Production Lawyer, Business Legal Affairs - Family Brands

Job Description

Entertainment One Ltd. (eOne) specialises in the development, acquisition, production, financing, distribution and sales of entertainment content. As part of global play and entertainment company Hasbro (NASDAQ: HAS), eOne's expertise spans across film, television and music production and sales; family programming, merchandising and licensing; digital content; and live entertainment. Through its extensive reach and scale, and a deep commitment to high-quality entertainment, eOne unlocks the power and value of creativity.

eOne's Family Brands division is an exciting, fast growing team within the global Hasbro family that specialises in the development, production, distribution and brand management of kid's entertainment. Key properties in the brand portfolio include international pre-school TV phenomenon Peppa Pig; superhero hit PJ Masks; newly launched pre-school series Ricky Zoom; fashion brands My Little Pony and Jem; as well as action adventure brands Transformers: Rescue Bots and Power Rangers.

Position Summary:

The Production Lawyer will be responsible for the drafting and negotiation of deals for the development and production and co-production of mainly animated children's television series but also some YouTube/digital series, older children animated and live action children's television series and seeing those deals through to the conclusion including, amongst others: writer/creator, underlying rights, talent, composers and arrangers, co-production, production services, and broadcaster pre-sales and for providing day-to-day legal advice for the department's creative, production, sales, and finance teams with respect thereof.

The ideal candidate must be able to advise or contribute to the advice on the best legal structure of the production taking into account tax credits or other subsidies, function mostly independently and to handle a high volume of matters across multiple productions to support the Family Brands business.

Key Responsibilities
• Advising/contributing to the advice on the structuring of the development and production to maximize available funding from third parties and partners; liaising with external producer(s) and the finance team in respect of budget and finance plans and ensuring these are accurately captured in the relevant agreements;
• Drafting and negotiating options agreements, development, production and co-production agreements for new and existing properties and pre sales with financing broadcasters;
• Drafting and negotiating all relevant agreements during development and production (including pre and post production), including agreements with writers, script editors, designers, illustrators, animation, post and dubbing houses/facilities, composers, arrangers; but also agreements for live action productions, e.g. location agreements, day player agreements etc.
• Liaising with internal and external executives during the development and production phases, e.g. on clearance issues in respect of all aspects of the series including character names, key locations and scripts, liaising with the brand protection team on trade mark strategy and registrations and dealing with chain of title issues, during optioning, greenlighting and production process;
• Providing general development, production and co-production related legal advice to creative executives; analyzing contracts in response to executive's questions across various departments including distribution, marketing, brands and onward accounting to partners and talent;
• Ongoing liaison with presale broadcasters in respect of the broadcast and distribution of the series;
• Liaising with outside counsel on development, production and co-production legal matters.

Key Competencies
• Consummate years' experience/PQE, with proven in-house television production experience.
• Qualified lawyer with the ability and demonstrable experience of seeing through a production from concept to delivery and exploitation.
• Well organized, with strict attention to detail.
• Outstanding analytic, organizational, negotiation and legal drafting skills.
• Excellent communication skills - written, verbal, presentation and interpersonal.
• A great deal of initiative and ability to work well under pressure.
• Highly responsible, self-motivated, and able to thrive in an energetic, fast pace, high growth, entrepreneurial environment.
• Sound knowledge of the content production industry, including funding environment and all union and guild agreements and regulations and issues, and related legal trends and business.
• Strong negotiation skills and an ability to handle commercial as well as legal negotiations.

What you'll be a part of:
• Taking care: competitive health and dental coverage
• Investing in your future: local defined contribution pension plans
• Break time: free snacks and reduced hours in summer
• Be inspired: regular film screenings, concerts, and opportunity to get involved in industry events
• The office: modern facilities and in-house screening rooms
• Build a better world: transcend entertainment to our corporate social responsibility activities. Plan a social event. Promote healthy lifestyles. Go green. Give back.
• Grow: develop your career and shape your future

Jobcode: Reference SBJ-r01kx8-18-226-251-22-42 in your application.