Senior Counsel, Business and Legal Affairs - Comedy Central

This is a Full Time Job

The Viacom Media Networks Music & Entertainment Group primarily consists of the MTV, VH1, Comedy Central, TV Land and Paramount cable networks, as well as various related digital properties. MTV, VH1, Comedy Central and Paramount are among the most iconic and engaging brands in the television industry and house a portfolio of popular programs ranging from the VMAs on MTV, Yellowstone on Paramount, Younger on TV Land, Love & Hip Hop on VH1 and South Park and The Daily Show on Comedy Central.

Join the dynamic and fast growing team at Comedy Central as a Senior Counsel in our East Coast Business and Legal Affairs department to provide day-to-day business and legal services for Comedy Central programming with a focus on development and production matters for original series and specials. This position will be located in New York, NY.

Primary Duties Will Include:
• Structuring, drafting, and negotiating a high volume of development and production agreements for animated and live action projects (including writer agreements, director agreements, talent agreements, location releases, etc.) in connection with original series, “one-off” specials.
• Working with a broad range of departments (Production Management, Labor & Employment/Production Risk Team, Risk Management, Litigation, Music & Media Licensing and Pre-Broadcast Content Review) to implement production legal policies and procedures.
• Participating in and contributing to strategic deal discussions and researching relevant business and legal issues.
• Counseling the client groups on a wide variety of other legal matters, including guild/union and labor issues, intellectual property rights, music issues, and providing complex risk assessment for production-related matters.

Basic Qualifications

• Membership of the New York and/or California Bar(s) or qualified to register as NY In-House Counsel
• 4 years of relevant experience (ideally with business/legal affairs experience in a network, studio, entertainment law firm or production company environment).

Additional Qualifications

• Excellent drafting, negotiation, communication (written and verbal), interpersonal, organizational and computer skills.
• Strong ability to analyze fact patterns and devise creative solutions that allow network executives to execute their creative vision in compliance with corporate policies and guidelines while minimizing overall legal and business risk.
• Must be able to multi-task under pressure, manage a varied, high-volume workload efficiently and smoothly, operate independently with minimal supervision and work long hours as necessary
• Must be able to build strong internal client relationships, effectively advise senior-level executives under conditions of uncertainty, high-pressure and/or high-risk and generate strong client satisfaction through quick turnaround and firm decision-making.
• Should be well-versed in entertainment industry customs and practices and possess demonstrated ability to effectively negotiate and interact with agents, managers and outside attorneys.
• The business and legal affairs department works as a team in a highly collaborative manner. The ideal candidate will have a cooperative, positive, team-oriented spirit.
• Working knowledge of television industry agreements, guild and union regulations (WGA, DGA and SAG-AFTRA), contract law and intellectual property rights (as applicable to the entertainment industry), along with demonstrated capability for legal research, analysis and reasoning.

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