Associate Counsel

JOB SUMMARY:

Reports to the EVP & General Counsel and will assist with all legal matters across REG's properties, with particular attention to the organization's NBA (Cavaliers), WNBA (Sirens), AHL (Monsters), and NBA G League (Charge) affiliations. The position will work on a variety of commercial matters and transactions and will work closely with the Corporate Partnerships, Premium Sales, Ticketing, Marketing, IT/Digital, Venue Operations and Finance teams.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Draft/review and negotiate sponsorship, marketing, premium sales, ticketing, licensing and event agreements.
• Advise on consumer-protection compliance laws.
• Draft/review and negotiate vendor agreements.
• Draft/review and negotiate service agreements.
• Draft sweepstakes and contest rules.
• Assist with corporate governance matters and entity maintenance across Rock Entertainment Group properties.
• Proficient with all relevant league rules, regulations and guidelines including, but not limited to IP usage, NBA Operations Manual and CBA.
• Oversee compliance with data privacy laws and regulations, and provide legal support on technology, software and data-related vendor agreements.
• Assist with venue lease compliance matters and projects involving City and County governments.
• Support General Counsel, Associate General Counsel and outside counsel on litigation matters.
• Assist with enforcement and maintenance of organization-wide trademarks, copyrights and other intellectual property matters, including, but not limited to working with league intellectual property counsel.
• Participate in NBA league calls and meetings.
• Liaise with and support risk management on insurance matters.
• Develop and maintain templates for various types of commercial agreements.
• Provide general employment law support in partnership with the People and Culture team.
• Identify and adopt AI and other technology tools to improve legal department efficiency, consistent with REG's culture of continuous improvement.
• Conduct legal research and provide timely and actionable legal advice on changes in law.
• As bandwidth permits, handle other issues and projects that arise.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s Degree and J.D. from an ABA accredited law school.
• Membership in good standing of at least one state bar, with eligibility for Ohio in-house counsel registration.
• At least 2-3 years of work experience at top law firm or as in-house counsel.
• Transactional experience in sports and entertainment industry is a plus.
• Experience with legal issues dealing with data privacy and technology transactions, or public-private venue partnerships a plus but not required.
• This is an in-office position based at Rocket Arena; regular, on-site presence is required.
• Ability to work extended hours and flexible schedule including nights and weekends, as needed.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office suite (Outlook, Word, etc.).
• Experience with DocuSign a plus.
• Dedication to delivering high quality work product.
• Attention to detail.
• Strong writing and oral communication skills.
• Excellent organizational skills.
• Strong sense of ownership and accountability.
• Critical thinking and problem solving.
• Friendly, professional, outgoing, and guest-service oriented.
• Outstanding relationship-building and collaboration skills.
• Curiosity about and comfort using AI tools to improve efficiency, turnaround time, and quality of legal work product.
• Comfort working in fast paced, dynamic environment.
• Ability to effectively prioritize work and consistently meet deadlines.
• Able to work independently and productively.