LEGAL COUNSEL, INDIA
WOLTERS KLUWER GLOBAL LAW & COMPLIANCE DEPARTMENT
Wolters Kluwer OVERVIEW:
Headquartered in Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands, Wolters Kluwer N.V. is a market-leading global information services company, with 2023 annual revenues of €5.6 billion, more than 21,400 employees worldwide, customers in more than 180 countries and operations in more than 40 countries worldwide. Wolters Kluwer is an equal opportunity employer and committed to a diverse workforce. The Company’s shares are quoted on Euronext Amsterdam (WKL) and are included in the AEX and Euronext 100 indices. For additional information, see http://www.wolterskluwer.com.
Through its five global operating divisions (Tax & Accounting, Legal & Regulatory, Corporate Performance & ESG, Financial & Corporate Compliance and Health), Wolters Kluwer provides information, tools and solutions that help professionals make their most critical decisions effectively and improve their productivity. The Company operates under well-known brand names such as CCH®, CT Corporation, Kluwer Law International, Wolters Kluwer Health, Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins, UpToDate®, Ovid®, Health Language, TeamMate®, Lexi-Comp, Facts & Comparisons®, Medi-Span®, Wolters Kluwer Financial Services, Bankers Systems, Gainskeeper®, and ARC Logics.
POSITION LOCATION AND REPORTING STRUCTURE:
The individual will be based at one of Wolters Kluwer’s offices in India. The position will be expected to travel within India to meet with WK stakeholders, as well as customers and partners, and to attend court hearings pertaining to Wolters Kluwer’s businesses. The position will be part of the Wolters Kluwer Asia-Pacific Region Legal team and will report to the Managing Legal Counsel, India.
BASIC FUNCTIONS AND PRINCIPAL RESPONSIBILITIES:
This Legal Counsel will be a member of the Asia-Pacific Region legal team and will work closely with the senior management teams of several business units based in India. This position also will support other general commercial, corporate and contractual matters, and will advise on intellectual property, regulatory compliance and dispute matters.
Specific accountabilities and responsibilities are expected to include the following:
- Serve as legal advisor to Wolters Kluwer’s customer-facing Health and Tax & Accounting businesses in India, including direct negotiation of contracts with customers and vendors and advice on regulatory issues applicable to that business.
- Provide legal and compliance support to Wolters Kluwer’s India-based internal software-development and business-support functions.
- Advise people managers and India-based Human-Resources teams on issues pertaining to Wolters Kluwer’s 4,000 approx. employees in India.
- Manage external counsel supporting Wolters Kluwer’s businesses in India, including in the context of regulatory compliance, commercial transactions, employment law and real estate;
- Work closely with contract managers, corporate secretary and compliance professionals in India to ensure effective and efficient support for those functions;
- Providing comprehensive legal counseling regarding a broad spectrum of corporate, commercial, and intellectual property matters impacting the businesses, including matters and legal issues related to on-premise and cloud-hosted software and software-related services.
- Counseling on regulatory and compliance matters impacting the businesses.
- Helping to educate the business teams about Wolters Kluwer’s Code of Business Ethics and related policies, contracting forms, intellectual property rights and obligations, commercial and legal risks and internal contract review and approval procedures.
- Developing an in-depth knowledge and understanding of Wolters Kluwer, its people, organization, markets, products, customers, competitors and regulatory environment, in order to identify trends and provide high level legal/commercial advice to the businesses.
EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:
Candidates are required to have both a bachelor’s degree in law from a highly regarded, nationally recognized educational institution and be fluent in English. Proficiency in Tamil would be an asset. The successful candidate will have a minimum of seven (7) years of progressively responsible corporate/commercial legal experience, preferably including experience with both a top-tier law firm and an established corporate law department.
This experience should include negotiation of commercial contracts involving information technology, as well as support of a large workforce in India and advising managers and human-resources professionals on issues of labor and employment law. Experience with real-estate transactions also is desirable.
ESSENTIAL CAPABILITIES:
Fluent in English
Licensed to practice law in India.
Strong intellect, excellent legal acumen and rigorous analytical skills, including:
- demonstrated proficiency in accurately evaluating, understanding and translating complex legal concepts, and converting that understanding into customary contractual terms or, when needed for enforcement or defense in contested situations, pleadings;
- the willingness, talent and capability to be both an effective hands-on lawyer and a proactive manager of teams that may include internal cross-disciplinary business managers and outside counsel;
- significant, substantive and up-to-date knowledge of a wide range of commercial, corporate, employment and intellectual property-related legal subject areas, with particular legal skill in dealing with the intersection of intellectual property and contractual law; and
- sound and well-respected legal and business judgment.
Excellent legal drafting and negotiating skills, including competencies in:
- eliciting critical technical, financial and business information from diverse client constituencies (including business managers across all levels and positions/roles);
- understanding legal requirements and contractual provisions and their foreseeable, practical consequences, allowing management to make informed decisions regarding risk/compliance issues; and
- translating business objectives into clear, pragmatic and legally comprehensive and protective agreements.
A “can do” solutions orientation, supported by:
- eagerness to learn about the Wolters Kluwer’s businesses and their competitive landscape;
- thoughtful, practical and creative problem-solving capabilities; and
- the proven ability to manage and deliver execution of detailed, responsive actions, timely and reliably.
CANDIDATES ALSO SHOULD HAVE:
- The ability to grasp and facilitate business and financial objectives, both as a strategic contributor and as a “hands-on” lawyer, while providing objective, independent legal risk assessments and advice, consistent with Legal Team’s standards, and identifying alternative solutions where appropriate.
- Strong, proactive communications skills, including the demonstrated ability to translate into clear business terms and otherwise “demystify” complex legal concepts for less legally sophisticated client groups.
- Unquestioned integrity and ethics in business and personal conduct, including scrupulous respect for confidentiality in dealing with non-public, sensitive information.
- A proven track record of interacting well with, and influencing members of, business unit management teams.
- The experience and confidence to push for change and, when appropriate, to challenge the status quo, in a way that will be heard and respected.
