Associate General Counsel

JOB SUMMARY

The Associate General Counsel reports to the General Counsel and provides legal and strategic support and advice to Burning Man Project (the “Organization”) on the wide range of legal matters that arise in the Organization’s operations. The Associate General Counsel’s principal duties include: providing advice and counsel to all departments within the Organization; project-managing litigation and administrative proceedings involving the Organization; managing Burning Man’s intellectual property portfolio; overseeing the legal review of all the Organization’s contracts; and supervising the work of outside counsel.  Success in this role depends on the ability to collaborate and navigate complexity. Strong relationship-building and adaptability are key to thriving in this environment.

This is a regular full-time role, located at Burning Man Project’s San Francisco, CA office.

 The deadline to apply for this role is 5:00pm Pacific on 01/11/26.

DUTIES & ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS

PERCENTAGE OF TIME SPENT

Strategic Legal Advice, and Counseling (40%)

• In collaboration with the General Counsel, tracks and responds to requests for legal research, advice, or opinions from departments across the Organization
• Performs legal research and drafts research memorandums on a wide variety of legal topics as needed
• Oversees the ongoing work of outside counsel and legal consultants, serving as the liaison and primary point of contact with internal staff
• Oversees litigation and administrative proceedings to which the Organization is a party, including investigating potential or actual claims, drafting and reviewing pleadings, and managing discovery and fact development
• Acts as a key risk manager of the organization by identifying potential legal issues as they arise, and works collaboratively with other departments to suggest creative solutions for managing risk while also allowing the organization to achieve its goals.  Regularly consults with the People Operations (HR) team on employment law developments and compliance, employee disputes, and internal investigations
• Helps facilitate Legal Team meetings, intellectual property team meetings, and contract team meetings

Contracts Administration (25%)

• Manages requests within the Organization for legal support with contracts, including: drafting template agreements for consultants, vendors, service providers, grant recipients, licensees, affiliates, and other collaborators; reviewing and revising external agreements; and overseeing review of contracts by junior attorneys and paralegal
• Oversees outside contracts counsel and acts as the primary liaison between the Organization’s contract managers and outside contracts counsel, ensuring timely and efficient review of all requests

Intellectual Property Portfolio Management (Education, Maintenance, Licensing, Enforcement) (25%)

• Manages Burning Man’s intellectual property portfolio, with a focus on preserving and protecting Burning Man’s Decommodification Principle and  protecting Burning Man’s intellectual property and images and recordings from the Burning Man event from being used for unauthorized purposes
• Oversees licensing of Burning Man’s intellectual property, including in book, film, and other media projects and by Burning Man Regional Events and other affiliates and partners
• Engages outside counsel as needed to assist with registration, licensing, and enforcement issues
• Stays abreast of developments in intellectual property law; assesses the Organization’s intellectual property policies in light of these developments; proposes revisions as appropriate for consideration by the General Counsel; and implements new and revised policies
• Keeps the General Counsel informed about complex and ongoing intellectual property issues

Other (10%)

• Pursues ongoing learning to stay current on emergent knowledge, skills and processes relevant to job duties
• Performs other duties as assigned

LEARNING AND TEACHING

• Documentation