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Posted April 13, 2021

General Counsel, Americas

Dentsu
New York, NY Full Time

Dentsu is a modern marketing solutions company. Our mission is to help clients navigate, progress and thrive in a world of change. Businesses rely on...

Dentsu is a modern marketing solutions company. Our mission is to help clients navigate, progress and thrive in a world of change. Businesses rely on our integrated network of agencies and specialized practices to champion meaningful progress through creative, media, commerce, data and technology. Part of Dentsu Group, our global network comprises 66,000 diverse people in 143 countries, who are dedicated to teaming for growth and good. Some of our award-winning agencies include 360i, Carat, dentsumcgarrybowen, DEG, dentsuX, iProspect and Merkle. Follow us on Twitter @DentsuUSA and visit dentsu.com/us.

We are champions for meaningful progress and we strive to be a force for good—for our people, for our clients, for the industry and for our society. We keep our people at the center, creating space for growth, understanding and learning so they can thrive. We embed diversity, in our mindset, in our solutions and in our teams to empower an inclusive, equitable and culturally fluent environment. Building this culture within our teams makes us better collaborators with each other and with our clients, driving better outcomes for all.

Job Description

Dentsu is seeking to appoint a proven leader to serve as General Counsel for the Americas region, based in New York City. Reporting to the Global General Counsel, this is an opportunity for a dynamic, innovative leader to join an entrepreneurial and fast-moving company that is at the forefront of marketing services within the digital economy.

Beyond the requisite leadership of control, compliance, and the legal affairs of the organization, the Americas General Counsel will serve as trusted advisor to the leadership team across the Americas region and the Global General Counsel.

As the region’s senior-most legal officer, the Americas General Counsel plays a primary role in safeguarding, across the Americas, the company’s rights, assets, and public reputation; assessing, advising and managing legal and regulatory risk; assuring compliance with all applicable legal and regulatory requirements and commitments, and adherence to relevant governance and reporting standards by defining standards and practices for business operations and overseeing compliance programs; and protecting and developing the Company’s reputation with regulatory and enforcement authorities.

As the senior legal advisor to the Americas management team, the Americas General Counsel provides analysis, counsel and guidance on the implications and risks of strategic and operating plans and decisions. He or she is expected to engage closely with business decision-making and strategic planning for the enterprise and to support the implementation of strategy, including through mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, affiliation relationships, and entry into new territories or new business models; to monitor and advise on emerging trends in an evolving legal, regulatory, business and consumer environment. He or she is expected to have a very close and collaborative working relationship with all Americas functional and business leaders. He or she has ultimate accountability for establishing the region’s legal policies and strategies; and responsibly managing the region’s internal and external legal costs.

The Americas General Counsel is responsible for the delivery of high-quality, cost-effective, timely legal services across the region and support to all the region’s agencies, business units and corporate functions. The company’s service lines rely on legal teams that can provide efficient and robust negotiation support in competitive procurement situations, and the Americas General Counsel will need to have a pro-active role in this respect for the company’s most important clients and otherwise ensure appropriate staffing of lawyers to support all such negotiations and client interactions.

The General Counsel, Americas will manage and lead a team of lawyers, compliance staff and other functional staff members across the region: US (approx. 35 people), Canada (2), Brazil (6) and Mexico, Colombia and Argentina (1 each). He or she is expected to build a close and collaborative relationship with the global legal team (in some areas, developing centers of excellence in the US for matters or work processes that can be adopted globally by other legal teams).

Qualifications

Key experience points for the role:

At least 15-20 years of legal work experience, with a combination of law firm and in-house experience

GC leadership experience in a Company, Division or Group-level company

Exposure to public company legal matters

International experience (with language skills or time spent abroad a plus, exposure to Latin America a plus)

Managing a team (or teams) of at least 10 lawyers

Experience with commercial contracting, corporate, M&A, litigation, antitrust, employment, technology, IP, data privacy, and compliance matters

Past leadership in litigation matters

Past leadership in M&A

Past leadership in crisis management situations

Experience in dealing with government agencies or personnel

Interest in legal department innovation and experience with legal contract and matter management tools

Non-legal experience and personality traits that are a must:

Experience being involved in business, operational and commercial strategy discussions

Having worked closely with CEO, CFO, COO and Head of HR roles

Having provided advice to boards and executive committees

Gravitas and presence (especially in a room of “heavy hitters”)

Excellent negotiation skills

High level of self-awareness

High level of pro-activity and being able to “roll up his/her sleeves” when required

High EQ

Top-notch communication skills (oral and written)

Highly confident but with a degree of humility

Excellent interpersonal skills

A sense of humor

Leadership and team building skills

Influencing skills at all levels of the organization

The ability to negotiate and work effectively with external stakeholders (such as clients and suppliers)

A practical and common-sense approach to difficult situations

A strong personal ethical and moral code, and a strong sense of personal values

A strong sense of being able to put the needs of employees (team members) and the company as a whole ahead of one’s own personal interests

A strong willingness to help society and dentsu’s communities and social impact projects (a track record of pro bono)

Education:

JD and Bar Admission is required

Additional Information

Our benefits:

Comprehensive healthcare plans

FTO and family leave

Generous holiday schedule

401k

Employees from diverse or underrepresented backgrounds encouraged to apply.

Dentsu (the "Company") is committed to a policy of Equal Employment Opportunity and will not discriminate against an applicant or employee of the Company, on the basis of age, sex, sexual orientation, race, color, creed, religion, ethnicity, national origin, alienage or citizenship, disability, marital status, veteran or military status, genetic information, or any other legally-recognized protected basis under federal, state or local laws, regulations or ordinances. Applicants with disabilities may be entitled to reasonable accommodation under the terms of the Americans with Disabilities Act and/or certain state or local laws. A reasonable accommodation is a change in the way things are normally done that will ensure an equal employment opportunity without imposing an undue hardship on the Company. Please contact [email protected] if you need assistance completing any forms or to otherwise participate in the application process or to request or discuss an accommodation in connection with a job at the Company to which you are applying.

This listing expired on Jun 13. Applications are no longer accepted.

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