Position Title:  Counsel

Philip Morris International: Building a Smoke-Free Future

At PMI, we’ve chosen to do something incredible. We’re totally transforming our business and building our future on smoke-free products with the power to improve the lives of a billion smokers worldwide.

With huge change, comes huge opportunity. So, wherever you join us, you’ll enjoy the freedom to dream up and deliver better, brighter solutions and the space to move your career forward in endlessly different directions. 

Purpose of the Position:

Attorney who works with affiliate, regional and OC legal & compliance teams and PM Japan management to provide quality, business-centric and timely legal analysis, advice, representation, negotiation and documentation in a wide variety of PM Japan business activities and initiatives to enable PMI’s Smoke Free Future vision in Japan coherently with relevant laws and regulations and PMI positions. He/she will also support the Senior Counsel to implement departmental practices and objectives in Japan.

Accountabilities

• Partners with global subject matter experts, regional legal teams, the Senior Counsel and business colleagues to create proactive strategies designed to avoid or minimize exposure to legal liability.
• Helps business colleagues understand the risks and consequences of the given situation.  Effectively communicates the consequences and develops alternatives to manage identified risks.
• Efficiently gathers and distills relevant information from appropriate sources, identifies and analyzes legal issues and knows when to escalate them
• Drafts key documents, presents clear recommendations and ensures legal compliance as it relates to the noted areas of law.
• In coordination with External Affairs and with the supervision of the Senior Counsel, represents the company’s position before federal, state and local government agencies regarding the noted areas of law and support PMI’s harm reduction advocacy.
• Stays current with legal developments, best practices and benchmarks in the noted areas of law and assists business colleagues in implementing policies and procedures in response thereto.
• Participates in project teams, ensuring that their decisions and recommendations protect the legal interests of the affiliate and PMI and execute decisions to achieve objectives on a timely basis.
• Maintains a culture with a high degree of emphasis on dignity, respect, and inclusion.

Critical Skills:

• Subject to prevailing business needs and the Senior Counsel’s directions, acts as the first point of/primary legal contact for business colleagues with international and diverse background and assumes the role of the market’s subject matter expert in certain legal, governance, regulatory, risk and policy areas.
• Reviews and revises various commercial and corporate communications, including mass advertisements, personalized online consumer messages, and public statements.
• Reviews, drafts, revises and negotiates a wide range of agreements with customers, vendors, partners, distributors, resellers and other third parties, including software and intellectual property licenses, technology agreement, distributor, professional services, cloud, and other complex commercial agreements; both in English and Japanese.
• Multi-tasking; Effectively manages multiple tasks despite time constraints.
• Working knowledge of PBO-related practices to support PMI’s PBO model.
• Monitors legislative and regulatory developments in the region, which may materially affect the company.
• Understands business objectives, practices yellow-zone decision making, thinks through the practical implications, and anticipates future business and legal needs.
• Applies legal knowledge clearly and precisely, effectively communicating thoughtful and practical solutions.
• Maintains effective working relationships with outside counsel.
• Acts as a team player and role model for the legal function, encouraging collaboration and standards of excellence.

Requirements/Desired Profiles:

• Licensed to practice law in a locale where PMI operates, i.e., a Japanese qualified lawyer (Bengoshi).
• At least 8+ years of concentrated experience which demonstrate an in-depth knowledge and applied understanding of area of expertise; both in house and major law firm experience preferred.
• Thorough knowledge and extensive experience in the laws, which PM Japan frequently applies, including but not limited to, the Premiums & Misrepresentation Act, the Personal Information Protection Act, the Anti-Monopoly Act, and the Consumer Product Safety Act.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment, handle multiple, conflicting priorities while managing a substantial workload and client expectations.
• Experience of working successfully in a highly results-oriented and performance-driven environment with a focus on excellence.
• Ability to maintain an appropriate perspective regardless of the ambiguity, delicacy or pressure of a situation.
• Robust interpersonal, networking, public speaking, and writing skills, with the confidence and credibility to act quickly, communicate effectively with diplomacy and civility, and command respect of both internal and external audiences both in English and Japanese.
• Proven ability to think strategically and exercise sound judgment.
• Ability to perform on projects and see them to successful completion in an organized, efficient, and effective manner.
• Ability to work in a multi-disciplinary setting to achieve consensus.
• Extreme attention to detail.

WHAT WE OFFER

Our success depends on the men and women who come to work every single day with a sense of purpose and an appetite for progress. Join PMI and you too can:

• Seize the freedom to define your future and ours – we’ll empower you to take risks, experiment and explore
• Be part of an inclusive, diverse culture, where everyone’s contribution is respected; collaborate with some of the world’s best people and feel like you belong
• Pursue your ambitions and develop your skills with a global business – our staggering size and scale provides endless opportunities to progress
• Take pride in delivering our promise to society: to improve the lives of a billion smokers

PMI is an Equal Opportunity Employer.