THE ROLE

A standalone in-house commercial and compliance lawyer supporting other members of the global legal department and members of the Company with commercial and compliance matters, including drafting and negotiating contracts, preparing templates, advising on new initiatives, developing the Company’s compliance policies and procedures and addressing day to day compliance queries, supporting the litigation team, and all other incidental legal and compliance issues that may arise in the Company’s business in Asia.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Providing support to the business in the general commercial practice of the global Legal Department, including the drafting and negotiation of contracts for auction, private treaty and retail sales, as well as various commercial contracts.
• Providing general commercial advice on any matters relating to Sotheby’s business, including corporate matters, licensing requirements, digital activities and any new initiatives.
• Updating template contracts, conditions of business and any client facing documentation as and when required.
• Handle a workload across Asia region, supporting the Sotheby’s Group’s activities primarily in Hong Kong, and also in Singapore, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Indonesia and Mainland China, and liaising with external counsel and the Legal Department in London and New York as necessary.
• Assisting other Asia business to deal with non-standard legal and related commercial matters as and when they arise.
• Draft and maintain global compliance policies and procedures in conjunction with the global Compliance Department, address day to day compliance enquiries within Asia.
• Provides relevant training and coaching for appropriate employee groups.
• Supporting the global Litigation team as required.
• Supervising outside law firms and managing external legal budget

IDEAL EXPERIENCE & COMPETENCIES

For the vacancy the successful candidate will:  

• Preferably have 10+ years post qualification experience in commercial law and compliance work in HK.
• Prior exposure to PRC related deals, contracts and commercial documentation required.
• Preferably some experience in dealing with/qualifications in additional legal jurisdictions (such as UK and/or New York).
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, a team player with the ability to develop working relationships on a global scale.
• Ability to deal directly with a variety of internal and external clients in a purposeful and constructive manner and build relationships within the Company to enable the Legal Department to advise and assist with fulfilment of the Company’s aims.
• ‘Can do’ attitude to deal with tasks both complex and small.
• Ability to manage projects independently.
• Possess good planning, organizational and time management skills.
• Native fluency in English with Chinese (Cantonese and Mandarin) language skills, including ability to read and write traditional and read simplified Chinese required.