Senior Counsel

ESPN is seeking a seasoned attorney to support the Lead Counsel, Chief Counsel, General Counsel, and other attorneys in fulfilling the legal affairs and requirements of the corporation. Areas of focus include programming acquisitions, production agreements, marketing and promotion, digital (including social) media and platforms, distribution, and legal work related to direct-to-consumer offerings. This position may be located in New York, NY, or Bristol, CT.

Responsibilities

• Maintains current knowledge of federal, state, and local laws and legislative/regulatory developments, analyzes their impact on ESPN, and recommends compliance actions
• Serves as primary Legal Department representative for assigned ESPN departments or categories
• Drafts contracts and other legal documents, recommends approval/modification of contracts proposed by outside parties, and negotiates with outside parties
• Possesses and maintains specialized legal knowledge (including through continuing legal education) in content (audiovisual programming, licensing, production), intellectual property (copyright, trademark, rights of publicity), marketing and promotion, and/or digital/social media and platforms
• Conceives and recommends strategies and tactics in response to legislative/regulatory developments and other events or anticipated actions
• Keeps internal clients and Legal leadership informed of relevant legal issues, risks, and consequences of operations and proposed actions
• Reviews and edits guidelines, policies, letters, work orders, and other documents to ensure appropriate handling of legal implications
• Manages outside counsel in litigation and other legal service matters, analyzing their approach and effectiveness
• May supervise Paralegal and Legal Assistant colleagues and individual projects of Counsel(s) on a non-exclusive basis
• Recommends and may implement Legal Department policy at the direction of General Counsel and Chief Counsel
• Operates within defined corporate strategies and recommends enhancements to established processes and workflows
• Translates corporate strategy into mid- and long-term goals and recommends actions based on trends in ESPN’s legal positioning and compliance
• Conceives and recommends strategies to minimize legal risks of current operations and proposed actions
• Determines and recommends language for template legal documents
• Analyzes legal implications of proposed ventures, current operations, and new laws/regulatory developments for potential impact on ESPN
• Guides or participates in the management of client organizations in interpreting complex information
• Contributes to processing efficiencies at all levels of the organization
• Ensures internal clients understand the law as it applies to their operations
• Interacts with internal client management

Requirements

• A minimum of 5 years of relevant experience, including extensive drafting, in a transactional practice at a law firm, network/studio, sports league, agency, and/or other in-house legal department
• Strong understanding of contract negotiating (e.g., programming acquisition, licensing, and production agreements) and general commercial/transactional legal 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
• Exceptional organizational, prioritization, and time management skills with the ability to work under tight deadlines and execute efficiently against multiple high-priority projects in a fast-paced environment
• Ability to interact with creative and business executives at all levels of seniority in a personable and professional manner
• Facility with spotting issues, assessing and communicating risks, making common-sense decisions, and finding flexible/creative solutions to achieve business goals

Preferred Qualifications

• Familiarity with content agreement negotiating (e.g., audiovisual programming, licensing, and production agreements) and intellectual property law (copyright, trademark, rights of publicity)
• Experience with audiovisual production legal work, including licensing of audiovisual content and data components
• Experience supervising paralegal/legal support staff

Qualifications

• JD degree or equivalent from an accredited law school
• Admission to New York State Bar or Connecticut State Bar in good standing, or willingness and qualification to be Registered In-House Counsel in the applicable state of employment

Pay

The hiring range for this position is $182,900 to $236,600 per year in New York, NY, and $174,600 to $225,800 per year in Bristol, CT. The base pay offered will consider internal equity and may vary based on geographic region, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. A bonus and/or long-term incentive units may be provided as part of the compensation package, in addition to medical, financial, and other benefits, dependent on the level and position offered.