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
• Liaise with 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 B2C is a plus
• 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