Deputy General Counsel

Deputy General Counsel

Job Purpose
SXSW is seeking a highly motivated, creative Deputy General Counsel with 7+ years of applicable legal experience, who is highly collaborative in a fast-paced environment. The Deputy General Counsel reports to the Chief Legal Officer and supports SXSW initiatives by providing legal advice, drafting and revising contracts, conducting legal risk assessments, assisting with copyright and trademark issues, managing the daily workflow of the department, reviewing cutting edge legal issues that may impact the business, and assessing the legal implications of internal policies and other business decisions in an effort to minimize legal risk and costs.

Duties & Responsibilities
Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Manage one junior attorney.
• Review, markup/draft (from forms and from scratch), and negotiate a variety of commercial contracts, including sales and sponsorship agreements, film and TV, and music festival agreements, software and technology license agreements, trademark and content license agreements, talent agreements, independent contractor and venue agreements, and supporting documents across each department.
• Work closely with outside counsel concerning trademark issues, litigation, insurance, data privacy, liquor, visas, and other matters.
• Draft, review, and revise website policies, including, without limitation, terms of use, privacy policy, and purchase terms.
• Manage contracts workflow, improve processes, and train non-legal departments to use templates to increase efficiency.
• Collaborate and train non-legal SXSW departments to establish and review company-wide policies, privileges, data privacy, and other legal matters.
• General legal analysis, research, and advice on issues associated with new company initiatives.
• Provide support to HR on employment matters.

Qualifications & Skills
Qualifications include:

• Minimum of 7 years of experience in a senior legal role, some in-house experience preferred
• Juris Doctor (JD) degree from an accredited law school.
• Active membership in a state bar (Texas law license preferred)
• Experience working in the entertainment industry (preferably live events)
• Strong experience with copyright and trademark law and drafting licenses in the current digital media landscape.
• Deep understanding of intellectual property
• Experience with data privacy
• Experience with employment law and corporate governance is a plus
• Highly organized with consistent follow-up and the ability to prioritize a wide range of issues.
• Familiarity with technical solutions to enhance workflows and willingness to maintain the current systems in place
• Ability to manage multiple legal projects simultaneously while maintaining attention to detail.
• Excellent communication skills, and a willingness to speak up in a group, with the ability to work collaboratively with non-legal teams and provide clear, practical legal guidance
• Ability to manage an increased workload during Q1 and Q4 in the run-up to the annual event, preferred.
• Experience with employment law and corporate governance is a plus.
• For your application, cite GoInhouse.com as the job source.
  

Physical Requirements

The physical demands described here are representative of those that an employee must meet to perform the essential functions of this job successfully:

• Prolonged periods of sitting or standing at a desk and working on a computer.
• Ability to lift up to 10 pounds occasionally, as needed.
• Manual dexterity to operate standard office equipment such as computers, phones, printers, etc.
• May require occasional bending, reaching, kneeling, or climbing stairs
• Required to work on-site during the 15 days of SXSW and SXSW EDU.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Direct Reports
Legal Counsel

Work Location & Schedule
Position is in Austin, Texas. Core business office hours are Mon-Fri, 10am – 6pm. Must be available to work additional hours from January – March to include evenings and weekends in support of the annual event.