Legal Counsel, APAC

Estée Lauder Companies · Hong Kong

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Description

Overview:

The Legal Counsel, Asia Pacific provides practical, timely and business-oriented legal support across APAC and TRWW, with a focus on commercial contracts, day-to-day legal advisory, privacy and data protection. The role partners closely with business and functional stakeholders to manage legal risk, support commercial objectives, maintain legal templates and knowledge resources, and escalate complex or high-risk issues appropriately to senior legal leadership.

Key Responsibilities:

Contract Review & Management

• Independently review and approve legal documents (whether on ELC’s templates or not) including such as NDAs, service/procurement contracts, SOWs, commercial agreements, charity agreements, influencers/celebrity agreements, brand/event collaboration agreements etc for APAC and TRWW.
• Attend enquiries on contract terms, provide solutions on deviations from standard terms and tailor standard terms when necessary, based on project contexts.
• Lead the development, organization, and ongoing maintenance of the APAC Legal Contracts Templates Library and Regional Center of Excellence Projects.

Legal Advisory

• Independently provide practical and commercially pragmatic legal advice on day-to-day business matters, including commercial transactions, procurement/vendor engagement, marketing and promotional campaigns, retail operation and e-commerce, consumer complaints, leasing, and routine employment-related queries, with particular focus on Hong Kong, Macau and relevant APAC markets.

Risk Management & Judgment

• Identify material legal and compliance risks, provide commercially pragmatic recommendations, and articulate complex, sensitive, or high-risk matters and escalate to senior legal leadership where appropriate.
• Balance legal risk with business objectives and provide clear, solution-oriented guidance to stakeholders.

Privacy & Data Protection

• Support the Privacy Officer and senior lawyers in reviewing Privacy Policies and relevant data privacy related contracts, especially where deviations from standard terms occur.
• Monitor and organize key privacy regulations across APAC jurisdictions and contribute to the development of regional privacy compliance programs.
• Build and maintain a centralized privacy knowledge library in collaboration with relevant stakeholders.

 Legal Knowledge & Research

 Conduct legal research on regional laws, regulations, and industry practices to support business and legal decision-making; be able to utilize AI as tools to improve research efficiency with sound judgment.

• Build and manage legal databases, including key commercial terms, partner profiles, and jurisdictional insights.
• Support strategic legal initiatives by providing data-driven insights and documentation.

Stakeholder Collaboration

• Work cross-functionally with business units, compliance, privacy, and external counsel to ensure legal alignment with operational goals.
• Provide training and guidance to internal teams on legal processes, templates, and compliance requirements.

Corporate Governance & Entity Management (not primary focus but only if necessary) 

• Support corporate legal work for APAC affiliates, particularly in Hong Kong, Macau and Travel Retail Worldwide business, including coordination of shareholder and board resolutions, corporate filings, and statutory document preparation.

Qualifications

Key Requirements:

• 6 -10+ years relevant post-qualification or equivalent legal experience gained in a reputable law firm or in-house legal department working as an in-house legal professional

 • Prior experience in HK or APAC contract reviews and drafting, corporate work, privacy law etc.

• Qualified lawyer admitted in Hong Kong or another major common law jurisdiction in APAC preferred; exceptional candidate without practice license but with substantial relevant in-house legal experience may also be considered.

•  Strong drafting, negotiation, legal research and issue-spotting skills with diligence.

• Strong organization and coordination skills. Regional center of excellence will be a plus.

• Sound legal judgment and ability to provide practical, commercial pragmatic advice in a fast-paced business environment.

• Strong computer and word processing skills including Word, Excel, Power Point and Outlook; able to create, format and manage legal documents

• Ability to manage multiple stakeholders and matters across jurisdictions with minimal supervision and meet deadlines

• Fluent in spoken English, strong written English and Chinese skills

• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to work effectively in a matrixed regional organization.

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