Associate Counsel

WELCOME TO HARTBEAT. WE ARE COMEDY. WE ARE CULTURE.

Founded by Kevin Hart, HARTBEAT is the global, multi-platform media company creating entertainment at the intersection of comedy and culture with a mission to keep the world laughing together. HARTBEAT delivers comedy through its three divisions: HARTBEAT Studios, which finances, develops and produces innovative content; HARTBEAT Media, which connects with consumers around the world through events and the company’s expansive distribution network; and PULSE, the company’s branded entertainment studio that serves as a creative and cultural consultancy to brand. HARTBEAT’s flagship consumer brand, the LOL! Network, reaches audiences across its O&O social media, audio, and OTT partners. Led by an award-winning team, HARTBEAT is a valuable partner to the biggest entertainment companies, platforms and brands in the world, driving cultural currency and generating sales, subscriptions, buzz, and conversation with some of the most coveted audiences.

THE ROLE:

Hartbeat is seeking a dynamic and experienced Associate Counsel to join our Business & Legal Affairs team. This is a brand-new role in a collaborative, growing department, so the work is broad and there is a lot of room to grow. The successful candidate will play a crucial role in providing legal support across various facets of our business, including film, television, podcasts, distribution, marketing, brand partnerships and branded content, live events and more. As an Associate Counsel, you will work closely with internal teams to ensure legal compliance, protect the company's interests, and contribute to the overall success of our diverse media and entertainment ventures. This position will co-report directly to our two Senior Counsel, Business & Legal Affairs.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

General

• Under the supervision of our two Senior Counsel, structure, negotiate and draft deal memos and longform agreements for a variety of commercial deals across our content studio, distribution, live event, marketing and brand partnership business divisions (e.g., production services agreements, acquisition agreements, license agreements including domestic and international distribution agreements, first-look deals, overall deals, co-pro agreements, shopping and attachment agreements, above-the-line development and production deals for writers, showrunners, producers, directors, casting directors and talent, media buy insertion orders, brand-funded custom content agreements, ad placement/platform agreements, SVOD platform license agreements for FAST channels, live event agreements, etc.).

• Draft and update various contract templates for use by the Business & Legal Affairs team.

• Assist Senior Counsel and General Counsel with managing certain corporate matters including drafting basic corporate organizational documents, researching corporate governance requirements and conducting diligence on potential acquisition targets.

• Assist the HR team with certain employment-related matters.

• Draft and negotiate commercial agreements related to office facilities including equipment leases, service agreements, vendor agreements, etc.

• Proactively assist the legal and business teams to develop and implement improvements to contract processes.

• Help manage and maintain Hartbeat’s trademark portfolio

• Handling all other related matters as needed at the direction of the General Counsel and/or Senior Counsel

Production Legal

• Provide timely, solutions-oriented advice on a wide range of issues related to active productions, including material deal terms, intellectual property rights, availability/restrictions of use of certain materials, privacy, music, clearances, guild/union and labor issues, insurance, credits and delivery.

• Oversee, streamline and liaise on all production legal matters.

• Advise on all legal aspects of content creation, including rights clearances, defamation, and privacy issues.

Deal and Workflow Management

• Keep up-to-date document and email records via the department’s document management system and assist with tracking of deal flow; familiarity and competency on tracking software such as Airtable, LegalTracker, and NetDocuments preferred.

• Create deal summaries and rights reports for various agreements and projects for different stakeholders.

• Assist with implementation of new rights management system.

EXPERIENCE & SKILLS:

• Juris Doctor (JD) from an accredited law school with strong academic credentials and admission to the bar in California.

• 3-5 years of substantial, relevant transactional experience with a foc