Explore the possibilities across our global house of brands.
Defined by inclusivity rather than exclusivity, Tapestry embraces the exploration of individuality and invests in helping you grow personally and professionally. Every individual in our global house has the opportunity to make an impact, learn and be part of our growing and unique story.
At Tapestry, we have the freedom to express ourselves and run with our best ideas across Coach and Kate Spade New York. We share a profound belief in both our individual and collective potential, and know that with hard work and dedication, anything is possible.
Position Summary
The Senior Manager, Legal is responsible for legal review, day-to-day legal advice, IP enforcement, compliance, privacy, dispute management and corporate governance for all brands (currently Coach and Kate Spade) under Tapestry Japan (TPRJ) and Coach Korea (CK). This role works closely with the Tapestry Inc. (TPR) Law Department, external counsel, law enforcement authorities such as Customs and the Japanese police, and internal business teams.
This role serves as the key legal partner to the Japan and Korea functional leaders. The Senior Manager owns the risk agenda, sets legal standards and processes, and develops junior team members. The role is expected to make independent judgment calls on moderate-risk matters and escalate to the Sr. Director, Legal when exposure is material or the issue is novel.
The position is based in Tokyo and supports the Coach Korea business remotely, working with the local team and Korean external counsel. Occasional travel (TBD – quarterly basis) may be required.
Key Responsibilities
Listed in order of priority.
1. Legal Advice, Contract Review and Contract Management
- Provide timely, practical legal advice to internal clients across business operations, including retail, e-commerce, digital, marketing, merchandising, real estate, supply chain and HR matters.
- Draft, review and negotiate contracts for execution, and approve routine agreements within delegated authority.
- Own the contract review workflow end to end, including intake, completion tracking, database maintenance, and advice on renewals, expirations and termination timing.
- Develop and maintain standard templates, playbooks and negotiation positions so routine work can be handled consistently by the team and, where appropriate, by the business.
- Select, instruct and manage external counsel, including scope, budget and quality of deliverables.
2. IP Enforcement and Brand Protection
- Design and execute the brand protection program for Japan and Korea with legal team members and interns, and set annual priorities and budget.
- Protect each brand through web and marketplace monitoring, takedowns, customs seizures, support for police investigations, civil and criminal actions, and internal education.
- Manage relationships with Customs, police, Union des Fabricants, other brand protection partners, industry associations and regulators, and report program results to the TPR Law Department.
- Oversee the trademark and design portfolio for the region in coordination with global IP counsel, including filings, oppositions and enforcement strategy.
3. Compliance, Privacy and Legal Risk Management
- Own the ethics and hotline program for TPRJ and CK, including program maintenance, hotline monitoring, and internal investigations with HR and the TPR Law Department.
- Advise on compliance projects, including the Specified Commercial Transactions Act, the Act against Unjustifiable Premiums and Misleading Representations, the Subcontract Act, competition law and anti-bribery requirements.
- Own the regional privacy and data protection program under Japan’s Personal Information Protection Act and equivalent Korean requirements, including privacy policies, processing records, new data uses, marketing and vendor transfers, data subject requests, and personal data incidents with the TPR Law Department.
- Maintain and deliver compliance and privacy training as needed, including new-hire sessions and periodic refreshers for store and office management.
- Maintain the regional legal risk register, monitor legislative and regulatory developments in Japan and Korea, and report emerging risks and mitigation plans to local leadership and the TPR Law Department.
- Manage disputes, claims and customer or landlord escalations in coordination with external counsel.
4. Corporate Governance
- Control the company seal and maintain the related registers and approval records.
- Maintain commercial registry documentation, and prepare board and shareholder materials, including minutes and resolutions, with external advisors.
- Maintain regional corporate policies and delegation of authority, and keep them aligned with Tapestry Inc. global policy.
5. People Management and Team Leadership
- Supervise, coach and develop junior legal staff and interns, allocating work appropriately and providing timely instruction and feedback.
- Set team objectives, manage workload and prioritization across Japan and Korea, and deputize for the Sr. Director, Legal when required.
- Manage the Legal Intern Program, including recruitment, training, work allocation and evaluation.
Work Relationships
- Inside the company: CEO and Japan and Korea leadership teams, Operations, Retail, Marketing, Merchandising, Finance, HR and other internal clients, and the Tapestry Inc. Law Department.
- Outside the company: law firms, Customs, police, Union des Fabricants, brand protection partners, industry bodies and regulators.
Education and Experience
- Law degree required; admission to the bar of any jurisdiction, or a law degree from a US law school, is a plus.
- 8 or more years of legal experience, in-house or at a law firm, with experience in the retail, consumer or service industry a plus.
- At least 2 years of experience supervising or developing junior staff, or clear readiness to do so.
- Experience at a US or other international, bicultural company is strongly preferred; experience supporting Korea or the wider Asia-Pacific region is a plus.
