General Counsel

Role:

This is a mission-critical, executive role for a strategic and entrepreneurial General Counsel who will report directly to the President. As our first in-house legal leader, you won’t just manage legal—you’ll own it. You’ll take full control of our legal function, replacing outside counsel dependency with a streamlined, scalable in-house operation that supports our rapid growth.

You’ll take command of a diverse portfolio of legal initiatives—ranging from corporate governance, risk management, and compliance, to complex structuring of investment entities and real estate, to contract systems, IP protection, and brand security. Your job: build systems that remove friction, reduce risk, and accelerate execution.

This isn’t a back-office legal job. You’ll be a strategic advisor and thought partner to the leadership team, ensuring every legal move aligns with business goals and drives results. You’ll bring deep judgment, fast thinking, and zero ego—and serve as the go-to authority on all legal matters across the company.

Responsibilities:

Strategic Legal Oversight & Governance

• Serve as the primary internal legal advisor.
• Provide strategic guidance on corporate governance, complex corporate structuring (including potential restructurings and management of legal aspects for a diverse real estate portfolio and company investments), operations, and major transactions.
• Manage board support, entity management, and equity administration.
• Oversee and refine the company's document retention policy.
• Support financing activities and M&A.
• Act as the primary liaison for strategic financial and tax planning initiatives involving legal structures.

Commercial Transactions & Partnerships

• Draft, review, negotiate, and manage a high volume of complex commercial agreements. This includes overseeing the finalization, revision, and implementation of key revenue-generating program/service agreements, event and sponsorship contracts, appearance/media agreements, property leases, affiliate agreements, content provider agreements, NDAs, waivers/releases, and other commercial contracts.
• Establish/improve contract management processes and determine optimal contract usage.

Compliance Program Development & Management

• Design, implement, and oversee comprehensive compliance programs addressing website terms, privacy, sales/marketing practices, operational processes, and regulatory requirements (including areas like FTC, GDPR, PCI, SEC, etc.).
• Develop policies, lead training, and promote a compliance culture.
• Oversee compliance audits (including review of marketing and educational materials) and manage corrective actions.
• Evaluate and manage compliance software/tools.
• Address international compliance requirements.

Intellectual Property & Brand Protection:

• Develop and implement a comprehensive IP strategy.
• Oversee the identification, filing, protection, and enforcement of all company IP (trademarks, copyrights, name/image/likeness, trade secrets), including finalizing IP assignments/licenses.
• Manage ongoing brand enforcement activities (takedowns, C&Ds), including overseeing the transition and management of IP monitoring vendors.
• Finalize and manage testimonial/appearance releases.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for external counsel on IP matters.

Risk Management & External Counsel Management

• Proactively identify, assess, and mitigate legal and regulatory risks.
• Directly manage the relationship with, and oversee all work performed by, outside counsel, serving as the central point of contact and ensuring alignment with company standards and cost-effectiveness across various practice areas.
• This includes overseeing ongoing litigation/disputes and managing counterparty risks in financing or other significant arrangements.
• Stay updated on legal developments and advise leadership.

Employment Law

• Provide practical advice on employment law matters.
• Oversee the review, updating, and management of all employment-related documentation and processes, including offer letters, contractor agreements, separation agreements (ensuring compliance with post-termination obligations), executive and standard employment agreements, employee handbooks, and related policy documents.
• Finalize and maintain templates for recurring employment-related agreements.

Requirements:

Experience & C