Responsibilities

People Management  

Managers deliver success through empowerment and accountability by modeling, coaching, and caring.

Model - Live our culture; Embody our values; Practice our leadership principles

Coach - Define team objectives and outcomes; Enable success across boundaries; Help the team adapt and learn

Care - Attract and retain great people; Know each individual’s capabilities and aspirations; Invest in the growth of others 

Legal Advice and Counsel 

Acts as the primary legal contact (generalist or subject matter expert) for large or high-impact business  groups; manages key multi-faceted and highly sensitive legal matters with Microsoft-wide impact and/or high external visibility.  

Serves as a trusted advisor and strategic business partner to senior executives and colleagues within and outside of Legal and Corporate Affairs by providing counsel and actionable advice on a broad range of interdependent issues (e.g., legal, business, public relations, government affairs, corporate image, Customer Partner Experience (CPE), cross-Microsoft issues) and the impact laws could have on their businesses; collaborates and advises on strategy to drive meaningful conversations grounded in in-depth awareness of Microsoft and its industry; partners with the business to create solutions that enable business performance.

Identifies and anticipates highly complex legal and other issues (e.g. geopolitical, country, reputational) and opportunities facing Microsoft and/or the industry, and leads the development of associated strategies and solutions.

Develops and leads strategic partnerships with outside counsel on critical and highly complex/visible issues as appropriate; maintains direct relationships with expert partners to address high-level business issues and achieve long-term business objectives. 

Drafts new and novel policies and agreements; negotiates a variety of transactional documents (e.g., procurement agreement, joint development deal, settlement agreements, inbound and outbound licensing); provides strategic guidance and coordinates with Legal and Corporate Affairs colleagues on partner transactions and negotiations; advocates Microsoft interests in transactions, litigations, and proceedings.

Reviews, interprets, and analyzes legal information; acts as an expert resource for primary legal practice area and is recognized as a proven internal and/or external expert; may also provide guidance of legal principles outside of primary practice area; strategically prioritizes resources devoted to the development and dissemination of legal analysis and information.

Ensures business is being conducted in a legally compliant manner and mitigates associated risks; advises and helps clients understand complex compliance issues; facilitates development of creative solutions to complex issues.

Serves as a role model and key resource for resolving issues and escalations, frames issues and recommendations to help others understand, and engages key Legal and Corporate Affairs colleagues and business stakeholders to ensure resolution and is considered a key resource by colleagues regarding making sound escalation decisions and engaging appropriately with Legal and Corporate Affairs colleagues. 

Representing Microsoft  

Takes a leadership role in industry or legal associations by proactively engaging with organizations, assuming a governance position (e.g., leadership role in a board or policy committee), and/or publishing content to help share Microsoft’s perspective; advocates Microsoft's policy objectives by gaining buy-in with external organizations; identifies opportunities for employees/team to be engaged.

Develops and strategizes positive relationships with external and internal legal professionals, academics, government officials, customers, and/or partners in an effort to protect and advocate Microsoft's interests; takes a leadership role (e.g., task forces) to drive results, influence, and advance business or policy objectives. 

Operational Excellence  

Proactively partners across internal groups to develop and advocate policies and best practices related to legal and regulatory issues; fosters communication, collaboration, and the sharing of best practices; proactively investigates and identifies tools and processes in use across the company.

Drives the adoption of and models new tools and processes; develops and leads operational excellence initiatives that significantly improve the quality, timeliness, and efficiency of projects; mentors and provides guidance to others to identify opportunities and tools to increase operational efficiency and effectiveness; performs compliance audits/assessments.

Sources and manages outside counsel and vendor resources strategically to maximize the efficiency of spending; develops budget for practice group or cross-group initiatives; works within and manages budgets for projects.

Leads and ensures all team members comply with confidentiality, attorney-client privilege, and security procedures.  

Communication 

Leads and encourages collaboration with the Legal and Corporate Affairs leadership team, Microsoft senior executives, and clients to ensure a coordinated Legal and Corporate Affairs voice on issues with Microsoft-wide impact or high external visibility.

Significantly improves decision making and conflict resolution by leveraging key stakeholders, including Microsoft senior executives, by simplifying and summarizing highly complex/multi-dimensional issues into actionable strategies and recommendations. 

Other  

Embody our culture and values 

Qualifications

Required/Minimum Qualifications 

Bachelor's Juris Doctorate Degree or Equivalent International Degree 

OR Completion of a Legal Apprenticeship. 

Active license to practice law in Japan and another jurisdiction. 

10+ years experience as a practicing attorney OR equivalent practice of law. 

Additional or Preferred Qualifications  

In-house counsel experience  

1+ years people management experience. 

Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws, regulations and ordinances. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or the recruiting process, please send a request via the Accommodation request form.