Associate General Counsel

The New York Botanical Garden is seeking an Associate General Counsel to join their legal team. Reporting to the Senior Vice President for Legal Services and General Counsel, this role is ideal for a corporate generalist with a strong foundation in at least one core substantive area such as corporate and commercial transactions, intellectual property transactions, exempt organizations, or labor and employment.

About the role

This role will involve advising on all aspects of legal issues, leading legal department technology vetting and adoption, ensuring compliance with internal policies and procedures, drafting legal documents, providing support to departments, drafting and negotiating contracts, acting as administrative lead for internal enterprise risk management, and handling legal research, supervision of outside counsel, and litigation-related issues.

Responsibilities

• Advises on all aspects of day-to-day legal issues.
• Serves as legal advisor ensuring compliance with internal policies and procedures.
• Drafts memoranda, correspondence, policies and procedures, reports for various board of trustees and staff committees, and other documents.
• Provides legal support to departments throughout the Garden, including assisting in structuring initiatives and projects, identifying, and mitigating legal risks.
• Drafts, reviews, and negotiates a wide variety of contracts, including exhibition, licensing, commercial transactions, design and construction, and sponsorship agreements.
• Acts as administrative lead for internal enterprise risk management group.
• Advises and participates in grievances, arbitrations, investigations, discovery, subpoenas, and other litigation-related issues.
• Maintains continuous counsel on local, state, and federal laws.
• Performs legal research.
• Liaises with and supervises outside counsel.
• Performs any other duties reasonably related to the functions described above.

Qualifications

• At least five years of experience as a corporate/non-profit or technology transaction attorney in an AmLaw 100 firm (or equivalent experience in-house).
• Demonstrated expertise in at least one of: commercial or corporate transactions, employment and traditional labor law, technology transactions, or exempt organizations, museum, and art law.
• Top tier academic credentials with demonstrated achievement at each institution.
• JD from an accredited law school and admitted to practice in New York State.
• Legal training received at law firms within corporate or not-for-profit practice groups.
• Excellent writing and public speaking skills.
• Legal research, negotiation, analysis, communication, and organizational skills.
• Ability to work collaboratively, as part of a small legal team.
• Mastery of standard productivity software, including LLMs.

Physical Demands & Work Environment

• Ability to perform desk and computer work and sustain intense concentration for long periods.
• Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this position.

Benefits

• 20 Vacation Days
• 13 Paid Holidays
• 12 Sick Days
• Health and Dental Insurance Coverage
• 401K Pension Plan

The New York Botanical Garden is an equal opportunity employer. Salary commensurate with experience within the range of $175,000 to $190,000. For more information or to apply, visit www.nybg.org/employment.