Legal Counsel

Job Description: Legal Counsel – Dentsu South Asia

Role Title: Legal Counsel

Department: Legal & Compliance

Location: Mumbai

Reports To: Legal Director

Experience Required: 6 to 8 years

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 Dentsu’s commercial interests.
• Advise stakeholders at all levels on a broad range of legal matters, including but not limited to commercial, employment, intellectual property, data privacy, ethics, compliance, and generative artificial intelligence (GAI).
• 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.
• Draft, negotiate, and advise on medium to high complexity commercial agreements, ensuring the most advantageous legal and commercial terms for Dentsu.
• Provide legal support and guidance on employment law matters, including internal investigations and related processes.
• 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.
• Deliver training and legal risk management initiatives to senior management, including business training, legal updates, and best practices in compliance, contracts management, intellectual property, data protection, IT, litigation, M&A, and GAI.
• Implement and monitor best practices in ethics, compliance, contracts management, intellectual property, data privacy, IT, litigation, M&A, and GAI, ensuring alignment with Dentsu’s internal policies and external legal requirements.
• 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.
• Coordinate with internal departments on commercial, contractual, compliance, and risk management matters, ensuring all relevant legal issues are identified and addressed.
• Prepare regular reports and updates for line management and internal stakeholders as appropriate.

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 6-8 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.
• 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.