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JOB DESCRIPTION

Trainee Solicitor

BBC Legal Division

Organisational Context

The BBC Legal Division is responsible for developing and implementing the BBC's legal strategy and for providing legal advice to the BBC. The Division is made up of the following departments: Programme Legal Advice; Intellectual Property; Workplace and Information Rights; Employment; Litigation and Commercial Legal (encompassing Fair Trading, Competition and Technology/Engineering Legal). Its purpose is to enable the BBC to deliver content that enriches people’s lives through the provision of high quality, business-focused, trusted legal advice.

BBC Commercial Rights and Business Affairs (CRBA) is a separate team providing tailored legal advice directly to the business supporting production and commissioning teams across the organisation whether in Television, Radio, News, Sport, Film or Future Media. Immersed in the business, CRBA is an integral part of delivering BBC output for a variety of audiences.

BBC Studios is the newest arm of the BBC and is responsible for the production of television programmes that provide distinctive, world-class content for a global market.

BBC Worldwide Limited is the main commercial arm and a wholly-owned subsidiary of the BBC. BBC Worldwide exists to support the BBC public service mission and to maximise profits on its behalf. It does this through investing in, commercialising and showcasing content from the BBC in the UK and around the world.

Introduction to the job

We wish to recruit four trainee solicitorsto work with the BBC’s Legal and Business Affairs teams in London. The trainees will rotate through four six month placements. All trainees will complete a seat with the IP team which advises and acts in respect of the protection and enforcement of the BBC’s intellectual property rights and provides advice on all aspects of intellectual property law across all parts of the BBC Group. In addition trainees will complete two commercially-focused placements, probably with BBC Worldwide and CRBA, and a contentious seat, likely to be in a private practice firm.

Main responsibilities

The postsare offered as two year fixed-term contract rolesand the trainees will be exposed to a wide variety of legal activities within their training contract, leading to qualification with the SRA as a solicitor. Under close supervision these tasks may include:

  • Completing legal research and providing advice notes on a variety of legal and commercial topics to internal clients.
  • Providing drafting, negotiation and contract management for a wide range of deals.
  • Providing corporate legal support generally.
  • Helping generate, revise and develop precedents, training and other documentation.
  • Investigating and advising on claims of infringement in relation to trade marks, passing off, copyright, confidential information, programme formats and patents.
  • Advising on all aspects of IP matters including those arising from online matters and brand and IP protection.
  • Drafting contract and Court documentation.
  • Assisting senior lawyers in bringing and defending High Court and County Court proceedings.
  • Liaising with external lawyers providing advice to the BBC
  • Assisting mitigation of legal, contractual and business affairs risk.
  • Working with relevant colleagues to ensure that all deal making is consistent with BBC policy and guidelines, rights frameworks and the BBC’s fair trading commitments.

Trainees will be required to complete the Professional Skills course during their training contract (funded by the BBC).

Person Specification

All applicants must have completed their LPC before the contract start date in September 2017. In addition the ideal candidate for this position will have:

  • A sound understanding of English contract law.
  • Experience of corporate legal and/or company secretarial matters. This experience may be satisfied through the completion of the corporate elements of the LPC.
  • Knowledge of and demonstrable interest in IP and media law.
  • Knowledge of the structure, objectives and values of the BBC and Broadcasting issues generally.
  • Experience of undertaking legal research.
  • Computer literacy, an interest in the internet and new technology and familiarity with variety of online public and proprietary legal databases (eg PLC, Lexis Nexis, etc).
  • Commercial awareness
  • Excellent written and oral communication skills
  • Ability to identify potential issues in advance and develop pragmatic commercial solutions.
  • Ability to work collaboratively within a small team.
  • Strong eye for detail and effective time-management and self-scheduling skills.
  • A can-do attitude, willing to support other members of the legal team where appropriate.
  • Enthusiasm for developing new knowledge and skills.

Competencies

The following competencies (behaviours and characteristics) have been identified as key to success in the job. Successful candidates are required to demonstrate these competencies.

Drive (Delivering Results)Can maintain personal effectiveness by managing own emotions in the face of pressure, setbacks or when dealing with proactive situations. Can demonstrate an approach to work that is characterised by commitment, motivation and energy when dealing with all types of work including routine or repetitive tasks

Planning and organising - Ability to work under pressure and to work independently, to be self-motivated and to establish an efficient and appropriate course of action for self and others. Prioritises and plans activities taking into account all the relevant issues and factors such as deadlines and resources.

Communication - able to get one’s message understood clearly by adopting a range of styles, tools and techniques appropriate to the audience and the nature of the information.

Influencing and persuading - able to present sound and well reasoned arguments to convince others. Can draw from a range of strategies to persuade people in a way that results in agreement or behaviour change.

Managing relationships and team working - able to build and maintain effective working relationships with a range of people. Works co-operatively with others to be part of a team.

Flexibility – adapts and works effectively with a variety of situations, individuals or groups. Able to understand and appreciate different and opposing perspectives on an issue, to adapt an approach as the requirements of a situation changes, and to change or easily accept changes in one’s own organisation or job requirements.

Analytical thinking - able to simplify complex problems, processes or projects into component parts explore and evaluate them systematically.

Resilience – Can maintain personal effectiveness by managing own emotions in the face of pressure, setbacks or when dealing with proactive situations. Can demonstrate an approach to work that is characterised by commitment, motivation and energy when dealing with all types of work including routine or repetitive tasks.

Disclaimer

A job description is a written statement of the essential characteristics of the job, with its principal accountabilities, incorporating a note of the skills, knowledge and experience required for a satisfactory level of performance. This is not intended to be a complete, detailed account of all aspects of the duties involved.

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