Legal Counsel (Sports Media Rights)

We are Two Circles, the four-time Sport Industry Agency of the Year and the only company to be named in The Sunday Times 100 Fastest Growing Private Companies four years in a row (2022-25). We are a sports marketing, data and technology company.

We work with the biggest sporting organisations, brands and individuals across the sports industry, including the Premier League, NFL, ECB, F1, UEFA and Wimbledon. Working as an extension of their commercial teams, we help them grow direct relationships with fans to drive business growth. 

Data is at the centre of our approach. It starts with helping clients to get a better understanding of their customers and fans, and deliver insights that influence top-level decision-making. From there, we develop and integrate data technology solutions that harness the latest in data visualisation and machine-learning, create award-winning content to grow audiences, and provide digital marketing and rights-sales services that grow revenue across ticketing, premium, sponsorship and media.

Our creative approach and innovative ideas stand us out from the crowd.  In doing so, we break down the traditional barriers between sporting organisations and their customers.

We currently have a growing team of over 1,000 Two Circlers based in the UK, across Europe, North America and Australia.

Our Legal Team plays a key role in this fast-paced, high-growth and entrepreneurial organisation at the heart of the sports industry, enabling the business across all clients, teams and geographies.  This hire of a newly-created role as Legal Counsel (Media Rights) provides significant scope for career growth and personal development, with every day providing new opportunities to have a direct impact on cutting-edge sports and media matters, working with some of the world’s leading sports rights holders.

MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES

• supporting on legal aspects of Two Circles’ global media rights work on behalf of leading international sports rights holders, advising on high-profile media rights agreements and relevant regulatory/commercial issues
• acting as the primary legal point of contact on media rights for Two Circles’ women’s football projects, embedded in cross-functional teams (insights, sales, distribution and broadcaster servicing) to support rights holders across the full media rights cycle 
• developing wide expertise as a generalist in-house counsel and advising colleagues across other areas of law as required (including commercial contracts, data protection, IP, corporate, employment and regulatory) – we don’t expect you to be an expert in all these areas but an ambition to broaden your experience will be crucial
• leading impactful business change programmes, such as innovative implementation of legal tech as Two Circles continues to scale faster and further globally

• 1-3 PQE (applications outside of this PQE range may also be considered) gained in-house or in private practice (media/sport/technology teams) with strong drafting, negotiation, problem solving and analytical skills

• Qualified to practice law in England and Wales, Switzerland or other appropriate jurisdiction (having trained and qualified at a leading organisation)
• Strong commercial acumen with an ability to transfer legal knowledge into commercially and operationally oriented solutions
• Proactive with a strong sense of personal responsibility and with an ability to work autonomously on a wide variety of projects
• A demonstrable interest in the business of sport, familiarity with the sports broadcast landscape and a clear ambition to build a long-term career in sport
• Prior experience in the sale and/or acquisition of live media rights is advantageous
• Experience working in-house (including on secondment) or advising high-growth technology/media companies and a desire to take a hands-on approach for developing the business from within
• International legal experience in the US, Australia or mainland Europe and/or foreign language ability (French, Spanish or German) to a working professional standard is advantageous