Jobs in Paston

Legal Counsel

Location: Norwich, Norfolk
Permanent | In‑House Legal

About the Role

We are seeking an experienced Legal Counsel to provide high‑quality, commercially focused legal advice across the Group. This is a pivotal, business-facing role supporting senior stakeholders on complex commercial contracts, legal risk management, and governance..

You will act as a trusted advisor to executive leadership, leading and developing the in-house legal function while delivering pragmatic, solution‑oriented legal support in a fast‑paced commercial environment.

Key Responsibilities

Legal Risk & Strategic Business Advisory

Provide clear, pragmatic legal and commercial advice to executive management and operational teams.
Proactively identify, assess and mitigate legal, regulatory and contractual risk.
Develop and maintain a robust legal risk management and governance framework aligned to legislation and Group policy.
Deliver legal training and guidance to managers on key legal and regulatory topics.
Manage disputes and oversee external legal spend proportionately.
Commercial Contracts (B2B & B2C)

Draft, review and negotiate a broad range of complex commercial contracts, including:

Sales and procurement agreements
Services contracts and framework agreements
SLAs, NDAs, terms & conditions and bespoke arrangements

Advise on contractual risk, liability, indemnities, pricing mechanisms and commercial protections.
Partner with Procurement, Marketing and Operations on non-standard or innovative contractual solutions.
Embed effective contract management and governance practices across the business.
Essential Requirements

Qualified Solicitor (England & Wales) or equivalent.
Law degree (2:1 or above).
Significant post-qualification experience gained in-house and/or private practice.
Strong experience drafting and negotiating complex B2B and B2C commercial contracts.
Demonstrable experience providing practical legal advice to senior stakeholders.
Commercially astute with proven ability to manage legal risk in a commercial, fast‑paced organisation.
 
Confident working autonomously as a trusted legal advisor.
Why Join Us?

Broad, senior in‑house role with real influence.
Exposure to both commercial matters at Group level.
Collaborative, professional working culture.
Flexible and hybrid working arrangements.
Competitive Salary Package
33 days Holiday (inclusive of bank holidays)
Private Healthcare
Salary sacrifice benefits – enjoy perks such as pension, cycle to work, electric car purchase, and additional annual leave, while potentially reducing your tax and NI contributions
Generous Employee Product Purchase Discount Scheme
Pension – with up to 4 x salary & income protection, with the option to potentially save on tax and National Insurance via our salary sacrifice arrangement
Life Assurance of up to 4 x basic salary (subject to qualifying criteria)
If you are a commercially minded lawyer looking for a broad and impactful in-house role, we would love to hear from you. Be a part of our journey and help shape the future of our company with your legal expertise!

Our Company is committed to monitoring & aligning its Policies with up-to-date Government guidance on reducing the spread of respiratory infections in the workplace. Through the Company’s value of “Succeed Together” we are committed to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. We recruit the ‘best person for the job’ regardless of any protected characteristics as defined by the Equality Act 2010 creating an inclusive working environment and culture for our employees