Senior Trademark Counsel

Our focus in Legal is on high impact strategic business partnering, leveraging and strengthening our legal expertise whilst continuing to expand the powerhouses and focus on digital transformation.

Unilever's legal team has recently been awarded Most Innovative In-House Legal Team in Europe and In-House Legal Team.  We are at the forefront of innovation and digitalization with GenAI tools, data and Powerhouses shaping the future of how we work.  

Job Purpose:

The role of the Legal Group is to protect Unilever and help it to win by providing objective advice and creative legal solutions. 

As Senior Trademark Counsel, you will report directly to a newly created role of Head of Trademarks & Brand Protection based in London and will be an integral member of the global IP team.  You will work closely with IP colleagues around the world, as well as the Head of IP Operations, Head of Patents and Group Chief IP Officer.    

As Senior Trademark Counsel, you will provide comprehensive IP advice, risk management support and creative legal solutions to the business, with a focus on all aspects of global trademark portfolio management and enforcement, M&A, copyright, music, contract drafting and negotiation, domain name registrations, recoveries and acquisitions, as well as global litigation and negotiation.  Whilst the role will not have responsibility for designs, the candidate is expected to understand the principles around design rights and other ancillary IP rights, such as patents, know-how and trade secrets and to support on licensing, sponsorship and other marketing related agreements insofar as brand IP rights are concerned.   

You will also work with other lawyers and functional experts on other areas such as licensing, litigation, competition law, privacy, data and digital.  Close collaboration with global and NA lawyers across the business is a core part of the role.  You will be part of the NA legal community comprising a dynamic group of lawyers.

Core Responsibilities:

As a member of the global Trademark team, you will work with regional IP colleagues and other key stakeholders, as well as our external law firm partners and will be responsible for:

• Strategy: developing and implementing global and regional trademark strategies for the Power brands for which you are responsible in line with the business strategy and GAP. 
• Protection and Maintenance: all aspects of global trademark prosecution, including conducting global clearance searches, preparing global risk assessments for new and existing brands, opposition, cancellations, invalidity and other relevant trademark proceedings; advising on ancillary IP issues in brand campaigns (including copyright and music clearance and other forms of IP rights); managing global filing, maintenance and watching programs
• Enforcement: defensive and offensive IP disputes in N. America, including trademark and copyright infringements, unfair competition, passing off and infringement claims, including the preparation and review of pre-action letters, pleadings, witness statements and collation of supporting evidence, as well as conducting settlement negotiations.
• Brand Protection:  strategic advice and support on anti-counterfeiting and illicit trade enforcement activities, customs and law enforcement strategies, and expert guidance to our brand protection and legal colleagues on diversion issues.
• Commercial Contracts: drafting and negotiating agreements and other contracts in relation to Unilever’s and third parties’ IP, including licensing agreements, sponsorship and partnership agreements.
• M&A: advising on M&A activities, including due diligence, remediation strategies and integration, and post-closing activities.
• Domain Names: trade mark related domain name issues, domain name recoveries
• Business Partnering: acting as a  trusted business partner and provide timely, pro-active, IP counselling on all innovation areas, whilst identifying wider legal issues and notify legal colleagues, e.g. claims, competition risk, design rights, tax, compliance, marketing / regulatory / advertising law.
• Knowledge Management: knowledge of IP ownership structures; and manage and maintain accurate data for all contentious disputes and IP-related agreements. 
• Budget: forecasting, tracking, and controlling IP legal spend to stay within budgetary guidelines, ensuring that fiscal responsibility is practiced and demonstrated.
• Team Leadership: You will l have a proven track record as a mentor and coach to drive professional and personal development and build relevant expertise.
• IP Culture: You will raise the level of IP awareness across the business and lead regular trainings for your business partners to ensure the protection of all Company IP and compliance with our global standards and policies as needed.
• Emerging and Adjacent Areas: you will upskill and ensure awareness and training on emerging trends such as GenAI, pop culture, music rights.

Skills & Experience: what you need to succeed

• Juris Doctor degree from an accredited law school, with specialism (LLM) in Intellectual Property
• Bar admission: Be admitted to a US state bar. Admission in good standing to practice law in at least one U.S. state, and eligible to practice as in-house counsel in the State of New Jersey
• 5 years’ international global trademark portfolio management experience with a US law firm.  Additional experience working in a global FMCG or equivalent company preferred.
• Strong expertise and specialism in international trademark portfolio management and enforcement, brand protection, copyright law and practice, with proven experience in strategic portfolio management, litigation and commercial agreements.
• Strong organizational and prioritization skills to cope with multiple stakeholders, competing deadlines and priorities, with requests often at very short notice.
• Curious, flexible and purposeful leadership style with a willingness to learn and take on increasing degrees of responsibility and develop talent.
• Passion for high performance, and excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to think strategically about business growth, with a proactive approach to seizing opportunities and addressing challenges.
• Financial acumen and proven experience in budget management.
• Adaptable and flexible style with proven track record of embracing change.

Critical Standards of Leadership Behaviors

• PERSONAL MASTERY: Sets high standards for themselves. Has emotional intelligence to take feedback, manage mood and motivations, and build empathy for others.
• PASSION FOR HIGH PERFORMANCE: Generates intensity and focus to motivate people to deliver results at speed. Takes personal responsibility and accountability for execution and results.
• TALENT CATALYST: Invests in people – coaches individuals and teams to realize their full potential. Creates an inclusive climate, empowering everyone to be at their best.
• PURPOSE & SERVICE: Has humility, understanding that leadership is service to others, inside and outside Unilever.
• CONSUMER LOVE: Invests time inside and outside to understand the needs of consumers.
• BUSINESS ACUMEN: Creates sustainable growth with purpose, engaging different partners across the system for change.

Pay: The pay range for this position is $138,900 to $208,300. Unilever takes into consideration a wide range of factors that are utilized in making compensation decisions including, but not limited to, skill sets, experience and training, licensure and certifications, qualifications and education, and other business and organizational needs.

Bonus: This position is bonus eligible.

Long-Term Incentive (LTI): This position is LTI eligible. Benefits: Unilever employees are eligible to participate in our benefits plan. Should the employee choose to participate, they can choose from a range of benefits to include, but is not limited to, health insurance (including prescription drug, dental, and vision coverage), retirement savings benefits, life insurance and disability benefits, parental leave, sick leave, paid vacation and holidays, as well as access to numerous voluntary benefits. Any coverages for health insurance and retirement benefits will be in accordance with the terms and conditions of the applicable plans and associated governing plan documents.

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Unilever is an organization committed to diversity and inclusion to drive our business results and create a better future every day for our diverse employees, global consumers, partners, and communities. We believe a diverse workforce allows us to match our growth ambitions and drive inclusion across the business. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by local, state, or federal law and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability. 

For more information about your Federal rights, please see Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination isIllegal and Pay Transparency Non discrimination Provision.

Employment is subject to verification of pre-screening tests, which may include drug screening, background check, credit check and DMV check.

If you are an individual with a disability in need of assistance at any time during our recruitment process, please contact us at NA.Accommodations@unilever.com. Please note: This email is reserved for individuals with disabilities in need of assistance and is not a means of inquiry about positions or application statuses. The Protected Veterans or Individuals with Disabilities AAP narratives are available for inspection by any employee or applicant for employment Monday through Friday during normal business hours at establishment.