Senior Legal Counsel

Job Title: Senor Legal Counsel

REPORTING TO: COO/CLO

DEPARTMENT: Legal

LOCATION: New York, NY

POSITION OVERVIEW:

The Senior Legal Counsel for NYCFC provides high-level professional corporate support and advice across all NYCFC business units (including Sporting, First Team, NYCFC II, NYCFC’s Academy and City in the Community (CITC)). Focus is on business partnering to provide subject matter expertise, advice and guidance, active and strategic management of various Club and league policies (including NYCFC’s Academy, and Safeguarding policies); litigation management; and partnering with internal clients on various legal matters, including with respect to intellectual property, employment, ticketing and privacy.

The Senior Legal Counsel will report to the COO/CLO for NYCFC. The successful candidate will recruit, develop and lead a team of one or two interns. The ideal candidate is an experienced attorney with exceptional interpersonal skills, is intelligent, hardworking and self- starting, reliable, organized, and can manage multiple assignments and deadlines in a fast-paced environment.

WHAT YOU’LL DO:

• Apply professional judgement and expertise to deliver complex messages across the organization, adapting stakeholder approaches to maintain strong trusting relationships with key leaders/functions.
• Deliver various commercial contracts, including sponsorship agreements, marketing agreements, ticketing agreements, vendor contracts, non-disclosure agreements, event agreements, venue agreements, governmental contracts, etc.
• Manage a Legal Counsel, providing guidance and support to ensure their professional growth and effective performance.
• Research various legal questions (e.g., within Club’s contracts or MLS policies, or under applicable law) and communicate to internal departments
• Advise, challenge and coach senior leaders regarding various data privacy and consumer protection matters, various intellectual property matters, including content and music licensing, trademark and copyright issues
• Ensure compliance with, provide training for and enforce various organizational policies (including supporting Safeguarding Manager in various Academy and youth protection policies, document retention policy, litigation hold policy, etc.)
• Contribute to litigation management, including responsibility discovery requests, litigation holds and subpoena responses
• Interface with MLS legal departments in a variety of areas and develop strong understanding of applicable league policies
• Apply expertise in the areas of corporate governance, employment practices, human resources and general business practice compliance
• Ensure compliance with applicable international, federal, state and local laws and regulations
• Participate in special projects and perform various other tasks that may be assigned from time to time by the COO/CLO or other senior internal clients
• Maintain an understanding of the external environment and industry trends (revenue/cost drivers, levers, competitive situations)
• Foster an environment that promotes the sharing of knowledge and best practices, and build on learning to create value for the organization
• Promote positive, collaborative internal culture
• Lead the communication of tactical/operational plans, ensuring corporate service strategy and policy is aligned, communicated, and implemented across the wider business.

WHO YOU ARE:

• Strong teamwork and relationship management skills; works effectively as a liaison between the legal department and all internal clients and external partners/stakeholder.
• Proven ability to conduct research and manage projects and documents, including contracts.
• Ability to be flexible and resourceful in response to changing priorities and needs.
• Demonstrated willingness to continuously acquire new competencies and accept new challenges.
• Ability to handle multiple assignments and deadlines with accuracy and attention to detail.
• Excellent communication skills, both oral and written, and must be able to effectively manage communications and projects between multiple work sites/locations.
• Demonstrate honesty, responsibility, integrity, and dedication in the fulfilment of commitments.
• Maintain confidentiality of sensitive information.
• Excellent organization skills.
• Exceptional attention to detail and strong analytical and critical thinking skills.
• Ability to work nontraditional hours, as needed.
• Guided by strong moral and ethical principles.
• Pursues lifelong development and learning.
• Communicates in a direct, open, and honest manner.
• Accountable for actions and decisions.
• Seeks and accepts feedback.

WHAT YOU’LL BRING:

• Juris Doctorate degree from an American Bar Association accredited law school
• 8-10 years of experience at a top law firm or with an in-house corporate legal department
• Licensed to practice in New York State or ability to become registered to practice as in-house counsel in New York State
• Must be in good standing with New York State bar
• Quality transactional experience required; sports industry, compliance and data privacy experience each a plus

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Applicant must be able to comply with MLS Next Safety and Well-Being policy and any other applicable child safety policies provided to applicants by NYCFC
• Must be able to work games scheduled which may be at night and on weekends and holidays

COMPENSATION:

This exempt position has an estimated annual base salary range of $170,000 to $180,000. Final compensation offer amounts are based on a wide array of factors unique to each candidate, including but not limited to demonstrated skill set, years and depth of relevant experience, and some role-dependent factors such as certifications and software expertise. We welcome direct conversations with each candidate about compensation in all of our initial calls.

WHAT WE OFFER:

• Excellent health, dental & vision insurance, with options to fit you and your family’s needs
• Comprehensive and competitive benefit programs, including maternal & paternal leave
• Ancillary benefits: Commuter, gym membership, and Citi Bike discounts
• Your health is important! Our wellness strategy focuses on mental and physical wellbeing through in-office and virtual programs
• Four complementary tickets to every NYCFC home match
• Team outings, happy hours, and annual staff gatherings to celebrate our co-workers
• A dynamic, ambitious, and fun work environment

NEW YORK CITY FOOTBALL CLUB OVERVIEW:

At New York City Football Club (NYCFC), we are on a mission to build this City into one of the soccer capitals of the world. The Club was announced as Major League Soccer’s 20th franchise and is the first and only MLS team located within the five boroughs of New York City. The Club has qualified for the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs for the last seven consecutive seasons, winning the MLS Cup in 2021. Games are broadcast through MLS Season Pass, the unprecedented subscription service from Apple and Major League Soccer that will have every match of the MLS regular season, Audi MLS Cup Playoffs and Leagues Cup all in one place and with no blackouts. NYCFC’s combined 3.3 million social media following across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter is the second highest among MLS clubs. For more information, please visit: https://www.nycfc.com/.

New York City Football Club is also one of 12 clubs comprising City Football Group and counts Manchester City FC, Melbourne City FC, Yokohama F-Marinos, Girona FC, Montevideo City Torque, Sichuan Jiuniu FC, Mumbai City FC, Lommel SK, Espérance Sportive Troyes AC and Palermo FC among its sister clubs.

We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.