General Counsel

SXSW is seeking a highly motivated, creative General Counsel with 10+ years of experience, who is highly collaborative in a fast paced environment. The General Counsel reports to the CEO and supports SXSW initiatives by providing legal advice, drafting and revising contracts, conducting legal risk assessments, overseeing copyright and trademark issues, managing and coordinating outside legal services, 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, reduce litigation exposure, ensure legal compliance, present solutions, and to do so efficiently and professionally.

Key Job Duties

Manage a lean legal department consisting of both legal and non-legal support, with both year-round and seasonal employees

Manage and work closely with outside counsel concerning trademark issues, litigation, insurance, liquor, visas, and other matters

Draft, review, negotiate, and revise a high volume of event related contracts, including, without limitation, sponsorship, vendor, content licenses, trademark licenses, and talent agreements

Draft, review and revise website policies, including, without limitation, terms of use, privacy policy, and purchase terms

Strong experience with copyright and trademark law and drafting licenses in the current digital media landscape

Review marketing materials for legal compliance

Maintain an internal rights tracking database and trademark docket

Manage domestic and international trademark prosecution, enforcement and compliance efforts

Manage contracts workflow, improve processes, and train non-legal departments to use templates to increase efficiency

Participate in meetings related to City of Austin relations and event safety

Collaborate with non-legal SXSW departments to establish and review company-wide policies

General legal analysis, research and advice on issues associated with new company initiatives

Provide legal advice onsite during events concerning liability, contract compliance, third-party trademark compliance

Coordinate with internal teams on insurance coverage priorities and renewals

Provide support to HR on employment matters

Collaborate with outside corporate counsel to maintain corporate records

Advise the communications team in high profile PR matters

Train non-legal staff on privilege, data privacy, and other matters

Qualifications

Minimum of 10 years of experience as a General Counsel or similar role

Texas law license (preferred)

Experience working in entertainment industry

Familiarity with terminology

Understanding of customs / standards

Experience with intellectual property and live events

Strong people skills and flexibility

Highly organized

Strong personnel / management skills

Experience with prioritizing a range of issues

Consistent follow-up and detail-oriented

Willingness to speak-up in a group

Management of an increased workload during Q1 and Q4 in the run up to the annual event

Familiarity with technical solutions to enhance workflows and willingness to maintain the current systems in place