Senior Legal Counsel

Job description

The Company Decimal Data Group develops and supplies a range of B2B technology, sports data and market infrastructure solutions to licensed betting operators, gaming businesses, financial institutions and other regulated organisations worldwide. Its products include official sports data services, pricing models, trading and risk management solutions, betting technology, market infrastructure, exchange technology, APIs and related software platforms, together with innovative event-based market and trading solutions for regulated markets. As the group continues to expand internationally, enter new regulated markets and grow its portfolio of proprietary technology and official data rights, it is hiring its third lawyer. The successful candidate will take ownership of the commercial contracting, support the advisory work that underpins the group’s growth and protect its legal, contractual and intellectual property interests. The Role The Senior Legal Counsel will be responsible for the contracts through which Decimal supplies data, technology and market infrastructure to customers, together with the rights, advisory and disputes work that sits outside compliance. The role combines commercial contracting, official data rights and intellectual property, technology and data protection law, and regulatory legal advice across multiple jurisdictions. It sits within the Legal & Compliance team (who are based in London) and will report into the Head of Legal. The role works alongside the Head of Compliance & MLRO, who is responsible for the compliance and financial crime framework and its operation. The Senior Legal Counsel will be responsible for legal advice, contracts, rights and disputes, acts as the first point of legal contact for the Commercial, Product, Technology and Finance teams, and will supervise junior legal team members and external providers as the function grows. There are no direct reports on appointment and the position is hands-on. Commercial Contracts & Vendor Agreements Lead the drafting and negotiation of the commercial agreements through which Decimal: (a) supplies data, technology and market infrastructure to customers; and (b) procures goods and services. Responsibilities include: Drafting, negotiating and closing data supply, software licence, SaaS, API and managed service agreements with licensed betting operators, gaming businesses and financial institutions, supporting the Commercial team from non-disclosure agreement and term sheet through to signature. Negotiating reseller, distribution, integration, technology partner and supplier agreements, including hosting, data and infrastructure procurement. Advising on commercial terms including pricing structures, minimum guarantees, revenue share, service levels, liability caps, indemnities, exclusivity and termination rights. Negotiating information security obligations, audit rights and incident terms in customer and supplier contracts. Building and owning Decimal’s template agreements, standard terms and negotiation playbooks, and advising on interpretation, renewals, variations and exits across the existing customer base. Official Data Rights & Intellectual Property Protect and commercialise Decimal’s official data rights and proprietary technology. Responsibilities include: Advising on and negotiating official data rights agreements with sports governing bodies, leagues, federations and other rights holders. Ensuring the rights granted onward to customers remain within the scope of the head rights agreements, and identifying where they do not. Advising on database rights, copyright, confidential information and the contractual protections available for sports data in each relevant jurisdiction. Protecting proprietary pricing models, trading algorithms, exchange technology and software, including ownership, assignment and open source questions, and the intellectual property terms of development, integration and joint venture arrangements. Advising on unauthorised use, scraping and redistribution of Decimal’s data, supporting enforcement action where it is commercially justified, and managing the trade mark and domain name portfolio. Regulatory Support on the legal analysis that supports Decimal’s entry into and operation in regulated markets. Responsibilities include: Advising on gambling, betting and gaming legislation in the jurisdictions in which Decimal supplies or intends to supply. Producing legal analysis to support new market entry, including B2B and supplier licensing requirements, permitted activities and restrictions on the supply of data and technology, and tracking the regulatory change that affects them. Instructing, managing and controlling the cost of local counsel across multiple jurisdictions, and converting their advice into practical guidance the business can act on. Ensuring contracts allocate regulatory risk appropriately between Decimal and its customers, including licensing warranties, territory restrictions and suspension rights. Data Protection, Technology Support the business on the legal aspects of data protection, contributing to Decimal's wider data protection framework. Responsibilities include: Advising on UK GDPR, EU GDPR and equivalent legislation as it applies to Decimal’s products, customers and internal operations, including impact assessments, records of processing, retention and data subject rights requests. Drafting and negotiating data processing agreements, controller to controller terms and international transfer mechanisms. Advising Product and Engineering on the legal requirements applying to new features, integrations and the use of machine learning or automated decision making. Supporting the response to personal data breaches, including notification analysis, regulator correspondence and customer communications. Disputes, Risk & Corporate Governance Help manage legal risk, contentious matters and the governance of the group’s corporate entities. Responsibilities include: Managing contractual disputes, debt recovery, intellectual property enforcement and regulatory challenges, including pre-action correspondence, settlement negotiation and instructing external counsel where required. Supporting corporate matters including group structure, entity incorporation, intra-group agreements, board minutes, resolutions and statutory filings, together with key employment documentation. Supporting corporate transactions, including due diligence, disclosure and transaction documents on acquisitions, investments and strategic partnerships. Experience & Qualifications Essential: Qualified solicitor in England and Wales, or in another common law jurisdiction with equivalent in-house experience. 4-6 PQE, gained in private practice and/or in house. Substantial experience drafting and negotiating technology, data or software licensing agreements independently, from first draft through to signature. Experience advising a business that operates across multiple regulated jurisdictions. Sound commercial judgement, including the ability to give a clear answer on risk and to recognise what genuinely needs to be escalated. Experience in gambling, betting, gaming, sports data or sports rights.