Description:
Job Description:What's the role
Shell is seeking a Trademark Legal Counsel (also known internally as Legal Counsel) to join its team in Houston, TX.
Shell's trademarks play a critical role in protecting the company's brand, reputation, and heritage. The Trademark Licensing & Portfolio team within Legal Services provides specialist legal advice on trademark portfolio management, licensing, and brand protection.
The Trademark Legal Counsel will support the management and protection of Shell's global trademark portfolio, including licensing activities and anti-counterfeiting efforts. This role requires providing commercially focused, outcome-driven, cost effective, and risk-based legal advice to businesses.
Accountabilities:
- Provide strategic, timely, practical, and commercially focused trademark advice in relation to portfolio management, licensing, and brand protection
- Support the management and development of Shell's global trademark assets, ensuring alignment with business strategy
- Advise Shell businesses, on trademark licensing
- Assist in anti-counterfeiting and enforcement strategies
- Support strategic, efficient and cost controlled trademark portfolios
- Identify and escalate legal, regulatory, and reputational risks, ensuring appropriate mitigation strategies are in place
- Collaborate with Commercial Legal team and business stakeholders, to deliver integrated legal support
- Monitor developments in trademark law and practice and communicate potential impacts to the business
- Contribute to knowledge sharing and capability building within the team
- Deliver high-quality trademark legal support across portfolio management, licensing, and enforcement matters
- Manage interactions with external trademark counsel for assigned matters, ensuring alignment with Shell standards, including effective use of external resources
- Ensure accurate and reliable trademark data and reporting, in coordination with portfolio management processes
- Draft and reviewing trademark-related agreements and documentation in line with legal and commercial requirements
- Support governance processes for trademark disputes and portfolio decisions
- Keep relevant stakeholders informed of key risks and developments
- Ensure that Shell's global trademark portfolio and licensing risks are identified and documents are appropriately drafted to reflect commercial decisions, consistent with professional standards, legal obligations, the Shell Code of Conduct, Shell General Business Principles, including the Shell Control Framework and IP Standard
What you bring:
- Must have legal authorization to work in the US on a full-time basis for anyone other than current employer
- Law degree and licensed to practice law in Texas
- At least 10 years of experience in trademark law, including trademark portfolio management, licensing, brand protection and trademark litigation
- Experience drafting and negotiating licenses, working with or managing external counsel, and service providers, and trademark litigation
- Demonstrated commercial acumen and risk-based decision-making
- Strong stakeholder management and communication skills, including ability to work across cultures and geographies
- Ability to handle complex trademark matters with appropriate supervision and escalate where required
- High level of integrity and commitment to ethical and compliant behavior, aligned with Shell values
- Proven ability to manage multiple priorities and deliver under pressure
- Strong ability in innovating and deploying technology and embracing and adapting through change
