Counsel, Studio Legal Affairs

Job Description

Responsibilities
Role Purpose
Universal Studio Group Legal Affairs is looking for a Counsel member who will have the opportunity to support our television studios Universal Television and Universal Content Productions, as well as our podcast studio, USG Audio. We are seeking a candidate who will embrace the ''show lawyer'' model – a holistic, business-friendly approach, providing timely and practical legal advice during the development, production, and exploitation of our entertainment content. The person in this position will serve as the legal point of contact for all aspects of projects in development and production, and will handle a wide range of issues including: script and concept vetting; clearance advice; drafting and negotiating agreements with writers, producers, directors and/or other talent; rights acquisitions and analysis; copyright and trademark issues; defamation and First Amendment advice; and other legal matters arising during development and production.

Responsibilities
• Provide timely, thoughtful, and practical legal advice on potential risks and issues relating to projects in development and production.
• Draft, review, negotiate and interpret talent, rights and other production-related agreements.
• Identify and implement improvements to forms and processes.
• Partner with our clients, as well as colleagues in the Law Department, to develop and implement best practices and formulate new processes in connection with business needs and priorities.
• Work with the Legal Affairs team and colleagues in the Law Department on major projects with long-term business implications.
• Other matters, as needed.

Qualifications/Requirements
• Member of California or New York bar or other US state bar.
• JD or LLM degree from an accredited law school.
• A minimum of 4 years with entertainment, media, intellectual property, corporate transactional, and/or other relevant legal experience for Counsel
• Interested candidates must submit a resume/CV to be considered.
• Willingness to work nights and on weekends, if needed.
• Must have unrestricted authorization to work in the United States.
• Location Flexible, but prefer candidate to reside in Universal City or New York City

Desired Characteristics
• Strong academic credentials.
• Demonstrated ability, in a positive and practical manner, to approach complex legal scenarios in a thoughtful and analytic fashion.
• Excellent analytic, organizational, and communication skills.
• Excellent drafting and negotiating skills.
• Demonstrated ability to work autonomously.
• Professional and polished demeanor, executive presence.
• Collaborative, team-oriented approach.
• Sound business judgment, and flexibility/adaptability to manage multiple, wide-ranging matters, conflicting deadlines, and new areas of expertise as business needs change.
• Demonstrated ability to proactively identify, prioritize, and resolve legal issues quickly and effectively.
• Demonstrated ability to explain complex legal concepts and risks to business and creative executives, build consensus, think creatively, and collaborate with other executives to address business needs.
• Demonstrated ability to build relationships across a large organization.
• Relevant in-house experience.

Jobcode: Reference SBJ-g6n15n-18-216-121-55-42 in your application.