Legal Counsel

Key Purpose & Responsibilities

• Provide comprehensive legal support to various agencies under the Dentsu Network across South Asia, ensuring compliance with legal and regulatory requirements and safeguarding Dentsus commercial interests.
• Provides legal support on various matters to commercial teams in contractual negotiations to achieve the most advantageous and/or beneficial legal and commercial terms for Dentsu
• Advise stakeholders at all levels on a broad range of legal matters, including but not limited to consumer protection, misleading advertising, role of intermediaries, celebrity endorsement, influencer marketing, intellectual property etc.
• Provide legal support and guidance on employment law matters, including internal investigations and related processes.
• Advise on and ensure compliance with data privacy laws and regulations, including the management of data protection risks and the implementation of appropriate safeguards.
• Provide guidance on the ethical use of generative artificial intelligence (GAI), ensuring compliance with applicable laws, industry standards, and Dentsu's internal policies.
• Assists in developing and delivering training and legal risk management initiatives to senior management in managing legal risks (e.g. business training, legal updates, etc)
• Helps to implement best-practices in compliance, contracts management, intellectual property, data protection, IT, litigation and/or M&A.
• Prepare regular reports and updates for line management and internal stakeholders as appropriate.
• Manage and oversee litigation and arbitration matters, including civil, criminal, labour, property, and commercial disputes. This includes qualitative review of pleadings, preparation of litigation strategy, timely filing, and monitoring of cases.
• Collate and maintain meticulous records and correspondence relating to litigation and compliance matters, ensuring regular updates to litigation and compliance trackers.
• Assist in briefing Senior Advocates/external counsel for urgent reliefs and in the preparation of pleadings, applications, and replies for ongoing and new matters.
• Conduct legal research to develop arguments and prepare case law analysis for opinion writing and to guide the direction of proceedings.

Key Challenges

• Navigating the complex and evolving regulatory landscape governing the advertising, media, and entertainment industry, including new developments in data privacy, ethics, and GAI.
• Managing multiple, often interrelated, legal matters in a fast-paced, high-pressure environment.
• Ensuring timely and efficient delivery of legal support while maintaining high standards of accuracy and compliance.

Person Specification

Qualifications & Experience:

• LL.B with 8-10 years' post-qualification experience as an in-house lawyer and/or in law firms.
• Experience in the Media & Entertainment or Information Technology industry is an advantage.
• Experience in employment laws, data privacy, Generative AI and competition laws will be an added advantage
• Experience in working with contract management tools would be preferred
• Diplomas in legal vocations/subjects such as advertising laws, media and entertainment, intellectual property rights, data privacy, or compliance are desirable but not mandatory.

Skills & Attributes:

• Strong commercial acumen and a solution-oriented approach.
• Excellent command of spoken and written English.
• Ability to identify legal risks, issues, and solutions across a broad spectrum of legal areas, including ethics, compliance, data privacy, and GAI.
• Strong written, verbal, and presentation skills.
• Ability to prioritise and manage complex, interrelated tasks and deliver under pressure.
• High energy, self-driven, motivated, and able to take initiative.
• Collaborative team player with a positive attitude and confidence.
• Ability to absorb daily learning in legal fields relevant to advertising, media, and entertainment, and to apply new knowledge effectively.

Additional Responsibilities

• Proactively keep abreast of legal and regulatory developments, particularly in the areas of data privacy, ethics, and generative artificial intelligence, and apply them to mitigate risk and exposure for Dentsu.
• Foster a culture of ethical conduct and compliance throughout the organisation, providing guidance and support on related matters.
• Support the development and implementation of policies and procedures relating to ethics, compliance, data privacy, and GAI.