Legal Counsel, Corporate Legal Affairs
01/12/2020

Tokyo-headquartered Bridgestone Corporation is the world’s largest manufacturer of tires and other rubber products as one in five vehicles in the world drives on our Bridgestone, Firestone or Dayton tires. We employ over 150,000 people around the world and sell our products in more than 150 countries. 

While our tire manufacturing, wholesale and retail businesses will continue to be the foundation of our company, we have embarked on a journey to exploit the opportunities that the evolving mobility ecosystem is offering. Our most relevant and sophisticated customers need products embedded in services, with sensors in vehicles, parts and stores, through applications and solutions. To answer these customers’ needs, we are building our digital technology platforms with a blend of services and products which we are developing in our Digital Garage, an open innovation platform, where Bridgestone Marketing, R&D, IT and our external partners work together to leverage on each other’s capabilities. 

Job Purpose:

The Legal Counsel, Corporate Legal Affairs provides front-line legal support and drives a culture of compliance for key central support functions and certain Bridgestone remote operations in the region, creates new and improves existing processes related to supporting these functions and businesses,  manages central support and corporate governance for entities in the BSEMIA structure and particularly, for entities in Belgium, all while serving as a part of the Bridgestone Corporation Global Legal Department. 

Description:

In this newly created position, the Legal Counsel will be responsible for the day-to-day activity of structuring and drafting commercial contracts to support HQ-based functions, including indirect procurement, logistics and supply chain management (LSCM), human resources, manufacturing, and finance (e.g. treasury and tax).  Serving as the primary point of contact for these functions and for certain remote operations (Bridgestone-entities in the BSEMIA geographic region, but outside of the operational reporting structure), the Legal Counsel will provide timely, practical and effective legal and compliance advice and guidance and will also support these clients as they navigate commercial disputes, including litigation. The Legal Counsel will also identify, develop and advance legal department processes, policies, tools and procedures to improve legal and compliance support in the region. 

This position will report to the Director, Corporate Legal Affairs and is based at BSEMIA’s headquarters in Zaventem, Belgium. Infrequent travel to legal meetings or another BSEMIA location may be required. 

Main responsibilities: 

Central Functions Support 

• Serve as a strategic business partner to multiple headquarters-based central functions including, but not limited to indirect procurement, logistics and supply chain management, human resources, manufacturing, and finance (e.g. treasury and tax) by providing timely, practical, and risk-balanced legal advice and support including, but not limited to: 
  • drafting, reviewing, and negotiating commercial contracts for the acquisition of goods and services across a wide variety of categories;
  • managing and resolving commercial legal disputes; 
  • providing on the spot, day-to-day advice as operational and strategic decision-makers require.
• Act as the “go to” legal resource for questions regarding Belgian law for other members of the legal department. 
• Maintain awareness of and communicate within the law department and to clients any changes or developments in relevant applicable laws and regulations, especially with respect to Belgian laws and regulations.
• Provide primary legal support to the subsidiaries of other Bridgestone business divisions (Remote Operations). 
• Organize, monitor and report to the BSEMIA legal leadership on the aggregate support provided by other BSEMIA attorneys to Remote Operations throughout the BSEMIA regions. 
• Represent BSEMIA on the Bridgestone Global Law Department Remote Operations Committee.  
   

Legal Operations

• Assess and evaluate current policies and procedures within her/his areas of responsibility and the BSEMIA law department and proactively identify and implement improvements on an ongoing basis. 
• Effectively manage the performance and costs of outside counsel, when retained, by establishing and achieving matter budgets, developing and implementing alternative fee arrangements and other cost-saving billing approaches, monitoring aggregate legal spend at the HQ level to ensure achievement of annual targets.
   

Corporate Governance

• Address all corporate formalities for all Bridgestone entities in Belgium  including, but not limited to, preparing materials for board meetings, drafting and filing company decisions and resolutions, nominations and dismissals, reviewing powers of attorneys and other corporate documents and by providing training to the legal representatives and directors of BSEMIA entities. Effectively direct and educate the department paralegal with respect to corporate formalities activities. 
• Drive a culture of compliance within the company generally, and assigned clients specifically, by monitoring activities, assessing risk and providing training and education in areas of compliance and demonstrating uncompromising ethics.
• Effectively use the company’s software platforms to support corporate governance efforts.

Required Qualifications:

• Belgian Master’s degree in law. 
• Fluency in English and Dutch and the ability to communicate professionally in French.
• Mastery of Belgian corporate and commercial law and regulations, good working knowledge of other European corporate laws and regulations. 
• Six to eight years of business law experience, preferably with at least three years experience at a large law firm, with previous experience drafting, negotiating and closing complex business transactions.
• Previous experience in identifying and resolving legal issues and risks quickly and effectively while providing advice in a fast-paced environment. 
• Able to offer pragmatic advice and solutions on short timelines with imperfect information and to act with agility to change course in the light of shifting priorities or changed circumstances. 
• Proven ability to prioritize competing tasks, plan and act on self-directed projects, build trust and relationships within the law department and with teammates in other functions and roles and engage effectively with teammates at all levels of the corporate structure. 
• Outstanding written and oral communication skills. 
• Commercial awareness, curiosity and humility are essential characteristics. 
• High level of business and personal ethics.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Preference is given to candidates with prior in-house experience.
• Excellent knowledge of MS Office Tools.

Bridgestone LEADERSHIP ESSENCE

Qualified candidates for this important position will further need to demonstrate the following:

• Establishes strategic direction and effectively communicates the vision:  Communicates a clear and inspiring vision for the business; drives competitive and innovative strategies and is able to generate alignment against the strategic direction
• Demonstrates business acumen to achieve results through others:  Understands, educates and applies the fundamental business concepts by which a company operates in order to deliver results and create a climate that fosters personal commitment to excellence
• Promotes and enhances company culture:  Champions the organization’s shared values and beliefs
• Effectively manages across cultures: Achieves effective collaboration, alignment, and communication across multiple dimensions of cultural diversity
• BOSS focused - serves the customers having the end users in mind:  Makes BOSS (end users) and their needs a primary focus of one’s actions; develops and sustains productive relationships with BOSS; leverages BOSS intimacy in the development of new products, services and competitive advantage
• Demonstrates self-awareness and emotional intelligence:  Recognizes one’s personal strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and limits.  Understands emotions and their effects
• Intellectually curious in support of learning agility:  Actively identifies new areas for learning; regularly creates and takes advantage of learning opportunities; uses newly gained knowledge and skill on the job and learns through their application
• Embraces and leads change and innovation:  Encourages different and innovative approaches to address problems and opportunities; facilitates the implementation and acceptance of change within the organization
• Identifies and develops organizational talent:  Attracts high calibre diverse talent , leads and guides others to accomplish organizational goals and objectives through on-going development and collaboration
   

Bridgestone BEHAVIORS

Qualified candidates for this important position will therefore need to demonstrate the following:

• Agility – to work in a matrix and complex environment where change happens at a rapid pace
• Courage – to share ideas, think out of the box
• Ownership – to see the bigger picture and take ownership by thinking and acting beyond the role