About

A leading creator, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and services, Ubisoft has three decades of experience in the industry, and has expanded from its French base to its current network of 36 studios and business offices on six continents encompassing 12,000 employees worldwide. The lead lawyer of the Ubisoft legal team is Cécile Russeil, who in her position as chief legal officer speaks of her pride at a legal function she calls ‘inspiring and powerful’. Russeil goes on to highlight the team’s strategic contribution to the company, which stands as a ‘sparring partner for top management’ and ‘contributing actively’ to strategic affairs. With over 27 years of experience at Ubisoft, Russeil has witnessed several changes to the internal legal function as it has moulded and adapted to new regulations, laws and business operations. Containing over 30 lawyers specialised in many different areas and jurisdictions, the structure of the department is described by Russeil as ‘a centralised structure around business priorities with dedicated legal counsels for each area of expertise. The purpose of this organisation is for each legal counsel embedded across the business units to be tactically focused on the specific needs at stake and to provide the exact attention needed to conduct the companies’ business effectively’. In terms of company strategy, the legal team is responsible for ensuring each of Ubisoft’s operations across the world are compliant with local legislation – and by virtue of its involvement in every stage of projects the team is relied upon to provide counsel from the conception of ideas right through until the marketing and distribution of products and services. The reason for this structure is to facilitate synergy between in-house lawyers and Ubisoft’s individual business units, a partnership which Russeil calls ‘very strong’. In addition to business-specific advice given internally, the team is also outward facing; as well as an ‘active contribution’ and ‘permanent monitoring’ with regards to industry associations and regulatory changes respectively, the team manages the portfolio of industrial property rights and handles all disputes based on such rights. Described as providing advice ‘beyond legal matters’, the Ubisoft legal department will be relied upon for their steady service as Ubisoft are in the process of expanding their European operations, recently announcing two new studios in Germany and France.