Legal Counsel

Want to do the best work of your life? With 24 million customers in 6 countries, make your mark at Europe’s leading media and entertainment brand. A workplace where you can proudly be yourself; our people make Sky a truly exciting and inclusive place to work. 

This is a great opportunity to be part of the Litigation, Anti-Piracy and Intellectual Property team in Sky’s in house Legal Department. The team of 10 (including this role) are responsible for all dispute resolution advice across the Sky business and deal with all UK commercial litigation (civil and criminal).  We also play an increasingly important role in devising and overseeing anti-piracy strategies, including civil litigation and criminal prosecutions, as well as the more strategic use of litigation to fight piracy.  Further, we are responsible for the SKY Group’s trade marks, patent and designs portfolios worldwide and protect Sky’s IP in all courts, as well as providing subject matter expertise on all intellectual property matters. 

In particular, your role will primarily be focussed on supporting Sky’s fight against piracy through taking legal action to combat the illegal use of Sky’s content, as well as on general commercial litigation, including media and customer litigation, general risk management, contractual dispute resolution advice and guidance. Ideally, you would also be able to offer support to the IP side of the team.

The role will offer a wide variety of cutting-edge work and provide first-class opportunities for development and growth, both within the team and more broadly across the department.

What you’ll do:

• Assist with anti-piracy work, including actively managing actions and cases against pirate services (including private criminal prosecutions) and assisting with novel court applications brought by Sky to tackle piracy.
• Advise on contractual analysis and general commercial litigation, as well as IP, and in particular copyright law.
• Provide advice on contract drafting and other matters at pre-contractual stage, with a view to protecting Sky’s position and minimising risks of disputes.
• Review, analyse and summarise legal and commercial documentation.
• Advise Group Security function on a variety of issues affecting Sky’s brand, technology and content protection issues.
• Contribute to team training, knowhow, professional development initiatives and coach and developing others (eg. our trainee) as appropriate.

What you’ll bring:

• Strong dispute resolution skills, including in depth contentious experience and, ideally, intellectual property (copyright) training.
• Excellent communication and negotiation skills, both in writing and face-to-face.
• Commercial approach with an ability to engage with internal clients across Sky’s business and devise creative solutions.
• Ability to think critically and take a strategic approach in order to protect Sky’s business.
• A positive 'can do' attitude, an open inquiring mind and plenty of initiative.

Team overview:

Legal

As a team, we pursue the highest standards and demonstrate commitment, integrity and judgement. We exist to add real value by sustainably providing the highest quality business-focussed legal expertise that keeps Sky competitive. Through our work we help to bring better content and innovation to all of our customers, better connecting them to more of what they love. Our vision is to create the Legal team of the future, together – operating at the heart of Sky, famous for adding value.

The Rewards:

There's one thing people can't stop talking about when it comes to #LifeAtSky: the perks. Here’s a taster:

• Sky Q, for the TV you love all in one place
• The magic of Sky Glass at an exclusive rate
• A generous pension package
• Private healthcare
• Discounted mobile and broadband
• A wide range of Sky VIP rewards and experiences

How you'll work:

We know the world has changed, and we want to offer our employees the chance to collaborate at our unique office spaces, whilst enjoying the convenience of working from home.

We've adopted a hybrid working approach to give more flexibility on where and how we work. You'll find out more about what this means for this role during the recruitment process.

Your office base:

Osterley:

Our Osterley Campus is a 10-minute walk from Syon Lane train station. Or you can hop on one of our free shuttle buses that run to and from Osterley, Gunnersbury, Ealing Broadway and South Ealing tube stations. There’s also plenty of bike shelters and showers.

On campus, you’ll find 13 subsidised restaurants, cafes, and a Waitrose. You can keep in shape at our subsidised gym, catch the latest shows and movies at our cinema, get your car washed and even get pampered at our beauty salon.

At Sky we don’t just look at your CV. We’re more focused on who you are and your potential. We also know that everyone has a life outside work, so we’re happy to discuss flexible working.

We are a Disability Confident Accredited Employer, and welcome and encourage applications from all candidates. We will look to ensure a fair and consistent experience for all and will make reasonable adjustments to support you where appropriate. Please flag any adjustments you need to your recruiter as early as you can.

Apply now to build an amazing career and be part of a brilliant team. We can’t wait to hear from you.

To find out more about working with us, search #LifeAtSky on social media. A job you love to talk about.

Just so you know: if your application is successful, we’ll ask you to complete a criminal record check. And depending on the role you have applied for and the nature of any convictions you may have, we might have to withdraw the offer.