Head of Legal Affairs

The France Head of Legal Affairs at Microsoft is a strategic leadership role responsible for shaping and executing Microsoft’s legal strategy in France and overseeing all legal matters across France. This person will also be a key contributor to EMEA’s overall legal strategy. The France Head of Legal Affairs serves as a strategic and legal advisor to the France business, working together with the business on achievingsuccess and accelerating AI transformation at scale.  

The role requires a seasoned legal professional with deep expertise in technology, corporate, commercial and public sector legal matters, including French public procurement law, as well as fluency in the French and European regulatory contexts. In addition, the candidate must demonstrate team leadership capabilities. 

The France Head of Legal Affairs will manage a team of legal professionals located in Paris. This team is responsible for supporting legal and regulatory matters, reviewing new business models, removing legal blockers and supporting the business in accelerating consumption of Microsoft services, AI  in particular, evangelizing the use of AI in the transformation of the legal profession, and for supporting transactions with public sector customers.  

Central to the role will be deep partnerships with internal Microsoft teams and with our customers and partners in France in order to inform and ground the work of our Microsoft Corporate External and Legal Affairs team (CELA) more broadly. Proactive engagements with customers will be . The Head of Legal Affairs will be the primary point of contact on legal and regulatory matters for the France Business Leadership Team.  They will collaborate closely with the France Global Affairs lead and be a member of the CELA EMEA Legal Affairs Leadership Team.  They will also partner closely with the Regional Deal Team to ensure clear allocation and consistent execution of roles and responsibilities necessary to support the business. This leader will also partner, as needed, with multiple subject matter expert teams throughout the CELA department.   

Microsoft’s mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. As employees we come together with a growth mindset, innovate to empower others, and collaborate to realize our shared goals. Each day we build on our values of respect, integrity, and accountability to create a culture of inclusion where everyone can thrive at work and beyond. 

• Lead and manage the France legal team, fostering a high-performance culture aligned with Microsoft’s values. 
• Provide strategic legal counsel to senior sales leadership and business units on a wide range of legal and regulatory issues. Help in-country teams shape strategy and execution of strategic sales priorities. 
• Ensure compliance with local laws and regulations, and proactively manage legal risks. 
• Oversee litigation and disputes matters (excluding HR and consumer disputes), proactive and reactive regulatory engagements, and Public Sector contract negotiations. Represent the Corporate External and Legal Affairs (CELA) team in the France Compliance Committee. 
• Work with the Regional Deal Team when needed to support regulatory elements of Enterprise Commercial customer contract negotiations. Work with the Regional Small Medium Enterprise & Corporate CELA lead when needed to support regulatory scaled resources such as self-help materials for the SME&C sales motion. 
• Work with the Regional and Area Government Affairs Leads to ensure alignment between policy engagements and other regulatory engagements, and emerging or multidisciplinary regulatory priorities such as privacy, security, AI and critical infrastructure.  
• Responsibly leverage outside counsel resources to drive budget efficiencies. 
• Collaborate with regional and global legal teams to land Microsoft’s global objectives within the France-specific context, and to drive cross-border projects including CELA Customer and Partner Solutions strategic priorities. 
• Represent Microsoft in interactions with senior external stakeholders, including regulators, senior legal officers for private and public sector customers, industry bodies, and legal industry leaders. 
• Leverage AI to drive innovation within CELA generally and the CELA team in France, in particular. 

• Juris Doctor (JD) from France or equivalent legal degree with admission to practice law in the relevant jurisdiction. 
• Extensive legal experience, including leadership responsibilities. 
• Proven track record in technology, corporate and commercial law, regulatory compliance, and litigation management. 
• Proven track record of initiating and driving cross-functional strategic projects across a large interdependent organization. 
• Strong business acumen and ability to provide pragmatic legal advice.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills. 
• Demonstrated ability to lead diverse teams and drive strategic initiatives. 
• Working knowledge of the French language.

Prefered Qualifications

• Experience working in a multinational corporation and/or technology sector is preferred. 

Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws, regulations and ordinances. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or the recruiting process, please send a request via the Accommodation request form.

Benefits/perks listed below may vary depending on the nature of your employment with Microsoft and the country where you work.