Legal Counsel
quinceNorth Canton (OH)
About the role
Legal Counsel We're seeking a UK-qualified Legal Counsel to be the second UK hire to scale Quince's UK and EU presence and help shape how the legal function supports the international business. You'll own matters and projects end-to-end and provide support across the full scope of the business, including commercial contracting, employment, logistics, IP, data protection, and product compliance. This is a high-autonomy, foundational role for someone who is comfortable with ambiguity, makes sound judgments without established playbooks, and takes ownership from day one. You'll work directly with leaders and cross-functional partners across product, engineering, operations, HR, logistics, marketing, merchandising and customer service to launch and scale our UK and EU presence, build practical legal processes from scratch, and move priorities forward with a bias for action. Critical to this role: you'll be hands-on, doing legal work directly rather than delegating to external counsel. You'll manage external relationships pragmatically, balancing specialist advice with cost efficiency. You'll say 'yes, and here's how' more often than 'no' - while protecting the business from material legal risk.
Responsibilities:
- Generalist LegalLegal contact for UK and EU-based teams and issues
- Provide strategic and day-to-day counsel across a range of commercial, regulatory, and operational matters
- Key focus on scaling the UK business to new EU markets
- Escalate material legal issues to the Legal Director; own resolution of day-to-day matters independently
- Horizon scanning for relevant UK and EU legislative updates
- EmploymentWork with People Director to build UK and EU playbooks and policies.
- Support Legal and People Directors with onboarding, terminations, restructures, and performance issues across multiple jurisdictions
- Support the Legal Director with employee-related inquiries, compliance and team growth in UK and planned EU offices
- Help maintain awareness of emerging employment law changes in UK and target EU markets
- Data Privacy & Consumer Protection
- Advise on UK and EU GDPR, including data subject rights, transfer mechanisms (SCCs, adequacy decisions), and cookie compliance
- Advise on marketing practices, pricing strategies, sustainability claims, and consumer protection regulation (e.g., CMA, ASA guidelines)
- Collaborate on privacy policies, terms of service, and consent flows
- Assist Legal Director with interactions with UK and EU regulators and support handling of data subject access requests and breach notifications
- Ensure product claims, environmental claims, and sizing/sustainability representations comply with UK/EU standards
- Technology, AI & Digital Innovation
- Advise on AI governance, responsible AI frameworks, and bias/fairness considerations in product and marketing
- Support the procurement and deployment of AI and machine-learning tools; flag legal and compliance risks
- Review technology platform contracts, including SaaS, APIs, cloud infrastructure, and third-party data services
- Keep the business informed on emerging technology regulation, including the EU AI Act, and UK AI frameworks
- Advise on intellectual property ownership and licensing of AI-generated content and outputs
- Commercial, Compliance & Operations
- Draft, review, and negotiate vendor contracts, logistics agreements, SaaS licenses, and supplier agreements end-to-end
- Provide legal support for fulfillment operations, including 3PL, warehouse, and distribution arrangements
- Manage external counsel relationships efficiently; handle simpler matters in-house to control costs
- Ensure compliance with product labeling, environmental standards (e.g., plastic packaging, textiles regulations), and trade regulations and monitoring of compliance thresholds as operations scale.
- Support supplier compliance and ethical sourcing (labor practices, ESG commitments)
- Intellectual Property & BrandAdvise on UK and EU trademark registration, protection, and enforcement strategy
- Support IP ownership documentation for software, designs, and AI-generated assets
- Assist with monitoring and responding to IP infringement and counterfeiting issues
- Work with operations and product teams on trade mark compliance in packaging and marketing
- Risk & Governance
- Assist the Legal Director with pre-litigation matters, disputes, and inquiries
- Liaise with outside counsel on specialist matters (IP litigation, regulatory defense); manage costs
- Establish and maintain risk register for UK/EU operations; flag emerging legal and regulatory risks
Qualifications
Required:
- UK-qualified solicitor with 5+ years PQE (post-qualification experience)
- Strong generalist background, ideally with top-tier law firm training and in-house experience at a high-growth, technology-led or retail company
- Demonstrated ability to deliver pragmatic, commercial legal advice and operate independently with minimal supervision
- Proven track record of owning legal projects end-to-end and building legal processes and frameworks from scratch
- Comfortable working cross-functionally with business stakeholders, non-legal teams, and distributed teams
- Proactive, business-minded, and hands-on with a strong bias toward execution and clarity
- Ability to manage a high volume of work independently, prioritize effectively, and make sound legal judgments with incomplete information
- Commercial pragmatism and comfort operating in a fast-paced, high-growth environment without established playbooks
- Confidence using AI tools and incorporating AI to increase efficiencies in legal team delivery
Preferred:
- Experience with product liability, environmental regulations (textiles, packaging), or ESG compliance
- Experience advising on AI governance, responsible AI, or machine learning deployment and familiarity with the EU AI Act, UK pro-innovation AI regulation, and Digital Markets ActExperience supporting EU expansion and advising on multi-jurisdictional compliance
- Why Quince?
- Joining Quince means being part of a mission-driven team reshaping retail. You will work alongside talented colleagues, tackle meaningful challenges, and contribute to building a more sustainable, accessible future for customers and partners alike.
Equal Opportunity & Hiring Integrity:
Quince provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applications for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran or military status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws. Quince is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation to complete your application or to perform the essential functions of a role at Quince, please let us know by completing this accommodation form. We review all requests individually and will work with you to determine appropriate accommodations on a case-by-case basis. Employment is contingent upon successful completion of a background check. Quince will conduct background checks in compliance with applicable federal, state, and local laws. Security Advisory: Beware of FraudsAt Quince, we're dedicated to recruiting top talent who share our drive for innovation. To safeguard candidates, Quince emphasizes legitimate recruitment practices. Initial communication is primarily via official Quince email addresses and LinkedIn; beware of deviations. Personal data and sensitive information will not be solicited during the application phase. Interviews are conducted via phone, in person, or through the approved platforms Google Meets or Zoom—never via messaging apps or other calling services. Offers are merit-based, communicated verbally, and followed up in writing. If personal information is requested to initiate the hiring process, rest assured it will be through secure and protected means.
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