What are the responsibilities and job description for the Principal Counsel, ESPN position at ESPN?
ESPN is seeking a seasoned attorney for the role of Principal Counsel. This position will report to the Deputy Chief Counsel, and assists and supports the Deputy Chief Counsel(s) and Chief Counsel in fulfilling the legal affairs and requirements of the corporation. Areas of focus may include, but are not limited to, programming acquisitions for live sporting events and unscripted/scripted original content, production agreements, marketing and promotion, digital (including social) media and platforms, as well as legal work related to various aspects of direct-to-consumer offerings. The preferred location for this position is Bristol, CT. Will also consider New York, NY.
Responsibilities :
Basic Qualifications :
Preferred Qualifications:
Required Education :
Additional Information :
#legalaffairs #corp_media #li-jb3
Responsibilities :
- Maintains current knowledge of substantial range of federal, state, and local laws and of legislative and regulatory developments, analyzes how these might impact ESPN, and conceives and recommend compliance actions
- Serves as the primary Legal Department representative for assigned ESPN departments
- Drafts contracts and other legal documents, recommends approval/modification of contracts proposed by outside parties, and negotiates with outside parties
- Possesses and maintains knowledge in specialized legal areas, including emerging trends, specifically in connection with (1) content (including live event and/or scripted/unscripted audiovisual programming, licensing and production); (2) intellectual property (copyright, trademark, rights of publicity); (3) marketing and promotion; and/or (4) digital (including social) media and platforms
- Conceives and recommends strategies and tactics in response to legislative and regulatory developments and other events or anticipated actions that require new or redefined legal/business strategies on ESPN’s part
- Reviews and edits significant guidelines, policies, letters, work orders and other documents from applicable client departments to ensure that legal implications are appropriately handled
- Manages outside counsel in their representation of ESPN on litigation and other legal service matters
- May directly supervise, on a non-exclusive basis, one or more Paralegal and Legal Assistant colleagues, and may supervise individual projects of Counsel(s)
- Recommends and may implement Legal Department policy at the direction of Chief Counsel and Deputy Chief Counsel(s)
- Operates within the context of defined corporate strategies
- Recommends and implements enhancements and improvements to established processes and workflows
- Translates corporate strategy into mid- and long-term goals
- Translates the analysis and evaluation of trends in ESPN’s legal positioning and compliance into recommended corporate actions
- Conceives and recommends strategies and initiatives to minimize the legal risks of current operations and proposed actions
- Determines / recommends language of template legal documents, approval of policies and acceptable / desirable legal and business consequences of proposed transactions, contract drafts, and other actions and decisions
- Applies ingenuity and analytical and organizational skills to identify and evaluate alternatives and to develop sophisticated solutions and processes
- Analyzes the legal implications of proposed ventures and current operations and proposed actions of internal clients
- Guides or participates in guiding the management of client organizations in the interpretation of complex information
- Accountable for the assigned financial results and cost management of unit(s) directed
- Ensures that internal clients have an adequate understanding of the law as it applies to their operations
- Maintains effective working relationships with outside counsel
- Interacts with HR, peers and outside parties in developing and negotiating contracts and other legal documents
- Has a general understanding of the scope and operations of most ESPN organizations, and strong understanding of assigned client organizations
Basic Qualifications :
- At least eight (8) years of contract law experience, including extensive drafting, in a transactional IP practice at a law firm, network/studio, sports league, agency and/or other in-house legal department
- A strong understanding of content agreement negotiating (including, by way of example only, audiovisual programming, licensing and production agreements), intellectual property law (copyright, trademark, rights of publicity), and/or scripted or unscripted original content acquisitions and production, including guild related matters
- Familiarity with entertainment, broadcast/cable, internet, mobile, direct-to-consumer, social and other digital media and/or sports businesses
- Excellent interpersonal, written/verbal communication, and analytical skills
- Excellent organizational, prioritization and time management skills with the ability to work under tight deadlines and execute efficiently against multiple, high-priority and high-volume projects in a fast-paced environment
- Exceptional ability to respond to and interact with creative and business executives at all levels of seniority in a manner that is personable and professional
- Exceptional facility with spotting issues, assessing and communicating risks, making common-sense decisions, and finding flexible/creative solutions to achieve business goals
Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience supervising paralegal/legal support staff
- Familiarity with marketing, data/privacy/piracy, gambling/fantasy sports legal, music clearance matters and/or international sports programming acquisitions preferred
Required Education :
- JD or equivalent
- Strong academic credentials
- Admission to New York or Connecticut State Bar in good standing or willingness and qualification to be Registered In-House Counsel
Additional Information :
#legalaffairs #corp_media #li-jb3
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