Associate Principal Counsel – Consumer Products, Games and Publishing

At Disney, we’re storytellers. We make the impossible, possible. We do this through utilizing and developing cutting-edge technology and pushing the envelope to bring stories to life through our movies, products, interactive games, parks and resorts, and media networks. Now is your chance to join our talented team that delivers unparalleled creative content to audiences around the world.

This attorney position supports various teams within Consumer Products, Games and Publishing (CPGP) – the segment that brings the magic of The Walt Disney Company’s powerful brands and franchises into the daily lives of families and fans around the world to create magical memories that last a lifetime – on all aspects of a global consumer products business. In this role, the candidate would work closely primarily with the Publishing business, but may also be called upon to support other parts of the CPGP organization in connection with, among other matters, marketing and advertising issues.

The successful candidate must be comfortable with handling diverse legal, regulatory, and compliance issues, and have the judgment to know when to elevate issues to senior attorneys in the department and legal subject matter experts. The successful candidate must also be adept at briefing non-legal colleagues on complex legal issues.
 

Responsibilities:

Organized, detail-oriented, practical and strategically-minded are key words for this position. On any given day, you might:

• Structure, draft, and negotiate a wide variety of publishing agreements, including contracts with book authors and illustrators, license agreements, distribution agreements, sales agreements, third party permissions, font and stock photography licenses, vendor/professional services agreements, and NDAs.

• Provide legal guidance on intellectual property rights, marketing and public relations initiatives relating to book launches, including reviewing ad collateral and negotiating marketing platform agreements and insertion orders.

• Review manuscripts and visual elements to address legal concerns prior to publication.

• Evaluate and advise on issues relating to sales, operations, and royalty accounting.

• Work cross-functionally with business and legal executives across multiple divisions to provide creative solutions to complex business and legal issues, across a variety of subject matters, territories, scenarios, and alternatives.

• Maintain and update contract templates and process documents to ensure they are reflective of legal changes and internal processes and procedures.

• Collaborate with business-unit stakeholders and internal subject-matter experts within the legal department.

• Perform such other responsibilities as may be deemed necessary in support of Consumer Products, Games and Publishing.

Basic Qualifications:

• At least seven (7) years of relevant legal experience

• Excellent drafting, negotiation, and communication skills

• Strong interpersonal skills, with the ability to work well in a team environment and build interdepartmental relationships at all levels

• Demonstrated ability to think strategically, identify and analyze complex issues, assess potential risk and impact, and devise creative solutions and strategies. Must have a commercial and solution-oriented mind-set, and must be willing to take ownership of projects and think proactively

• Ability to evaluate and reconcile issues from the business-unit and enterprise-level perspective

• Exceptional organizational, prioritization, and time management skills with the ability to work under deadlines and execute efficiently against multiple, high-priority and high-volume projects with minimal supervision

• Demonstrated ability to work in an environment with a high degree of confidentiality

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience providing legal services in the publishing industry, content production, and intellectual property licensing

Required Education:

• JD or equivalent from an accredited law school

• Membership in the California State Bar in good standing or willingness and qualification to be Registered In-House Counsel

The hiring range for this position in California is $169,405.00 – $219,230.00 per year. The base pay actually offered will take into account internal equity and also may vary depending on the candidate’s geographic region, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience among other factors. A bonus and/or long-term incentive units may be provided as part of the compensation package, in addition to the full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits, dependent on the level and position offered.