Call for applications: emPawa Africa junior lawyer

EmPawa Africa partners with independent African artists and labels in creating, promoting, and funding their art to the world while maintaining their economic and creative freedom.

The ideal candidate must possess a solid knowledge of intellectual property law and foundational knowledge of the music business landscape.

The successful candidate will report to the head of legal and will be responsible for managing all legal risks across the emPawa Africa group, drafting artist contracts and other standard agreements with external lawyers. They will also provide focused and general support to the wider internal A&R, client and operational teams.

This position is suited for someone who has a working knowledge of English Law and is an English speaker. The candidate must be qualified to practice in England and Nigeria or Ghana.

The application deadline is 12 May.

Duties

• Working with the head of Legal to ensure clearances of tracks.
• Drafting of third-party agreements.
• Supporting the wider team and responding to legal requests from them.
• Defending legal claims.
• Liaising with external counsel.
• Supporting the management team by handling the signature and the implementation of various short-form and long-form agreements and a range of side letters such as extensions, amendments and variations.
• Building and maintaining good relationships with contemporary external lawyers.
• Helping with administrative tasks and working on efficiency drives where appropriate.

Eligibility

The ideal candidate will have/be…

• Three-year PQE with relevant experience from a top music/entertainment private practice law firm and/or in-house role.
• Employment law experience and intellectual property law experience.
• Excellent research skills.
• The ability to function within an international legal team and operate autonomously when required.
• Strong and developed negotiation and drafting experience.
• Excellent communication skills (both verbal and written) and the ability to disseminate complicated legal and contractual principles to non-Business Affairs staff in a coherent and precise manner.
• Exceptional organisational skills and ability to prioritise workload in a role that can be pressurised.
• Confidence and drive will be important traits but applicants must have a team player and collaborative mindset.
• Attention to detail and an analytical and proactive/efficiency-driven thought-process.

Interested persons may apply here.