Deputy General Counsel

The mission of Jazz at Lincoln Center, Inc. (“JALC”) is to entertain, enrich and expand a global community for jazz through performance, education, and advocacy. From college students to young stars, from working professionals to celebrated masters, we present quality jazz for an ever-increasing audience in an unprecedented range of activities and a variety of venues. We are dedicated to lifting audiences and bringing people together with substance and with integrity. JALC has created a dynamic platform where our key constituents – jazz artists (beginner to grizzled veteran), fans (casual listeners to advanced scholars), educators (local band leaders to leading artist-educators) and advocates (local community advocates to important national promoters) – can meet, engage, learn, and work towards common objectives.

Position Description

Reporting to the General Counsel, the Deputy General Counsel will help protect JALC’s legal interest within an evolving regulatory framework and in alignment with best practices. The Deputy General Counsel will be responsible for identifying and analyzing legal issues, drafting key documents, maintaining confidentiality, presenting clear recommendations, and assuring compliance. The Deputy General Counsel will perform a variety of complex tasks for which a wide degree of creativity and latitude is expected. She/he must possess a high level of judgment, discretion, diplomacy, communication skills and respect for the arts.

Key Responsibilities

• Advise internal clients on legal issues in content licensing, intellectual property distribution, trademarks, social media, marketing, promotions, real estate and compliance matters.
• Structure, draft, review, interpret and negotiate contracts, including, but not limited to, production, license, artist, tour, consultant, contractor, vendor, sponsorship, publishing, distribution, software, technology, media, event, residency and lease agreements.
• Advise on rights and intellectual property matters, ensuring compliance with relevant laws and regulations.
• Pre-broadcast review of creative materials, with a focus on intellectual property, fair use, music clearance, and privacy. Advise on production legal issues.
• Stay up to date with legal developments and regulations related to intellectual property and rights, ensuring compliance with all relevant laws.
• Collaborate closely with business partners to gain a thorough understanding of their respective departments and help develop strategies that align with legal requirements.
• Act as a valuable resource for the organization by providing legal support, guidance, and recommendations to various departments and stakeholders.
• Create, review and update standard agreement templates in web-based platform for day-to-day operations.
• Assess insurance requirements, in consult with the organization's insurance brokers.
• Support the process of maintaining JALC registered trademarks.
• Work with the General Counsel and other colleagues on major projects with long-term organizational implications.
• Take initiative on other legal and board governance matters as needed.

Qualifications

• Juris Doctorate from an accredited law school. Admission to the New York Bar.
• At least 5-7 years of relevant legal experience, preferably within a non-profit or entertainment industry setting. In-house experience preferred.
• Demonstrated integrity and adhering to high ethical values in decisions and dealings with others.
• Ability to build rapport and effectively liaise with internal clients, outside counsel, constituencies, and adversaries at all levels.
• Flexible working style and responds calmly when under pressure.
• Excellent organizational and communication skills.
• Results oriented team player with a capacity to work in a fast-paced, creative, multi‑faceted business environment.
• Handles confidential information using discretion, professional sensitivity, and sound judgment.
• Expertise in advising creatives on copyright/fair use/privacy matters.
• Attention to detail and ability to multi-task, prioritize and schedule work effectively without compromising interpersonal skills or optimal results.
• Superior verbal and written communications skills, and able to create and lead power point presentations.
• Experience with digital distribution, content licensing, web sites and social media accounts.
• Experience with legal issues related to nonprofits, public charities, and fundraising.
• Ability to work both independently and as part of a team environment.
• Ability to structure and draft agreements independently and efficiently.
• Demonstrated ability, in a positive and practical manner, to approach complex legal scenarios.

Those who are offered a position with Jazz at Lincoln Center will be required to provide written confirmation of a completed COVID-19 vaccination as a condition of employment. To assist any individual who is unable to be vaccinated because of a medical condition or who objects to being vaccinated on the basis of sincerely held religious beliefs and practices, JALC will engage in an interactive process to determine if a reasonable accommodation can be provided, so long as it does not create an undue hardship for the JALC and/or does not pose a direct threat to the health or safety of others in the workplace and/or to the employee. To request accommodation, please notify JALC Human Resources in writing at HR@jazz.org.

Jazz at Lincoln Center is an equal opportunity employer that affords equal opportunities to all applicants, employees, contractors, and other covered persons, and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws. Jazz at Lincoln Center is committed to creating an inclusive, open, and respectful culture that reflects and embraces diversity.

This role will be in office 5 days a week.