[Legal Manager] @ International Sportswear Brand

About the Company

Our client is a leading global sports and lifestyle brand with a long history of innovation, design excellence, and performance. The company creates and markets footwear, apparel, and accessories that inspire athletes and everyday creators alike. With operations across all major markets, it fosters a dynamic and diverse workplace driven by creativity, collaboration, and sustainability.

In Japan, the brand continues to strengthen its market presence, empowering individuals and communities to reach their full potential through sport and active living.

Purpose

The Legal Manager will provide comprehensive legal support and strategic guidance to the Japan business, ensuring operations comply with both local regulations and global standards. This role combines hands-on legal execution with proactive partnership to enable sustainable growth and effective risk management.

Key Responsibilities

• Manage all day-to-day legal matters for the Japan entity, including legal consultation, contract drafting and negotiation, transaction structuring, and risk management.

• Review, draft, and negotiate a wide range of contracts with external partners, including licensing, wholesale, marketing, sponsorship, and service agreements.

• Provide timely and practical legal advice to business teams on a variety of issues, such as commercial transactions, consumer law, data privacy, and product liability.

• Support product quality and consumer service functions on product safety and recall matters, including handling consumer claims and incidents.

• Collaborate closely with regional and global Legal & Compliance teams, as well as external counsel, to ensure consistent legal alignment.

• Develop, maintain, and enhance internal legal policies, templates, and procedures to strengthen compliance and operational efficiency.

• Support process improvements and digital initiatives such as electronic contract execution and workflow automation.

• Deliver engaging legal and compliance training sessions to raise awareness and strengthen governance within the organization.

Experience & Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Law (required); advanced legal degree preferred.

• Minimum 5 years of experience as in-house counsel or at a law firm, ideally within an international or consumer-facing company.

• Experience in B2B legal work (B2C experience is a plus).

• Familiarity with contract management systems or legal operations preferred.

• Fluency in Japanese and business-level English required.