Company Description

Penguin Random House is the leading adult and children's publishing house in North America, the United Kingdom and many other regions around the world. In publishing the best books in every genre and subject for all ages, we are committed to quality, excellence in execution, and innovation throughout the entire publishing process: editorial, design, marketing, publicity, sales, production, and distribution. Our vibrant and diverse international community of nearly 300 publishing brands and imprints include Ballantine Bantam Dell, Berkley, Clarkson Potter, Crown, DK, Doubleday, Dutton, Grosset & Dunlap, Little Golden Books, Knopf, Modern Library, Pantheon, Penguin Books, Penguin Press, Penguin Random House Audio, Penguin Young Readers, Portfolio, Puffin, Putnam, Random House, Random House Children's Books, Riverhead, Ten Speed Press, Viking, and Vintage, among others. More information can be found at http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/.

Job Description

Penguin Random House, home to genre-defining children’s literature, world-renowned authors, and culture-shaping works, is seeking an experienced, business-minded Legal Counsel to join its Legal Department. 

This role serves as a trusted legal advisor to the company’s technology, digital, marketing, corporate, and operational teams. The successful candidate will provide practical, strategic, and solution-oriented legal counsel across a broad range of commercial transactions, technology initiatives, artificial intelligence, privacy, cybersecurity, compliance, and corporate governance matters. 

This position is ideal for an attorney who enjoys partnering with business stakeholders to enable innovation while effectively managing legal and regulatory risk. The role requires strong commercial judgment, excellent drafting and negotiation skills, and the ability to advise on rapidly evolving legal and regulatory issues affecting technology and digital business operations. 

Key Responsibilities 

Commercial Transactions & Technology 

• Draft, review, negotiate, and manage a broad range of commercial agreements, including: 
• SaaS and software licensing agreements 
• Cloud services agreements 
• Technology procurement and implementation agreements 
• AI and machine learning vendor agreements 
• Data processing agreements 
• Professional services and consulting agreements 
• Digital platform and marketplace agreements 
• Marketing, advertising, advertising technology, sponsorship, licensing, and partnership agreements 
• Vendor, distribution, production, and confidentiality agreements. 
• Develop and maintain scalable contract templates, playbooks, and negotiation guidance to improve efficiency and consistency across the business. 
• Partner with procurement, IT, information security, marketing, finance, HR, and business teams on strategic technology initiatives. 

Artificial Intelligence & Emerging Technologies 

• Advise business stakeholders on the responsible procurement, deployment, and governance of generative AI and other emerging technologies. 
• Draft and negotiate AI-related contractual provisions addressing intellectual property, confidentiality, data usage, model training, bias, transparency, security, and regulatory compliance. 
• Help develop and maintain enterprise AI governance policies, standards, and internal guidance. 
• Monitor evolving domestic and international AI laws and regulations and translate legal developments into practical business guidance. 

Privacy, Data Protection & Information Governance 

• Advise on privacy, data governance, cybersecurity, and information management matters affecting the company’s operations. 
• Counsel business teams on compliance with applicable privacy laws and regulations, including GDPR, CCPA/CPRA, state privacy laws, and other emerging data protection requirements. 
• Review data collection, sharing, retention, marketing, and digital product practices for legal compliance. 
• Support incident response activities and advise on contractual obligations relating to cybersecurity and data breaches. 

Compliance & Corporate Governance 

• Partner with compliance, information security, procurement, finance, and business leadership to strengthen governance frameworks and enterprise risk management. 
• Develop, implement, and update company policies relating to technology use, AI, privacy, records management, and regulatory compliance. 
• Conduct legal risk assessments for new products, digital initiatives, and strategic partnerships. 
• Deliver legal training and educational programs on technolo