Assistant General Counsel – WETA

Assistant General Counsel

Full-Time, Regular

Reports to: SVP and General Counsel

We’re looking to hire an Assistant General Counsel for our Legal & Business Affairs department. Under General Counsel’s oversight, counsel various departments, and review, draft and approve contract for goods and services, all consistent with WETA’s goals, policies, and financial interests. Provide advice and counsel on national production and distribution agreements and other legal matters. Report to Senior Vice President and General Counsel.

In an average week, you can expect to:

• Structure, draft and negotiate contracts for WETA’s television, digital, and radio productions.
• Includes funding, co-production, and distribution contracts, and contracts with producers, writers, talent, and other production staff.
• Coordinate terms of multiple agreements to ensure consistency.
• Provide clear and concise legal counsel to various WETA departments, including NewsHour Productions, Digital Media, Membership, Major Gifts, Finance, Computer Services, Learning Media, and others, including advice on compliance with copyright, regulatory, legal, system and other requirements.
• Review and draft agreements for goods and services required or offered by internal clients.

What success looks like:

• After 60 days - familiarity with types and scope of production contracts, and issues presented by each; demonstrated expansion of knowledge of WETA and NewsHour Productions LLC’s operations, and the public media system; successful drafting and review of vendor, independent contractor and other contracts
• After 120 days - increasing independence in the successful finalization of production contracts; recognition of rights and obligations across contracts, and incorporation of provisions to align those contracts; leading cross-departmental contract status meeting; collaboration with other departments on matters requiring legal advice

You must have:

• Excellent academic credentials, including a law degree from an ABA-accredited law school, a current license to practice in the District of Columbia or Virginia, or eligible to waive into the D.C. Bar.
• Five to seven years relevant legal experience, preferably in broadcast, entertainment, or related field.

You should have:

• Demonstrated knowledge and experience in broadcasting or entertainment law, or related field with similar transactional work.
• Experience in trademark, copyright, music licensing, and other areas of intellectual property law preferred.
• Knowledge and experience with public broadcasting, and the political and regulatory environment for broadcasting and new media preferred.
• Willingness to learn and manage other department work, including employee and labor relations, FCC regulation, non-profit compliance issues, and corporate governance.

Proof of full dosage of a COVID-19 vaccination is required for all positions that will be working onsite, or may reasonably or occasionally be called to work onsite.

About us:

Founded in 1961, WETA is Washington, DC’s leading public broadcasting station. As a PBS and NPR member, we not only serve the DC metro area with our local programming and classical radio station, but also the nation with Washington Week, PBS NewsHour, and our partnerships with Ken Burns and Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

Our staff comes from very diverse backgrounds, but we all have one thing in common; we believe in our mission and the service we provide to the public.

We know there are great candidates who may have skills we haven’t thought about. If that’s you, don’t hesitate to apply and tell us about yourself. We also encourage members of traditionally underrepresented communities to apply, including people of color, LGBTQ+ people, veterans and people with disabilities.

WETA is an equal employment opportunity employer. WETA does not discriminate against employees or applications on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, age, national origin, citizenship status, disability, medical condition, genetic predisposition or carrier status, military or veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status or any other characteristic protected by applicable local, state or federal law.