Paralegal Specialist

The Paralegal Specialist position carries out a range of para-professional duties under the supervision of one or more attorneys in ESPN’s Legal department.  The position assists attorneys with all facets of various transactional deals, including but not limited to contract drafting and analysis. Areas of focus can include, but are not limited to, programming acquisitions, film agreements, production agreements, marketing and promotion, digital (including social media) media and platforms, and distribution, as well as legal work related to various aspects of direct-to-consumer offerings. The Paralegal Specialist position will regularly engage with in-house attorneys, outside counsel, and business leads.   

ESPN, Inc., The Worldwide Leader in Sports, is the leading multinational, multimedia sports entertainment company featuring the broadest portfolio of multimedia sports assets with over 50 business entities.

What You Will Do:

• Drafts contracts and/or other legal documents, ranging from standard to highly complex with a high degree of competence, knowledge, legal judgment and drafting skill.  Range of subject matters may include programming, film, sponsorship, talent, production, intellectual property and other ESPN functions.
• Teamed with specific attorneys from which some but not all assignments flow; also receives some significant portion of work directly from clients while under the supervision of an attorney.
• Interacts with attorneys and other legal department personnel, outside counsel, internal clients, and third parties.
• Drafts certain standard agreements on a largely independent basis and analyze complex contract requirements for translation into contract draft language; and propose original alternate language.
• Provide guidance on complex, high profile, and sensitive legal matters and devise creative viable strategies and solutions in areas of focus, which may include programming and distribution rights, intellectual property ownership (e.g., trademark, copyright, name and likeness). 
• Performs such other duties or functions as the supervising attorney may delegate to them.
• Expected to contribute/participate in department oriented initiatives beyond assigned duties on occasion (e.g., legal department intranet site, presentations to client departments).

Required Qualifications & Skills:

• Minimum of 7 years of applicable legal experience required.
• Expertise in MS Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. 
• The ability to consistently solve problems with a high degree of independent decision-making.
• The ability to communicate effectively with all levels of management.
• Demonstrated strong operational expertise.
• Proven success in judgment in a broad scope of matters.
• Full knowledge of selected legal procedures, terminology, and contract policies and standards.
• Ability to handle a high volume of work with minimal supervision while exercising the judgment to appropriately discern when to escalate issues.
• Superior organization skills with the ability to prioritize workload efficiently and effectively, and excellent attention to detail.
• Strong interpersonal skills and must be highly team-oriented.
• High level of professionalism and ability to maintain absolute confidentiality.
• Ability to build business acumen and understand core elements of the applicable business area(s).

Preferred Qualifications:

• Subject matter expertise in the sports, media, entertainment,  and/or music space.

Education:

High School Diploma

Preferred Education:

Paralegal certification or Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree