Senior Counsel, Reuters News

Role Summary

Thomson Reuters is hiring a global media lawyer/litigator to support Reuters News and its broader businesses. The role will be based in New York.

This role offers a unique opportunity: the media litigator will advise, around the world, on laws affecting newsgathering and publication, data gathering and distribution, privacy, and intellectual property rights and will advocate for Thomson Reuters’ interests in disputes and litigation, including the rights of journalists. 

Thomson Reuters provides legal, tax, accounting and compliance professionals with the tools and information they need to empower people and decision-making. Its news and media business, Reuters News, is the world’s leading international news agency, reaching more than one billion people every day and delivering real-time, award-winning news coverage to news and media organizations, brands, and consumers. Reuters covers a broad range of topics, including business, politics, finance, sports, and technology. The hallmarks of Reuters’ journalism are speed, impartiality, and insight.

This media lawyer will join the Litigation team in the Thomson Reuters General Counsel’s Office, and will collaborate with colleagues within and across practice groups.

About the Role
In this opportunity as a Senior Counsel, your Major Responsibilities / Accountabilities will be:

• Advise Reuters journalists in 160+ locations worldwide on laws affecting publication and distribution across all content types (text, video, pictures, graphics)—including defamation, privacy and newsgathering.

• Conduct pre-publication review of news content in a fast-paced environment.

• Advise on issues concerning the physical, digital, and emotional safety of our journalists, many of whom are reporting from higher-risk areas and/or on higher-risk subject matter.

• Counsel on copyright and other intellectual property matters, including enforcement of Thomson Reuters’ IP rights.

• Respond to legal demands and challenges, defend against subpoenas and other third-party requests for information.

• Advocate for the interests of business partners in disputes and oversee litigation filed by and against Reuters globally.

• Ensure compliance with the Thomson Reuters Trust Principles, which reflect our commitment to integrity, independence and freedom from bias.

• Advise business partners on editorial-related legal issues.

• Track global legal developments affecting journalists, news/information publication, data collection/distribution, and freedom of expression.

About You

You're a great fit for the role of Senior Counsel if you have:

• Law degree (or equivalent/conversion) and current practicing lawyer (current bar admission/practicing certificate).

• Significant post-law school experience managing disputes/litigation and advising clients in news, media, information, or technology industries.

• Demonstrated ability to give timely, clear, and practical legal advice.

• Adaptable and prepared to contribute to areas outside core expertise.

• Strong work ethic with ability to work independently, prioritize, and problem-solve in the face of uncertainty.

• Ability to communicate across diverse geographies and cultures and to thrive as part of a global team.

• Ability to effectively select and manage external counsel around the world.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English.

• High level of integrity and professionalism.

Preferred Knowledge, Skills, and Experience

• Deep understanding of Thomson Reuters’ core values of independence, integrity and freedom from bias

• Significant understanding of media law and ethics and the news and media industry

• Prior in-house legal experience

• Solid background in intellectual property, especially copyright

• Written and verbal communication skills in languages in addition to English

• Experience working across countries and cultures

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What's in it For You?
You will join our inclusive culture of world-class talent, where we are committed to your personal and professional growth through:

• Hybrid Work Model: We’ve adopted a flexible hybrid working environment (2-3 days a week in the office depending on the role) for our office-based roles while delivering a seamless experience that is digitally and physically connected

• Wellbeing: Comprehensive benefit plans; flexible and supportive benefits for work-life balance: flexible vacation, two company-wide Mental Health Days Off; work from another location for up to a total of 8 weeks in a year, 4 of those weeks can be out of the country and the remaining in the country, Headspace app subscription; retirement, savings, tuition reimbursement, and employee incentive programs; resources for mental, physical, and financial wellbeing.

• Culture: Globally recognized and award-winning reputation for equality, diversity and inclusion, flexibility, work-life balance, and more.

• Learning & Development: LinkedIn Learning access; internal Talent Marketplace with opportunities to work on projects cross-company; Ten Thousand Coffees Thomson Reuters café networking.

• Social Impact: Ten employee-driven Business Resource Groups; two paid volunteer days annually; Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) initiatives for local and global impact.

• Purpose Driven Work: We have a superpower that we’ve never talked about with as much pride as we should – we are one of the only companies on the planet that helps its customers pursue justice, truth and transparency. Together, with the professionals and institutions we serve, we help uphold the rule of law, turn the wheels of commerce, catch bad actors, report the facts, and provide trusted, unbiased information to people all over the world.

In the United States, Thomson Reuters offers a comprehensive benefits package to our employees. Our benefit package includes market competitive health, dental, vision, disability, and life insurance programs, as well as a competitive 401k plan with company match. In addition, Thomson Reuters offers market leading work life benefits with competitive vacation, sick and safe paid time off, paid holidays (including two company mental health days off), parental leave, sabbatical leave. These benefits meet or exceeds the requirements of paid time off in accordance with any applicable state or municipal laws. Finally, Thomson Reuters offers the following additional benefits: optional hospital, accident and sickness insurance paid 100% by the employee; optional life and AD&D insurance paid 100% by the employee; Flexible Spending and Health Savings Accounts; fitness reimbursement; access to Employee Assistance Program; Group Legal Identity Theft Protection benefit paid 100% by employee; access to 529 Plan; commuter benefits; Adoption & Surrogacy Assistance; Tuition Reimbursement; and access to Employee Stock Purchase Plan.

Thomson Reuters complies with local laws that require upfront disclosure of the expected pay range for a position. The location(s) for this role include one or more of the following metro locations: Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, Washington, DC. The base compensation range for the role in any of those locations is $173,300 - $321,800. The base compensation range in other locations may vary. This role may also be eligible for an Annual Bonus based on a combination of enterprise and individual performance. Base pay is positioned within the range based on several factors including an individual’s knowledge, skills and experience with consideration given to internal equity. Base pay is one part of a comprehensive Total Reward program which also includes flexible and supportive benefits and other wellbeing programs.

Do you want to be part of a team helping re-invent the way knowledge professionals work? How about a team that works every day to create a more transparent, just and inclusive future? At Thomson Reuters, we’ve been doing just that for almost 160 years. Our industry-leading products and services include highly specialized information-enabled software and tools for legal, tax, accounting and compliance professionals combined with the world’s most global news services – Reuters. We help these professionals do their jobs better, creating more time for them to focus on the things that matter most: advising, advocating, negotiating, governing and informing.

We are powered by the talents of 26,000 employees across more than 70 countries, where everyone has a chance to contribute and grow professionally in flexible work environments that celebrate diversity and inclusion. At a time when objectivity, accuracy, fairness and transparency are under attack, we consider it our duty to pursue them. Sound exciting? Join us and help shape the industries that move society forward. 

Accessibility 

As a global business, we rely on diversity of culture and thought to deliver on our goals. To ensure we can do that, we seek talented, qualified employees in all our operations around the world regardless of race, color, sex/gender, including pregnancy, gender identity and expression, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, citizen status, veteran status, or any other protected classification under applicable law. Thomson Reuters is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer providing a drug-free workplace.

We also make reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities and for sincerely held religious beliefs in accordance with applicable law.

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More information about Thomson Reuters can be found on https://thomsonreuters.com.