Counsel, Legal Affairs

Job Description:

Summary:

The Counsel, Legal Affairs will report to and serve as a strategic partner to the General Counsel, providing business-focused legal advice to stakeholders across the organization. This role is a unique hybrid of labor and employment law (employee relations, union matters, baseball player agreements) and litigation management, with a sports focus. The ideal candidate is a proactive problem solver who can advise on topics related to Major League Baseball while managing the organization’s day-to-day labor and employment legal needs and litigation management. The ideal candidate will also have in-house or law firm experience supporting the Sports, Media, and Entertainment industries.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

Labor/Employment & Baseball Operations

• Support the organization in labor and employee relations matters and training, union experience preferred

• Support the organization’s baseball operations, including player and employee agreements, and compliance with Major League Baseball rules and regulations

• Support immigration matters for the organization’s personnel

Litigation & Risk Management

• Manage the organization’s third-party litigation matters, including general liability matters, employment litigation, and MLB wide litigation matters

• Act as primary point of contact for and managing outside counsel, discovery, case assessment, settlement, and reporting

• Support the organization in insurance coverage and risk management matters, including coverage for ongoing litigation

Compliance & Internal Investigations

• Support the organization in compliance matters and Safety Act certification

• Lead internal investigations and manage the organization’s compliance calendar

• Provide training to the organization’s personnel as needed on legal best practices and compliance protocols

• Ensure that the working practices of the organization are compliant with applicable laws and regulations

• Other duties and responsibilities as may be assigned by the Deputy General Counsel or General Counsel

Core Competencies:

• Strategic judgement: Proven ability to identify emerging risks and trends, analyze and think strategically about complex risk issues and deliver solutions-oriented advice to mitigate or manage such risks

• Communication: Exceptional negotiation skills and the ability to interface with senior leadership and diverse stakeholders. Commitment to professionalism and strong business and personal ethics

• Adaptability: Congenial interpersonal style and flexibility to work non-traditional hours inherent to the Sports, Media, and Entertainment industry

• Legal prowess: Ability to conduct legal research and proactively stay abreast of developments in applicable municipal, state, and federal laws. Ability to work with outside counsel and other advisors as necessary

• Organization: Self-motivated with the ability to manage competing priorities with minimal direction and extreme attention to detail. Strong time management skills and attention-to-detail

Qualifications:

• BA/BS degree and JD degree from an accredited ABA institution

• Admission to NY bar (or ability to gain admission)

• Minimum of 3 years successful sports, entertainment, labor, employment, litigation or finance experience at large law firm and/or as an in-house counsel

• Experience in the sports and/or entertainment industries preferred

• Advanced skills in MS Office; especially Word, Excel and PowerPoint skills

• Skills using a document management or contract management system, Asana, Slack, Teams and Box preferred

Salary Range: $190,000 - $225,000

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