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Legal Counsel Job Description 2024: Free Template
Published date: October 30, 2024
Legal Counsel job description: guide for employers
Attracting top-tier Legal Counsel talent requires more than a basic job description. Our free downloadable template is crafted by specialist legal recruiters and provides a thorough, industry-standard example. Complete the form to access the template, and tailor it with the insights and tips to meet your organization’s unique needs.
Crafting job adverts to attract experienced Legal Counsel professionals
When targeting seasoned legal professionals, your job advert needs to speak directly to their expertise and ambitions. To ensure your role stands out, it’s crucial to highlight the aspects of the role that will challenge, engage, and appeal to their strategic acumen. Below are some key considerations for crafting compelling job ads:
Emphasize core responsibilities and areas of expertise
- Legal proficiency: Candidates should possess deep expertise in areas like corporate, commercial, regulatory, or employment law, ideally within an international framework or for a global business.
- Strategic advisory: Highlight the need for someone who can provide high-level legal counsel to the executive team, balancing legal risks with commercial realities.
- Regulatory navigation: Focus on the ability to stay ahead of evolving regulations across jurisdictions and manage compliance in a proactive and strategic manner.
- Stakeholder influence: Showcase the importance of building strong working relationships with senior leadership, ensuring they see Legal as a key business partner.
Highlight critical technical skills
Legal Counsel roles demand more than technical legal know-how.
Junior Legal Counsels coming from law firms will be specialised in a particular practice. Senior Counsels with inhouse experience will bring a blend of legal expertise and business intelligence:
- Regulatory & compliance management: Experience in advising on regulatory compliance across multiple legal domains, with specific expertise in data protection (GDPR), employment law, or commercial contracts.
- Dispute resolution: Skills in managing both litigation and alternative dispute resolution, ensuring that business interests are protected without unnecessarily escalating legal costs.
- Contract negotiation: Highlight experience negotiating high-value and complex contracts, particularly in sectors like technology, finance, or commercial real estate.
- International legal exposure: Emphasize experience working across multiple jurisdictions, advising on cross-border mergers, acquisitions, or regulatory matters.
Key soft skills that differentiate top candidates
Beyond their technical expertise, an effective Legal Counsel must excel in leadership and communication, ensuring they can influence decision-makers and manage teams:
- Commercial judgement: Candidates should have a strong grasp of business strategy and be able to apply legal advice in a way that protects the company while enabling growth.
- Leadership and mentoring: Emphasize experience leading legal teams or mentoring junior counsel, demonstrating the ability to build and develop internal legal capabilities.
- Influencing and stakeholder management: Candidates should have a proven track record of working closely with senior executives and board members, driving decisions that align with broader business goals.
- Agility: In today’s legal landscape, agility is key. The ability to quickly adapt to changing laws, regulations, and business needs will set strong candidates apart.
Career growth and development
To appeal to senior legal professionals, highlight the potential for advancement within your organization. Showcase pathways to roles such as General Counsel or Chief Legal Officer and stress your commitment to continuous professional development. Providing opportunities to shape legal strategy and influence high-level business decisions will be particularly attractive to ambitious candidates.
Cultural fit and alignment
While technical skills are crucial, ensuring the candidate aligns with your company’s culture is equally important. A Legal Counsel must be a trusted advisor who works collaboratively with teams across the business. When advertising the role, emphasize how your company’s values—whether it’s innovation, integrity, or inclusivity—align with the type of leader you are looking to hire.
FAQs
The demand for experienced Legal Counsels remains high, particularly for those with strong commercial law, regulatory compliance, and risk management expertise. Many organizations are seeking candidates with cross-border legal experience as businesses continue to expand globally.
But how can you find this in demand talent? Our Talent and Market Mapping services use data to help you locate the best professionals, ensuring our searches find the best talent through data led marketing campaigns across job advertising, social media and pro-active headhunting.
To attract top-tier candidates:
- Offer competitive compensation: Benchmark salaries and bonuses to ensure your offers stand out in the market.
- Work-life balance: Legal Counsels often seek flexibility, so offering hybrid or remote work arrangements can be a significant draw.
- Development opportunities: Top legal talent is always looking to grow. Offering clear career progression, mentorship programs, and professional development resources will help you stand out.
- Company culture: Highlight the values that make your company unique. Senior professionals, particularly in legal roles, are looking for organizations that prioritize diversity, collaboration, and respect for the legal function.
The Robert Walters Group has long been an advocate of equity, diversity and inclusion. We believe a diverse workforce enables different views, opinions and ideas whilst mirroring the key stakeholders and customers all businesses work with. We help our clients to deliver diverse talent pools through:
- Developing diverse talent pipelines
- Creating inclusive job adverts
- Publishing actionable insights into ED&I in the workplace
Contact the team to learn more about how we can support your businesses goal with enhanced ED&I practices.
In Canada, Legal Counsel salaries generally range from $150,000 to $200,000 depending on experience, location, and the complexity of the role. Along with base salary, offering bonuses, equity, and strong benefits can help secure the best candidates.
By focusing on these elements in your job description and adverts, you’ll attract highly skilled Legal Counsel candidates who can drive your business forward with strategic insight and legal expertise.
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