CORPORATE LAWYER, INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT – 4+ YEARS’ PQE MINIMUM

CORPORATE LAWYER | INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT
4 YEARS' PQE MINIMUM AND ABOVE
FULLY REMOTE (MUST BE WITHIN UK)
PERMANENT ROLE

A unique opportunity to do something different with your legal career.
Are you a corporate lawyer with minimum 4+ years' PQE who is passionate about the games industry and interested in building something rather than simply joining another law firm?

We are working with an ambitious, fast-growing specialist advisory business serving independent games studios, publishers, entrepreneurs and businesses operating across the games industry. The business has built a distinctive proposition over its first four years, combining legal, finance and tax expertise under one roof. Its mission is to become the trusted long-term adviser to games entrepreneurs and independent studios, providing the quality of advice they would expect from leading professional services firms, but with a more accessible, responsive and commercially focused approach.
Following strong growth, an excellent client retention record and increasing demand for its services, the business is looking to appoint an experienced Corporate Lawyer to strengthen its existing legal team of 2 and play an important role in its continued development.

The Business: a different approach to professional services
Traditional law firms are often prohibitively expensive, overly transactional and insufficiently responsive for smaller, entrepreneurial games businesses. This business was established to challenge that model. Its integrated approach brings together legal, finance and tax advice, giving clients a single, trusted adviser who understands their business as a whole. Rather than providing isolated advice on individual transactions, the team works alongside founders and management teams throughout the lifecycle of their businesses – from incorporation and early-stage investment through publishing deals, commercial partnerships, growth and, ultimately, exit.
Their culture is based on three core principles:

• Exceptional quality: commercially sophisticated, technically excellent advice.
• High responsiveness: accessible, engaged advisers who genuinely understand their clients' businesses.
• Being nice humans: a collaborative, straightforward and supportive culture, without unnecessary hierarchy or corporate bureaucracy.

The firm has deliberately built a sustainable working culture. Responsiveness and client service are important, but not at the expense of excessive hours or personal wellbeing. Outside core hours, people are trusted to manage their own time and take responsibility for delivering excellent work.

The Opportunity
This is a genuinely hybrid role, combining the breadth and variety of private practice with the deeper client relationships and commercial involvement of an in-house legal position. You will work exclusively within the games ecosystem, advising a diverse portfolio of independent studios, publishers, developers, founders and specialist service providers.
Some relationships will be traditional external legal engagements; others will involve acting as a fractional in-house legal adviser, becoming closely integrated into a client's business and working alongside its leadership team.
A significant part of the role will involve taking responsibility for the corporate legal workload, working closely with the rest of the team, while helping develop and expand the corporate offering. There is also considerable scope to influence how the legal practice develops, build your own client relationships and establish a profile within the games industry.

While we are laser-focussed on candidates with prior specific corporate law expertise, including transactional, this is not a role in which you will be confined to a narrow transactional specialism. You will have the opportunity to apply your corporate expertise in a commercially engaged environment, alongside exposure to a broad range of commercial and operational legal issues.
Technical requirements – essential experienceWe are looking for a technically strong corporate lawyer with the experience and confidence to operate autonomously.

Essential Requirements

• Minimum 4 years' PQE and above, with strong corporate law experience.
• Deep technical expertise in corporate law, particularly advising private companies, founders and entrepreneurial businesses.
• Experience of early-stage and growth-company transactions, including investment rounds and equity financing.
• Strong experience drafting, reviewing and negotiating shareholder agreements and associated corporate documentation.
• Experience advising on company incorporations, corporate governance and company secretarial matters.
• Familiarity with SEIS, EIS, Advance Subscription Agreements (ASAs) and SAFE investment structures.
• Experience with EMI share option documentation and non-tax-advantaged share option arrangements.
• The ability to provide pragmatic, commercially focused advice, balancing legal risk against the wider objectives of the business.
• Confidence managing matters and client relationships independently, with minimal supervision.

Particularly relevant additional experience 

• In-house legal experience, ideally within technology, media, entertainment or gaming.
• Experience advising games studios, publishers, developers or other businesses operating in the games ecosystem.
• Understanding of games industry business models, including publishing, development, work-for-hire, IP licensing and revenue-sharing arrangements.
• Some experience across wider commercial legal matters, including intellectual property, employment, data protection and technology contracts.
• An established network of contacts within the games industry.
• Experience using AI tools effectively to enhance legal research, drafting and delivery.

The Ideal Candidate
Technical capability is fundamental, and personality and approach are equally important.
You will be someone who:

• Has a genuine passion for games and a demonstrable understanding of the industry.
• Enjoys working with entrepreneurs and commercially minded founders.
• Is confident making decisions and providing clear, actionable advice rather than simply identifying legal risks.
• Takes ownership, works autonomously and enjoys having responsibility.
• Is entrepreneurial and interested in helping grow a business, not simply servicing an existing client base.
• Has the commercial instinct and enthusiasm to identify opportunities, develop relationships and build a network of clients and referrals.

Business development is an important part of the opportunity, although there are no fee-generation targets. The priority is always excellent client service, with an expectation that you will proactively contribute to the growth of the business over time.

Why consider this opportunity?

This role offers a combination that is very difficult to find in the legal market:

• A genuinely different business model: join a disruptive, multidisciplinary advisory business bringing legal, finance and tax together.
• The best of both worlds: the variety of private practice combined with the deeper involvement and commercial perspective of in-house counsel.
• A specialist industry focus: work exclusively with independent games businesses and the people building them.
• Real influence: play a key role in developing the corporate legal practice and shaping the future direction of the business.
• Entrepreneurial environment: work directly with founders and decision-makers, with minimal hierarchy and bureaucracy.
• Autonomy and flexibility: fully remote working from anywhere in the UK, with flexible core hours and a culture built around trust and accountability.

Package and benefits

• Salary: attractive market rate, depending on experience and PQE.
• Performance-related bonus.
• Longer-term plans for an equity participation opportunity.
• Fully remote working within the UK.
• Flexible core hours.
• 25 days' annual holiday.
• Private medical insurance.
• Life insurance.
• Matched pension contributions up to 5%.
• A business games fund to support industry-related expenditure.
• A personal games fund for your own gaming interests.

Interested? If you are a corporate lawyer looking for greater autonomy, a more entrepreneurial environment and the opportunity to work at the heart of the games industry, this could be a particularly compelling next step.
For a confidential discussion, please email us your CV, salary and notice details to find out more.

The employer's identity will be disclosed to suitably qualified candidates at the appropriate stage of the process. Please note that due to the volume of applications we can only respond to candidates with the experience set out above.