Assistant Manager, Legal Japan

Purpose & Overall Relevance for the Organization:

Provide excellent legal services to adidas Japan—including strategic legal advice and operational support—for functions within the Japan market, both independently and as part of a team and Global Legal Organization.

Key Responsibilities:

• Responsible for day- to day legal matters of adidas Japan, including consultation, contract review, drafting and negotiation, transaction structuring, legal risk management, and handling of disputes and investigations
• Draft, review and support to negotiate, negotiate with external 3rd parties a variety of contracts to protect the interests of the adidas Japan including license agreement, wholesale related agreements and other agreements
• Provide advice and recommendations for adidas Japan business team on a wide range of legal issues
• Provide support for Quality Control team/Consumer Service team including the handling of consumer product claim involved injury and product recall
• Liaisewith external lawyers and adidas Group Legal & Compliance members
• Develop, maintain, and enhance group internal policies and procedures to improve legal processes at adidas Japan
• Provide operational legal support and contribute to process improvements, including contract execution and e-signature processes
• Conduct timely and relevant legal/compliance training to enhance organizational awareness, collaborating with other team members

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Legal counsel with a principled yet pragmatic mindset, strong legal knowledge, logical reasoning based on strategic thinking, issue spotting with analytical skill, and project management capabilities
• Ability to prioritize and stay self-motivated while handling multiple projects/cases
• Solid contract reviewing, drafting and negotiation skills e.g., indemnities, confidentiality, issues under the Subcontract Act, Freelance Law, PL Law and Competition Law,communicate with stakeholder(s) when necessary, and propose contract wording
• Experience in B2B legal support (with both large and small counterparties)
• Experience with administrative tasks such as contract management (leading experience not required) is preferred
• Flexible team player with open-minded and proactive attitude

Requisite Education and Experience / Minimum Qualifications:

• A Bachelor’s degree in law is required, Master’s, or Doctoral degree in law or a related field is a plus
• 5 years of legal counsel experience at an international company or a law firm
• Strong Logical and Strategic Thinking with excellent interpersonal and communication skills
• Fluency in Japanese and Business level in English

Key Relationships:

• Business teams including senior management and functional members
• Group Legal & Compliance team members
• External stakeholders such as business partners and law firms