Company Counsel

Company Counsel

Are you passionate about helping advance high-quality research and publishing practices while providing practical legal guidance in a dynamic global environment?

Do you enjoy partnering with stakeholders to solve complex legal and ethical challenges, balancing risk with commercial objectives to achieve positive outcomes?

About the Role

As Company Counsel, you will report directly to the General Counsel, Content, and support Elsevier’s content acquisition teams. You will provide legal and transactional support across publishing ethics and research integrity, contracting, rights clearance, disputes, and compliance matters, helping teams navigate risk while enabling business objectives.

You will work closely with colleagues across the Legal Department and cross-functional business teams, delivering clear, practical advice and contributing to effective and consistent legal processes across the organization.

Responsibilities

• Advising on publishing ethics and research integrity issues, defamation, infringements, contract and other disputes, and related compliance matters.
• Developing and negotiating contracts with rightsholders, including identifying key risks, approval requirements and practical ways forward.
• Supporting content acquisition teams by assessing legal and reputational risks clearly and early, and balancing those risks with commercial needs.
• Developing and maintaining templates, training, processes and policies.
• Communicating advice clearly and professionally, with practical recommendations and realistic timescales.
• Identifying recurring issues and opportunities to improve guidance, standardisation and ways of working.
• Working with Legal Department colleagues and cooperating across cross-functional corporate business units and departments to timely achieve optimal results while minimising risk.

Requirements

• Qualified lawyer in UK or another recognised common or civil law jurisdiction.

• Previous experience in a law firm or an in-house legal department.

• Prior publishing or intellectual property experience preferred.

• Sound legal and commercial judgement, with the ability to assess issues, make recommendations and escalate with context and proposed solutions.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

• Ability to calmly and independently prioritize and execute tasks and demonstrate flexibility in a fast-paced environment.

• Team player/ willingness to develop new skills.

• Interest in and openness to developing AI fluency and leveraging technology to enhance legal service delivery.

• Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills.

• Requires business-level English.

• Work in a Way That Works for You

• We promote a healthy work/life balance across the organisation. We offer an appealing working prospect for our people. With numerous wellbeing initiatives, shared parental leave, study assistance, and sabbaticals, we will help you meet your immediate responsibilities and your long-term goals.

• Working Pattern

• Working flexible hours - flexing the times when you work in the day to help you fit everything in and work when you are the most productive.

• About the Business

• A global leader in information and analytics, we help researchers and healthcare professionals advance science and improve health outcomes for the benefit of society. Building on our publishing heritage, we combine quality information and vast data sets with analytics to support visionary science and research, health education and interactive learning, as well as exceptional healthcare and clinical practice. At Elsevier, your work contributes to the world's grand challenges and a more sustainable future. We harness innovative technologies to support science and healthcare to partner for a better world.

• We know your well-being and happiness are key to a long and successful career. We are delighted to offer country specific benefits. We are committed to providing a fair and accessible hiring process. If you have a disability or other need that requires accommodation or adjustment, please let us know by completing our Applicant Request Support Form or contact a provided number.

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• We are an equal opportunity employer: qualified applicants are considered for and treated during employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, national origin, citizenship status, disability status, protected veteran status, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law.

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• EEO Know Your Rights.

• About Us

• Elsevier is a global leader in advanced information and decision support for science and healthcare. We believe that by working together with the communities we serve, we can shape human progress to go further, happen faster, and benefit all.

• We support continuous discovery and uphold the highest standards of content integrity, reliability, and reproducibility so the communities we serve can advance their field of science, healthcare or innovation with confidence. By combining high-quality content with powerful analytics, we transform complexity into clarity and deliver mission-critical insights that help professionals make better decisions when it matters most.

• We deliver insights that help research institutions, governments, and funders achieve their goals. We help researchers discover and share knowledge, collaborate, and accelerate innovation. We help librarians provide verified, quality information to universities. We help innovators turn knowledge into new products. We help health professionals improve patient care and educators train the next generation of doctors and nurses. Connecting quality content and innovative technologies, we make progress go further and happen faster. And by championing inclusion and sustainability, we ensure progress benefits all.

• With 9,500 employees, over 2,300 technologists in 5 major tech hubs, and more than 60 locations across the globe, we are committed to supporting the scientific and healthcare communities around the world. We offer a diverse range of opportunities across technology, commercial, business, and early career jobs. If you are looking for a career that inspires progress in science, innovation and health, and allows you to grow every day, find your team at Elsevier.

• Elsevier is part of RELX Group.

• Let’s shape progress together. Join us.