Senior Legal Counsel

About the role: 

 

We are seeking a highly skilled and experienced Senior Legal Counsel to join our dynamic legal team.  

The ideal candidate will have a strong background in commercial legal negotiations and legal operations. This role leads the management of material contractual risks for Astroscale Holdings Inc. (the “Holdings”) and its subsidiaries (the “Entities”) using a cloud-based contract lifecycle management (“CLM”) platform and AI-based software. He or she will lead the global legal harmonization as the lead CLM administrator with a strong support from the other members of the OGC team. 

This position requires access to export-controlled information from Japan, the UK, US, France, and Israel. The candidate must be eligible to handle such information under the licenses and permissions obtained by Astroscale, in compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

 

Key Responsibilities: 

• Legal Operations: Drive the enhancement of the Group’s legal activities as the lead CLM administrator. Lead inter-group collaborations in global legal procedures by creating global office templates with Entity Legal teams. Maintain a list of key IP terms and harmful contractual terms in the Group’s material contracts in the CLM.
• Commercial Legal Activities: Draft, negotiate and review contracts for the Holdings and certain Entities. Supervise, advise and collaborate with the other members of the OGC team on legal and internal policy reviews. 
• Legal Advice:  Conduct and provide quality legal research and advice to the teams (in English and Japanese, in writing and verbally) on a variety of other commercial legal issues such as employment and personal information.
• Contractual Risk Analysis and Management: Review, assess and control legal risks for material contracts for the Holdings and the Entities (eg mission agreements, launch service agreements, NDAs, teaming agreements, licensing agreements, procurement agreements etc.
• Global Legal Harmonization: Engage in discussions with internal and external representatives and stakeholders on commercial legal matters. 
• Others: Undertake such other duties and projects as may be assigned by the General Counsel in furtherance of the objectives of the Holdings and the Group. 

 

Essential Skills 

• Attorney qualification from Japan or an English-speaking jurisdiction.
• Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) or Juris Doctor (J.D.) with a minimum of 8 years of experience (at least a few years at a reputable law firm with a minimum of 5 years of in-house legal experience).
• Expertise in commercial contracts, including reviewing, drafting, advising, negotiating and template creation in both English and Japanese, with excellent legal analysis, issue spotting and risk assessment skills.
• Continuous improvement mindset, with an objective to enhance legal operations through CLM and process reviews.
• Strong knowledge of international compliance regulations.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to lead discussions in cross-functional and international teams. Supervising and provide feedback to juniors.
• Keen attention to detail in drafting while effectively navigating complex and time-sensitive legal matters. 
• Exceptional multitasking and prioritization abilities, ensuring timely task completion while balancing independence and teamwork (including seeking guidance when necessary).
• Proactive, open-minded, and solutions-oriented approach to intellectual and professional challenges. “Can-do” attitude for intellectual and professional challenges. Ability to manage projects, act proactively and provide solutions in time.
• Experience in dynamic, multinational environments, particularly in fast-growing and evolving organizations. 

 

Desirable skills 

• Work experience in export control, national security or manufacturing business.
• Experience in intellectual property matters. 
• Knowledge or experience in space law. 
• Experiences in litigation and corporate transactions. 

 

Location  

Sumida-ku, Tokyo