Legal Counsel

Legal Counsel

Location: Mexico City, Mexico

Reports to:  MD Mexico

Matrix reporting: Senior Counsel for Commercial, Distribution and Corporate matters of Chanel Legal Team based in Panama

Grado 13

Contract: Permanent, Full-time

Are you a legal expert in commercial and contract matters? Are you interested in compliance, data privacy, brand protection and labour law, and would you like to become part of our legal community? Then we look forward to receiving your application.

For our headquarters in Mexico City, we are looking for a Legal Counsel who will report to the Managing Director of Parfumerie Versailles, S. de R. L. de C.V. (“Versailles”), affiliate of Chanel in Mexico, with matrix reporting to the Senior Counsel for Commercial, Distribution and Corporate matters of the  Chanel Legal Team LATAM based in Panama (“Senior Counsel”). This will be the first appointment for a CHANEL in-house counsel in Mexico and as such you will be a self-starter prepared to handle a wide variety of matters.

What impact you can create:

You will be the first point of contact for all legal questions at Versailles acting as a business partner for CHANEL as well as for the other third-party brands handled by Versailles. As part of the CHANEL Legal Community, you will always be in close contact with the LATAM regional legal department based in Panama.

Your role:

• Provide legal support and advice for the business units with a focus on commercial and contract matters, taking over the responsibility to review and negotiate contracts with vendors, service providers and third-party brands.
• Support the Senior Counsel to review and negotiate retail and e-retail agreements for Chanel, and lease and shop fitting agreements for Chanel Boutiques.
• Provide legal advice to ensure compliance with local laws and regulations related to the products distributed by the company (including but not limited to import/customs regulations) to safeguard the legal and commercial interests of the company, through continuous monitoring and reporting of those laws and regulations impacting its operations.
• Ensure legal representation in court and out-of-court litigations.
• Draft and review local guidelines, procedures and policies in close collaboration with business teams and recommend improvements to enhance the effectiveness of internal controls.
• Support the Regional Compliance Officer LATAM with the local roll out of Global compliance policies, to track compliance KPIs and follow-up internal investigations locally.  
• Work in close collaboration with the Data Privacy legal team based in Panama and act as local Data Protection Officer (“DPO”). In addition, work with other corporate functions in Mexico (e.g. Finance, IT and HR) to ensure coordinated efforts in compliance, data privacy and governance matters.
• Develop and/or conduct legal training for employees when required.
• Collaborate closely with Senior Counsel, to maintain and update corporate records, including articles of incorporation, bylaws, and other official documents.
• Collaborate closely with Senior Counsel on the selection and follow-up of external counsel and legal budget, as appropriate.
• Assist the Brand Protection team based in Panama with the company’s brand protection enforcement and Anti-Diversion programme in Mexico.
• Provide input into affidavits, witness statements, statutory declarations, and other key documents to further the protection of IP rights in Mexico.

What you will bring to the role:

• A lawyer with at least 5 to 7 years of experience working in a senior role in a law firm and / or an in-house legal department.
• Good knowledge of commercial, contract and employment law (knowledge in data privacy, compliance, intellectual property, corporate, customs, consumer and competition law will be considered strong assets)
• Excellent communication and advisory skills
• Comprehensive understanding of economic contexts and negotiation skills
• Strong planning, organisational and analytical skills
• Tech savviness and innovative mindset
• Emotional intelligence
• Fluent communication skills in both Spanish and English (French will be considered a strong asset)

You are energized by:

• Fostering meaningful relationships & working in a highly collaborative environment 
• Enjoyment of a generalist advisor role as a legal business partner
• Broad variety of tasks and high level of autonomy
• Attention to detail
• Problem solving

What you will gain from this experience:

• Innovative and challenging projects and broad variety of tasks within an international environment.
• Being part of a legal community that cares for the development and success of one another
• Belonging to a Company that is committed to growth, improvement, and sustainability, in all areas.
• Opportunity to work with many people from different teams and disciplines.

At Chanel, we are focused on creating an inclusive culture that nurtures personal growth, contributing to collective progress. We believe the uniqueness of each individual increases the diversity, complementarity and effectiveness of our teams. We strongly encourage your application, as we value the perspective, experience, and potential you could bring to CHANEL.