Employment Counsel

Thomson Reuters is hiring a motivated and commercially minded employment lawyer as Employment Counsel for its Employment and Labor Group (ELG) on the Litigation Team within the General Counsel’s Office (GCO) (the legal department) to provide strategic, practical labor and employment support (advisory and litigation) across Continental Europe, UK, Middle East and Africa.  This role will counsel HR, Employee Relations, and business leaders across the company on a broad range of employment and labor issues in a fast-paced environment, including complex employee relations matters, investigations, reorganizations, legal disputes, and compliance initiatives, as well as provide strategic oversight of all employment and labor litigation in the applicable regions.

The position will be based in Barcelona, Spain.  It is a hybrid role split between office and remote work in accordance with the Company’s Flexible Work Policy (3 days in office, 2 remote).  The role will support Thomson Reuters leaders and employees across multiple jurisdictions, partnering closely with HR (including the new HR Director in Barcelona), Compliance, Privacy, Finance and the broader GCO team. The role also will partner closely with Reuters GMs and other key Reuters stakeholders co-located in Barcelona, and is an exciting opportunity to support Reuters in this growing and key location for Reuters global operations.   

About the Role

Major Responsibilities/Accountabilities

• Counsel and provide clear, practical, business-oriented guidance to HR and managers on day-to-day employee and labor relations issues including advising on labor and employment policies and practices that empowers the overall Thomson Reuters business.
• Advise on labor and employment issues that support Reuters to report the news and meet the needs of its customers. 

• Act as a trusted advisor to HR and business leaders globally, balancing legal risk with commercial objectives to enable business outcomes.
• Advise on union and works council issues, negotiations and dispute resolution.
• Partner cross functionally with HR and other internal teams on complex internal investigations into employment related matters, including potential noncompliance with company code of conduct/other policies as well as advising on inquiries/investigations by labor regulators, and work with HR and management to develop strategy, assess risk and guide outcomes. 
• Oversee and coordinate multi-jurisdictional legal strategy aligning internal stakeholders and supervising local counsel to ensure consistent, scalable approaches.
• Develop and execute litigation and pre-litigation strategy, including early case assessment, budgeting, and oversight of outside counsel in line with outside counsel guidelines.
• Select and oversee outside counsel globally and manage outside counsel spend.
• Provide guidance on employee performance management, discipline and terminations, as needed.
• Conduct legal reviews of proposed reductions in force and reorganizations, and advise on severance eligibility in accordance with local law and practice.
• Advise on compensation issues/plans and compliance with local wage and hour laws.
• Advise Reuters on best practices related to non-staff contributors (freelancers).
• Monitor legislative changes and advise on necessary policy or process changes.
• Advise on employment aspects of M&A transactions, including diligence, transaction structuring, employee transition planning and post-closing integration. 
• Advise on restrictive covenant agreements and related litigation.
• Advise on vendor/customer contract requirements impacting our employees.
• Advise on employee/independent contractor classification issues.
• Advise on pay equity laws and initiatives.
• Advise on HR and management training for various employment issues.
• Provide rapid, practical legal guidance in high-risk or crisis situations, including employee safety, workplace incidents, and sensitive reputational matters.
• Ensure compliance with the Trust Principles, which reflect Reuters commitment to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.
• Drive standardization and scalability by developing and maintaining playbooks, templates, and guidance materials to enable consistent decision-making.
• Leverage legal technology and AI tools to enhance efficiency, consistency, and insight in advisory and litigation work.

About You

Requirements

• Certification/Education: Law degree and currently licensed/qualified to practice law in Spain.
• Substantial (5-10+ years) relevant employment law experience, with in-house experience strongly preferred
• Ability to think strategically and creatively, to identify and resolve legal issues while mitigating risk and minimizing impact or disruption to the business.
• Possess highly developed organizational skills and be articulate, detail oriented and hard working.
• Possess strong work ethic, sound judgment, cultural fluency, and the ability to deliver practical advice across multiple jurisdictions, in fast paced environment often under tight timelines.
• A solutions-oriented self-starter who independently manages complex matters, anticipates legal and business risks, engages stakeholders proactively and drives initiatives end-to-end with minimal supervision. 
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to convey complex legal concepts and considerations in a concise, easy to understand manner.
• Ability to give clear, practical, and commercial legal advice that empowers the business.
• Ability to perform multi-jurisdictional legal research thoroughly and efficiently.
• Ability to collaborate with cross-functional team members and build rapport and trust with both internal and external stakeholders.
• Possess a high level of integrity and professionalism.
• Deep understanding of Reuters core values of independence, integrity, and freedom from bias.
• Fluent in English.

Desirable Skills & Experience

• Experience advising clients in technology and/or fast growth environments and/or news and media companies a plus.
• Understanding of copyright and intellectual property laws a plus.
• Written and verbal communication skills in additional languages besides English a plus.

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What’s in it For You?

About Us

Thomson Reuters informs the way forward by bringing together the trusted content and technology that people and organizations need to make the right decisions. We serve professionals across legal, tax, accounting, compliance, government, and media. Our products combine highly specialized software and insights to empower professionals with the data, intelligence, and solutions needed to make informed decisions, and to help institutions in their pursuit of justice, truth, and transparency. Reuters, part of Thomson Reuters, is a world leading provider of trusted journalism and news.

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. 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.

As a global business, we rely on the unique backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences of all employees to deliver on our business 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 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. More information on requesting an accommodation here.

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