Associate Counsel, Marketing & Brands Commercial Transactions

Compass; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Incentive programs

Medical benefits

Telehealth

Dental and vision

401(k)

FSAs

Commuter program

Life and disability insurance

Maven

Carrot fertility benefits

UrbanSitter network

Employee Assistance Program

Pet insurance

Paid vacation

Public holidays

Sick time

Parental leave

Recharge leave

Job summary

Compass is seeking an Associate Counsel to provide proactive legal guidance across contracts, IP, and corporate matters. You will partner with operations, growth, and product teams to enable scalable processes, drive strategic initiatives, and support acquisitions.

The role emphasizes collaboration, practical business judgment, and tailoring legal advice to Compass’s end-to-end real estate platform for agents and clients.

Qualifications

• JD and state bar admission (CA or NY) are required.
• 3+ years of top-tier law firm and/or in-house experience in corporate or IP matters.
• Excellent analytical, drafting, and negotiation skills with ability to explain complex ideas clearly.
• Experience with contract management systems such as SpotDraft is a plus.
• Detail-oriented with strong organizational skills and ability to manage multiple projects.
• Team player with low ego and strong collaboration across teams.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to support Brand trademark licensing and usage terms in vendor agreements.
• Familiarity with privacy laws (CCPA, GDPR, GLBA, TCPA, DNC) is advantageous.
• Familiarity with franchise, licensing, or multi-brand corporate structures is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Draft, review, and negotiate a broad range of contracts on standard templates and supplier forms.
• Support implementation and management of marketing assets review, including AI-assisted review tools.
• Collaborate with business teams on legal issues, approvals, policies, and business strategy.
• Provide business-focused legal advice on corporate transactions and integration of acquisitions; support strategic initiatives.
• Improve standard form agreements and legal processes, including contract lifecycle management and templates.
• Support end-to-end IP operations, including trademark portfolio management and brand enforcement.

Job description

At Compass, our mission is to help everyone find their place in the world. Founded in 2012, we’re revolutionizing the real estate industry with our end-to-­end platform that empowers residential real estate agents to deliver exceptional service to seller and buyer clients.

At Compass, we envision a world where the experience of selling or buying a home is simple and pleasant for everyone. Founded in 2012, Compass provides an end-to‑end platform that empowers residential real estate agents to deliver exceptional service to their seller and buyer clients, all in service of our mission to help everyone find their place in the world.

As an Associate Counsel at Compass, you work on exciting matters that require proactive legal guidance. You're part of a group of talented in-house lawyers and the projects you work on challenge you to think creatively and constructively. You are energetic and collaborative -- ready to partner in initiatives that influence all aspects of Compass’s business and work with employees and agents across the company. Your contributions will be impactful, value driven, and you will play an instrumental role on the Compass Legal Team.

At Compass You Will:

• Draft, review, and negotiate a broad range of contracts, including preferred supplier agreements, vendor engagement agreements, AI agreements, and event-related contracts on Compass's standard brand-form templates and on supplier forms
• Support the implementation and ongoing management of marketing assets review across all Compass Brands, including building and refining AI-assisted review tools
• Collaborate with various business teams at Compass (including operations, people, growth, finance, and product and engineering) - advising on legal issues, approval processes, Compass policies and procedures, and business strategy
• Provide business-focused legal advice and support on corporate transactions, integration of acquired businesses, as well as existing strategic initiatives
• Support the continuous improvement of standard form agreements and legal processes, including contract lifecycle management, with an emphasis on efficiency and scalability (including contract automation, developing trainings, contract templates, and playbooks)
• Support end-to-end intellectual property (IP) operations, including trademark portfolio management, brand enforcement, and responding to general IP questions

What We Look For:

• Strong academic credentials including a JD and membership in good standing in at least one state bar (NY or CA bar a plus)
• 3+ years of top-tier law firm and/or in-house experience with a focus on corporate or IP matters
• Excellent analytical, consulting, drafting and negotiation skills with the ability to make well‑reasoned legal and business judgments and clearly explain complex ideas
• Experience with SpotDraft (or a similar contract management system) a plus
• Detail-oriented with strong organizational skills, the ability to work independently, and manage several simultaneous projects under deadline pressure in a dynamic environment
• A team player with low ego who can effectively work with other attorneys and colleagues
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills and an ability to clearly and simply explain complex ideas
• Ability to support Brand trademark licensing and usage terms in vendor agreements
• Experience with privacy laws, specifically CCPA, GDPR, GLBA, TCPA and/or DNC a plus
• Familiarity with franchise, licensing, or multi‑brand corporate structures a plus
• Familiarity with artificial intelligence tools and issues related to business use of those tools a plus
• A willingness to learn new areas of law, acquire new skills, and take on additional and/or new responsibilities within the team on an “as‑needed” basis

Compensation:

The base pay range for this position is $150,000-$170,000 annually; however, base pay offered may vary depending on job‑related knowledge, skills, and experience. Bonuses and restricted stock units may be provided as part of the compensation package, in addition to a full range of benefits. Base pay is based on market location. Minimum wage for the position will always be met.

Perks that You Need to Know About:

Participation in our incentive programs (which may include eligible cash, equity, or commissions). Plus paid vacation, holidays, sick time, parental leave, and recharge leave; medical, tele‑health, dental and vision benefits; 401(k) plan; flexible spending accounts (FSAs); commuter program; life and disability insurance; Maven (a support system for new parents); Carrot (fertility benefits); UrbanSitter (caregiver referral network); Employee Assistance Program; and pet insurance.

Do your best work, be your authentic self.

At Compass, we believe that everyone deserves to find their place in the world - a place where they feel like they belong, where they can be their authentic selves, where they can thrive. Our collaborative, energetic culture is grounded in our Compass Entrepreneurship Principles and our commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, growth and mobility. As an equal opportunity employer, we offer competitive compensation packages, robust benefits and professional growth opportunities aimed at helping to improve our employees' lives and careers.

Notice for California Applicants

Los Angeles County Fair Chance Notice