Principal Corporate Counsel

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Microsoft is on a mission to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. Our culture is centered on embracing a growth mindset and encouraging teams and leaders to bring their best each day. In doing so, we strive to create a technological platform that our customers and partners can rely on to create life-changing innovations that impact billions of lives around the world. You can help us achieve our mission.

Microsoft’s CELA (Corporate, External and Legal Affairs) is recruiting an experienced attorney to join its commercial legal team in Tokyo. CELA Japan is a highly-motivated, solution-oriented team with a diverse group of subject matter experts whose mission is to land Microsoft’s strategy in Japan and support its operations. One key focus of the team’s is providing legal and negotiation support for complex and strategic commercial transactions in Japan. There is an immediate opportunity for you – as a principal corporate counsel – to join this team that prides itself on collaboration, learning, energy, caring, and creating wins for both Microsoft and its customers. The successful candidate for this role will be a trusted legal advisor and partner for Microsoft’s business teams in Tokyo, its headquarters in the United States, regional headquarters in Singapore, as well as for other Microsoft business groups across Asia and beyond. This role is an individual contributor that will operate as part of cross-functional legal and business teams that together drive commercial deals and grow the business.

#CELA

Required/minimum qualifications

• Juris Doctor Degree or international equivalent degree AND 1+ year(s) experience as a practicing attorney
  • OR equivalent experience
• Active license to practice law in a jurisdiction and capable of meeting admission requirements in relevant jurisdiction
• Excellent written and spoken English and Japanese

Additional or preferred qualifications

• 5+ years’ experience as a practicing attorney.
• Experience as an attorney specializing in complex transactions, including transactions involving privacy and cutting-edge technology transactions, M&A, or related work managing complex transactions involving multiple stakeholders.
• In-house counsel experience a plus.
• Experience working across diverse teams and working in a multi-national company or other large complex organization is a plus.

Candidate Attributes:

• Ability to exercise independent judgment and decision-making in a dynamic legal and business environment.
• Commitment to personal and professional development.
• Curiosity for active learning, agility to respond to evolving market landscape and boldness to execute on initiatives.
• Strong interpersonal, collaboration and communication skills.
• Excellent written and spoken English, and ability to analyze complex business and legal issues and communicate in a clear and concise fashion.
• Experience dealing with diverse cultures and building strong client relationships.
• Ability to prioritize, work efficiently and meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment.

Legal Advice and Counsel

• Act as the local legal contact for Microsoft’s commercial organization responsible for global strategy and sales execution, by anticipating and addressing highly complex legal and business issues, and serving as a key business partner and advisor.
• Lead complex technology and sales transactions by developing negotiation strategies, creatively solving problems, coordinating across CELA and business team subject matter experts, utilizing outside counsel effectively, and guiding escalations to appropriate senior leaders in order to take smart and well-informed risks to meet customer needs.
• Stay informed of local laws, regulations, rules and other requirements relating to cloud, cybersecurity, privacy, AI and other cutting-edge technologies, and advise business clients and CELA colleagues accordingly.
• Communicate in a manner that advances negotiations and projects, creates clarity, utilizes and shares insights, and advances closure of open issues.
• Support the business teams in ensuring legal compliance and in providing solutions to mitigate risks.
• Provide expertise and lead efforts to build skills and scale for effective legal support of commercial engagements, for CELA Asia’s commercial legal community.

Representing Microsoft

• Actively participates in legal, work, or industry associations (e.g., presenting at meetings, conferences, hearings, consultations, assisting in planning or preparing presentations), and contributes to external outreach initiatives and recruiting. Develops positive relationships with external legal professionals, customers, or partners in an effort to protect and advocate Microsoft's interests. Coordinates with government affairs professionals to obtain alignment in policy strategy for public entities.

Culture

• Embrace challenges and take ownership for identifying opportunities and solutions, in a dynamic policy, commercial, and technology environment.
• Work with agility to ensure we focus on solving big problems in areas where we can have the greatest impact.
• Strive to be highly effective communicators through storytelling, and engage with diverse audiences, both internal and external.
• Work with empathy to understand the diverse perspectives of policymakers, customers, colleagues and others with whom we work.
• Support a collaborative team culture that draws fully on every team member’s strengths.