Senior Legal Counsel (Journals)

Location: Hybrid role based within commuting distance of the Milton Park office, with in-person collaboration three days per week or more.

Company

hirify.global is part of Informa, a FTSE 100 academic publishing, business intelligence, knowledge, and events business; Taylor & Francis publishes scholarly journals, books, e-books, and reference works.

What you will do

• Lead legal support for the Journals business and build effective relationships with senior leadership and stakeholders across Editorial, Production, Marketing, Commercial, and Product/Technology functions.
• Identify and manage legal-risk projects end to end, including responses to legislative and policy changes affecting operations.
• Advise on complex intellectual property, copyright, AI licensing, and IP policy matters.
• Draft, negotiate, and advise on customer, publishing, author/editor, distribution, agency, supplier, and IT/technology contracts.
• Advise on pre- and post-publication content issues and disputes involving copyright, defamation, and privacy; lead third-party dispute resolution.
• Instruct external counsel, manage external legal costs, oversee junior legal team members as required, and collaborate with lawyers in the UK, US, and Singapore.

Requirements

• Qualified lawyer with around 6 years or more of post-qualification experience; PQE is a guide only and applicants at other levels may apply.
• Experience building effective working relationships with senior commercial stakeholders in a business.
• Strong understanding of intellectual property and copyright law, with demonstrable experience advising on and finding pragmatic solutions to complex copyright and licensing issues.
• Demonstrable experience managing and resolving legal disputes to an effective solution.
• Strong commercial judgment and ability to balance business needs with legal risk through constructive, business-focused advice.
• Excellent interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain complex legal issues clearly to non-legal audiences.
• Ability to take ownership, work independently, lead issues and projects, and prioritise proactively.

Nice to have

• Experience advising on copyright issues in an AI context.
• Professional qualification in intellectual property.
• Experience instructing external counsel and managing external legal costs.
• In-house and/or publishing industry experience.

Culture & Benefits

• Maternity cover for up to 12 months within a collegiate, supportive legal team.
• Flexible hybrid working with work-from-home or remote flexibility when not working in an office or workplace.
• 25 days of annual leave, a birthday day off, three additional discretionary holiday-season days, and four paid volunteering days annually.
• Company-funded single-cover private medical insurance, life assurance, optical and medical care, and a 24/7 employee assistance programme.
• Share Match plan, pension scheme, and emphasis on work-life balance, wellbeing, inclusion, and flexible working.

Hiring process

• Applications close on Friday 27 November 2026.
• Applicants can contact recruitment@tandf.co.uk to request adjustments or support during the application process.