Manager, Legal Counsel

Provide strategic legal, business, and negotiation advice across multiple touchpoints in the organization through the following: 

• Act as a strategic business partner and advisor to internal business partners, including having a prominent role advising adidas’s Sports Marketing and Culture Marketing teams and bringing brand strategy of partnering with the best athletes, entertainers, influencers, teams, and other third parties to life
• Negotiate and draft dynamic commercial agreements with valued partners to ensure adidas acquires best terms and most valuable rights
• Provide timely, accurate, and comprehensive advice on issues relating to contract law and other transactional matters, assess and mitigate legal risk, and manage and resolve potential disputes
• Employ a fresh perspective and creative mindset to help the Global Legal team improve, streamline, and simplify the way it enables and protects its business partners, with a focus on harnessing new technology and emerging industry best practices

Key Responsibilities: 

• Provide clear, straightforward, common-sense advice to various internal business partners on contract law issues relating to third party partners, with a significant focus on advising the Sports Marketing and Culture Marketing teams on relevant legal landscape, evolving risks and opportunities, and other issues relating to partnerships with athletes, entertainers, and influencers
• Negotiate and draft a wide variety of commercial agreements, including Sports Marketing and Culture Marketing contracts, sponsorship and endorsement agreements, team and club agreements, and vendor agreements
• Provide practical legal guidance and advice on a wide variety of additional topics, from business strategy to individual commercial relationships 
• Act as a subject matter expert and closely monitor developments in legal operations technology to help drive assessment and adoption of new tools for the North America and Global Legal, Sports Marketing, and Culture Marketing teams, including tools simplifying and standardizing contract formation and managing the contract lifecycle 

Key Relationships:

• Global Legal & Compliance
• Sports Marketing and Culture Marketing
• Brand Communications and Public Relations
• Procurement
• External law firms
• External technology partners

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities: 

• Strong contract and transactional law background and substantial experience negotiating and drafting commercial agreements
• Proven ability to translate complex legal issues to direct, practical guidance for non-lawyer audiences, both verbally and in writing
• Experience with and interest in new and emerging legal operations technology tools and ability to assess and advise on adoption of new technology
• Ability to manage and prioritize dynamic, diverse workload arising from multiple touchpoints
• Ability to work independently and confidently under pressure without constant supervision
• Professional, approachable style with substantial cross-functional and intercultural experience
• Cooperative, team-oriented approach that builds effective internal and external relationships

Requisite Education and Experience / Minimum Qualifications: 

• University degree and Juris Doctor degree from U.S. law school
• Admission to at least one U.S. state bar
• 1-3 years of continuous, full-time professional working experience as a practicing attorney at a top law firm with significant focus on contract and transactional matters

AT ADIDAS WE HAVE A WINNING CULTURE. BUT TO WIN, PHYSICAL POWER IS NOT ENOUGH. JUST LIKE ATHLETES OUR EMPLOYEES NEED MENTAL STRENGTH IN THEIR GAME. WE FOSTER THE ATHLETE’S MINDSET THROUGH A SET OF BEHAVIORS THAT WE WANT TO ENABLE AND DEVELOP IN OUR PEOPLE AND THAT ARE AT THE CORE OF OUR UNIQUE COMPANY CULTURE: THIS IS HOW WE WIN WHILE PLAYING FAIR.

• COURAGE: Speak up when you see an opportunity; step up when you see a need..
• OWNERSHIP: Pick up the ball. Be proactive, take responsibility and follow-through.
• INNOVATION: Elevate to win. Be curious, test and learn new and better ways of doing things.
• TEAMPLAY: Win together. Work collaboratively and cultivate a shared mindset.
• INTEGRITY: Play by the rules. Hold yourself and others accountable to our company’s standards.
• RESPECT: Value all players. Display empathy, be inclusive and show dignity to all.

ADIDAS CELEBRATES DIVERSITY, SUPPORTS INCLUSIVENESS AND ENCOURAGES INDIVIDUAL EXPRESSION IN OUR WORKPLACE. WE DO NOT TOLERATE THE HARASSMENT OR DISCRIMINATION TOWARD ANY OF OUR APPLICANTS OR EMPLOYEES. WE ARE AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER.