Senior Legal Counsel

Want to join a fast-moving company, work among convivial teams, and take part in the global growth strategy of one of the most prestigious and comprehensive portfolios in the wine & spirits industry? We are looking for a Senior Legal Counsel – Global Litigation You will be based at The Island, our office in central Paris.

Your key missions:

• You will act as the central legal coordinator for significant litigation, arbitration and contentious matters involving Group Affiliates.
• You will provide strategic legal advice and litigation support to affiliates and management entities on high-risk and business-critical disputes and investigations.
• You will coordinate and oversee M&A-related litigation and contentious matters, including disputes arising from transactions, integrations, divestments or post-closing claims, in collaboration with the M&A, local legal and external counsel teams.
• You will develop and implement coherent litigation strategies in collaboration with local legal teams and external counsel.
• You will monitor and supervise the progress of significant litigation matters across the Group, ensuring appropriate escalation of legal, financial and reputational risks.
• You will maintain, coordinate and continuously improve the quarterly Group Legal Litigation Report, ensuring accurate, timely and consistent reporting of material disputes to senior management and auditors.
• You will coordinate periodic litigation reporting, including the preparation of summaries, legal risk assessments, key developments and management presentations.
• You will supervise relationships with external counsel involved in strategic disputes and support the selection, appointment and performance monitoring of external law firms, including billing and fees optimisation.
• You will support dispute prevention initiatives by identifying recurring litigation risks and recommending corrective actions, policies or best practices.
• You will assist affiliates in the management of pre-litigation situations, settlement discussions and alternative dispute resolution processes where appropriate.
• You will contribute to the development and implementation of Group litigation policies, governance standards and risk management processes.
• You will upskill and build a stronger litigation culture across BUs, HQ and MarketCos by promoting dispute prevention, early case assessment, improved litigation management practices, training and the sharing of lessons learned.
• You will promote knowledge-sharing and collaboration within the legal community through working groups, training sessions and litigation-focused forums.
• You will contribute to the harmonisation of litigation management tools, reporting systems and legal ways of working across the Group, in collaboration with the Legal Excellence team.

• You are a qualified lawyer or legal counsel with 8+ years of experience in international dispute resolution, litigation or contentious regulatory matters, acquired within a leading international law firm and/or the legal department of a multinational company.
• You have managed complex cross-border litigation, including M&A-related disputes or post-transaction claims, and coordinated external counsel across multiple jurisdictions. Experience in FMCG, consumer products, distribution-heavy industries or highly regulated sectors would be an advantage.
• You have proven and strong litigation strategy, dispute prevention and litigation management capabilities.
• You have excellent judgement and the ability to assess legal, financial and reputational risks.
• You have executive communication skills, including the ability to produce concise and impactful reporting for senior management.
• You are approachable and influential, able to interact effectively at all levels of the organisation.
• You are a strong collaborator, comfortable working within multinational and multicultural environments.
• You are highly autonomous, pragmatic and business-oriented.
• You are guided by strong ethics and values.
• You have excellent analytical and organisational skills.
• You have excellent English and French, both written and oral. Additional languages are a plus.

Wait, there’s more…

We offer you an outstanding and collaborative workplace that embodies our sharing & conviviality culture, the possibility to work remotely (up to 2 days a week), a very complete mutual insurance, an attractive compensation including profit-sharing, the possibility to train daily, employee events…

• the possibility to work remotely (up to 2 days a week)
• a very complete mutual insurance
• an attractive compensation including profit-sharing
• the possibility to train daily
• employee events…

Pernod Ricard is committed to offering