Senior Legal Counsel – Commercial

Position Summary

Why join our team?
We are a small Legal team sitting within Samsung’s fast-growing and even faster-paced European Services Business Office (“ESBO”). ESBO is dedicated to delivering exceptional content and seamless connected user experiences across Samsung’s ecosystem (including streaming, advertising, mobile, gaming, smart appliances and art) by harnessing Samsung’s scale, data and technology.
We see ourselves as part of the business, helping to facilitate its extraordinary growth, whilst protecting it from legal and regulatory risk. As Senior Legal Counsel – Commercial, you will take a leading role across the whole spectrum of media and commercial law – including channel & content licensing, app distribution, ad-tech, advertising, mobile experiences, gaming – and more! ESBO operates across all of Europe, so you will be working closely with colleagues and counterparties across the continent, as well as in the UK, and will be relied upon as a senior, trusted advisor to the business.

Role and Responsibilities

Your key responsibilities

• Lead on drafting and negotiating of a broad range of complex commercial contracts (and associated documentation) relating to all ESBO business activities (e.g. channel & content licensing agreements, app distribution agreements, media sales and supply-side platform (SSP) agreements, trading agreements with agencies, marketing agreements etc.), working independently and exercising sound commercial judgement.

• Provide pragmatic, high-quality legal advice navigating legal and regulatory risk, particularly in the targeted advertising, streaming and app distribution space, and act as a trusted advisor to senior stakeholders across ESBO’s Ads, Service Partnerships and TV Plus teams.

• Help develop, implement and communicate risk mitigation strategies for contractual, regulatory and business risk, escalating appropriately where required.

• Take ownership of and continue to develop ESBO Legal’s contractual playbooks, precedent agreements and template documentation (including end-user guides, FAQs and training materials), ensuring these remain fit for purpose as the business evolves.

• Mentor, supervise and support the professional development of more junior members of the legal team (including paralegals and junior lawyers), sharing knowledge and building their commercial and legal capability.

• Collaborate closely with colleagues across the wider legal team (including the general commercial, competition and consumer, and data protection teams) and the business (e.g. Sales, Finance, Tax, BizOps, Service Partnerships etc.), acting as a genuine business partner.

• Liaise with and instruct external law firms and specialists with whom we work, managing these relationships cost-effectively.

• Represent Samsung in external meetings and, where relevant, industry forums.

• Contribute to ESBO Legal’s wider projects and initiatives (e.g. regulatory tracking workstreams, process and technology improvements, and knowledge-sharing / training sessions), and support the team’s profile-building activities.

• Proactively build and maintain strong relationships with senior stakeholders across ESBO, positioning yourself and the team as a trusted, embedded strategic partner rather than a reactive function.

• Actively contribute to your own development and support the development of colleagues within ESBO Legal and the wider team.

What we need for this role

• You are a qualified solicitor in the UK or similar jurisdiction, with circa 6-8 years’ PQE. All candidates with relevant experience are encouraged to apply.

• You have substantial experience drafting and negotiating a broad range of commercial contracts, ideally including content & channel licensing, advertising and app distribution contracts. A thorough understanding of GDPR (and associated privacy-related issues) is highly desirable.

• You get things quickly, with the ability to jump between different tasks and topics at pace, prioritising by risk, urgency and business value. You see yourself as a true business partner, not as part of a legal “no” function.

• You are patient, pragmatic, flexible and detail-focused.

• You work confidently under your own initiative and are comfortable operating with autonomously. You are a key enabler of ESBO achieving its objectives and targets.

• You enjoy supporting the development of others, and are willing and able to supervise, delegate to and mentor more junior colleagues.

• You have excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to adapt your tone and approach to your audience, including an awareness of different cultures, workstyles and seniorities. You can communicate complex legal issues in clear, concise terms that are easily understood by audiences at all levels of seniority.

• Past experience in-house (including by secondment) is preferred, though not strictly necessary.

What does success look like?

• Hitting the ground running to independently lead the drafting and negotiation of complex commercial contracts for ESBO, consistently providing first-class, pragmatic legal advice within agreed timeframes.

• Successfully supervising, delegating to, and supporting the development of junior team members by sharing your expertise, particularly on legal risks related to media, streaming, and advertising.

• Taking ownership of creating and refining legal precedents, playbooks, and processes to deliver tangible improvements to the team’s ways of working.

• Active collaboration with the wider legal team, which includes presenting on interesting matters and relevant topics at team meetings.

• Developing a strong working knowledge of the ESBO business and the broader media, streaming, and advertising sectors, positioning yourself as a go-to advisor for the Ads, Services, Partnerships, and TV Plus teams.

• A commitment to professional growth by regularly seeking and acting upon feedback from peers and stakeholders.

• Acting as a true business partner by helping ESBO meet its targets and business objectives, and celebrating the wins along the way.

Skills and Qualifications

Benefits of working at Samsung include

• Hybrid working - 3 days in the office and 2 days at home per week

• Bonus scheme linked to individual, team and company performance

• Car allowance

• Healthcare cash plan or private medical – family cover

• Income protection

• Enhanced pension contribution

• Three volunteering days each year

• Flexible benefit portal and contribution of £55 per month - including travel insurance, gym membership, season ticket loan, Tastecard, dental insurance and more

• Holiday - 25 days plus bank holidays and an additional day off for your birthday

• Access to discounts on a wide range of Samsung products

• Access to a discount shopping portal

A note on equal opportunities

We are an equal-opportunity employer and value diversity at our Company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, colour, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status or disability status.

We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.

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