related assignments
• Ability to create, develop and maintain strong and reliable relationships with A Football Association 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 organization 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 A Football Association language (French/Spanish) is an asset but not required
• Proficient in Word / PowerPoint / Excel
• Comfortable with international travel

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