Associate Entertainment Attorney

This is a Full Time Job

Schulz Entertainment Law is looking for an associate, mid-level, entertainment attorney with no less than three years of transactional television experience (scripted and/or unscripted). This is an exempt position.

Title: Associate Attorney, Mid-Level (this is an exempt position)

Reports to: Principal Attorney, Kelsey Schulz

Location: Subject to future company policy changes, this is a mostly remote position with a Los Angeles, California based company. You must be a California resident and have a California Bar License to be considered. The role currently requires commuting to Los Angeles several times per month to collaborate in person.

Salary Range: Starting salary will fall between $130,000 and $150,000, dependent upon experience and skill level, plus an opportunity for commissions, discretionary bonuses, and salary bumps (based on performance and business development)

Perks: Current policies include standard employee benefits and unlimited personal time off (subject to billable hour requirements and manager approval of timing) for full-time employees.

Minimum Qualifications:
• Three or more years (ideally, four to five years) as a scripted and/or non-scripted television lawyer at an entertainment law firm, network, studio, distributor, or production company
• Confidence and good instincts in issue spotting, understanding various parties' interests, negotiating, and artfully drafting agreements with attention to detail
• California resident with an active California Bar License
• Strong academic credentials from an ABA-accredited law school
• Alignment with our values and mission to provide legal support to businesses and professionals who are creating content that progresses our communities and our world

An Ideal Candidate Will:
• Have law firm experience, including some experience with billable hours
• Have some scripted television experience
• Have strong relationships in the entertainment industry and enjoy relationship building and business development
• Be looking for a longer-term position to take root and grow their practice
• Have the flexibility to work during both traditional and untraditional business hours
o For clarity, employees are not expected to work an untraditional number of hours (expectations are 40-50 hours total hours worked, inclusive of both billable and non-billable work, provided billable hour requirements are met). If an employee works untraditional business hours to accommodate client needs, they will be expected to take time off (planned in collaboration with their manager) to offset those hours.
• Be comfortable with working on a small team in a mostly remote position

We Are Looking for A Team Member Who Is:
• A confident professional with grit - while you are aware of and can admit your blind spots, you are sure of your skills as an entertainment lawyer, enjoy working autonomously, effectively manage your own workload and priorities with minimal direction, and enjoy new challenges
• A committed team member with integrity - you uphold your commitments, your actions match your words, and you are willing to both give and receive constructive feedback (even when uncomfortable)
• A thoughtful risk-taker - you have an entrepreneurial flair and a devoted interest in building something different and new
• A relationship builder and collaborative diplomat - you genuinely enjoy establishing and maintaining strong personal and business relationships, and you communicate effectively and tactfully with clients, colleagues, and counterparties
• A strategist and problem solver - you have ideas and a point-of-view plus the knowledge, communication, risk analysis, and decision-making skills to implement solutions
• A responsible manager of their role - you regularly meet your billable requirements while effectively performing all organizational, operational, and administrative tasks associated with your role (including scheduling meetings, maintaining your email, keeping your workflow organized, tracking and billing your time and reviewing invoices)
• A values driven colleague - you embrace and will contribute to the firm's culture of getting creative in our problem-solving and implementing practices and initiatives to create a supportive workplace

Specific Job Duties:
You will have exposure to many aspects of the entertainment industry with an emphasis on television. You will also assist with non-entertainment related issues for clients as they arise, such as handling day-to-day personnel matters and facilitating business transactions with corporate vendors.

Typical day-to-day duties include:
• Drafting and negotiating:
o Above and below-the-line agreements for television, film, and new media projects.
o Shopping agreements, attachment agreements, co-production agreements, options, and other development deals
o Production contracts and releases, including talent and participant agreements and guest appearance releases, materials releases, master use and sync licenses, location agreements, and vendor agreements
o Complex business partnership deals, content licenses, production services agreements, and distribution agreements
o Licensing agreements with respect to use of third-party content
o Non-disclosure agreements, service agreements, employment, independent contractor, and other ordinary course-of-business contracts
• Conducting review of creative decks, scripts, footage, episode cuts, and films to advise on levels of risk related to copyright, trademark, defamation, invasion of privacy, violation of publicity rights, and other potential legal claims
• Conducting fair use analyses and preparing corresponding fair use letters
• Assisting clients with union/guild (e.g., SAG-AFTRA, DGA, WGA, IATSE) matters and related issues
• Advising on and conferring with clients on intellectual property matters, commercial transactions, standard labor and employment issues, and privacy and other personal tort matters, and negotiating and drafting
• Relationship building and business development

Billable hour requirement:
• Annual Minimum: 1,350 hours
• Monthly Minimum: 87.5 hours