Skills
- Strong command of Japanese law, particularly company law, commercial and consumer law, data privacy and intellectual property.
- Broad practical knowledge across contracts, compliance and corporate legal work, with the judgment to distinguish material risk from noise.
- Demonstrated anti-counterfeiting and brand protection experience, including enforcement actions with external counsel and authorities.
- Excellent communication skills in both Japanese and English are a must; Korean is a plus.
- Strong legal analysis skills, with the ability to spot issues early, present options and make clear recommendations to senior business leaders.
- Ability to initiate, own and complete projects, processes and policy improvements on time with limited supervision.
- Working knowledge of AI tools and legal technology, such as contract lifecycle management, e-billing, e-discovery, IP or brand protection platforms, and generative AI assistants, is a plus.
Competencies
- Strategic thinking and business judgment: frames legal issues in commercial terms, anticipates risk and sets priorities for the function.
- Develops talent: coaches and grows junior team members, delegates meaningful work and builds capability beyond the individual.
- Influence and communication: earns trust with senior stakeholders, gives a clear point of view and communicates persuasively across cultures and levels.
- Drives results: takes end-to-end ownership, acts decisively and delivers with attention to detail under competing demands.
- Collaborates across the enterprise: partners with internal clients as a service-minded business partner and works effectively with the global Law Department and regional teams.
- Learns and adapts: knowledge-driven, curious about new tools and ways of working, and flexible and practical when conditions change.
- Acts with integrity: committed to excellence, fair competition and the highest ethical standards, and models them for the team.
Equal Opportunity Statement
Tapestry, Inc. is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer. We hire and develop the best people based on qualifications and position requirements. Employment decisions, including recruitment, hiring, promotion, compensation, transfer, training, discipline and termination, are made without regard to age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic characteristics, race, color, creed, religion, ethnicity, national origin, alienage, citizenship, disability, marital status, military status, pregnancy, or any other legally protected basis under applicable law.
Our Competencies for All Employees
Courage: Doesn’t hold back anything that needs to be said; provides current, direct, complete, and “actionable” positive and corrective feedback to others; lets people know where they stand; faces up to people problems on any person or situation (not including direct reports) quickly and directly; is not afraid to take negative action when necessary.
Creativity: Comes up with a lot of new and unique ideas; easily makes connections among previously unrelated notions; tends to be seen as original and value-added in brainstorming settings.
Customer Focus: Is dedicated to meeting the expectations and requirements of internal and external customers; gets first-hand customer information and uses it for improvements in products and services; acts with customers in mind; establishes and maintains effective relationships with customers and gains their trust and respect.
Dealing with Ambiguity: Can effectively cope with change; can shift gears comfortably; can decide and act without having the total picture; isn’t upset when things are up in the air; doesn’t have to finish things before moving on; can comfortably handle risk and uncertainty.
Drive for Results: Can be counted on to exceed goals successfully; is constantly and consistently one of the top performers; very bottom-line oriented; steadfastly pushes self and others for results.
Interpersonal Savvy: Relates well to all kinds of people, up, down, and sideways, inside and outside the organization; builds appropriate rapport; builds constructive and effective relationships; uses diplomacy and tact; can diffuse even high-tension situations comfortably.
Learning on the Fly: Learns quickly when facing new problems; a relentless and versatile learner; open to change; analyzes both successes and failures for clues to improvement; experiments and will try anything to find solutions; enjoys the challenge of unfamiliar tasks; quickly grasps the essence and the underlying structure of anything.
Our Competencies for All People Managers
Strategic Agility: Sees ahead clearly; can anticipate future consequences and trends accurately; has broad knowledge and perspective; is future oriented; can articulately paint credible pictures and visions of possibilities and likelihoods; can create competitive and breakthrough strategies and plans.
Developing Direct Reports and Others: Provides challenging and stretching tasks and assignments; holds frequent development discussions; is aware of each person's career goals; constructs compelling development plans and executes them; pushes people to accept developmental moves; will take on those who need help and further development; cooperates with the developmental system in the organization; is a people builder.
Building Effective Teams: Blends people into teams when needed; creates strong morale and spirit in their team; shares wins and successes; fosters open dialogue; lets people finish and be responsible for their work; defines success in terms of the whole team; creates a feeling of belonging in the team.
Tapestry is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer and we pride ourselves on hiring and developing the best people. All employment decisions (including recruitment, hiring, promotion, compensation, transfer, training, discipline and termination) are based on the applicant's or employee's qualifications as they relate to the requirements of the position under the consideration. These decisions are made without regard to age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic characteristics, race, color, creed, religion, ethnicity, national origin, alienage, citizenship, disability, marital status, military status, pregnancy, or any other legally-recognized protected basis prohibited by applicable law.
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