Senior Counsel

The Walt Disney Company; New York (NY); On-site; USD 183,000 - 237,000; Full time

Job summary

ESPN is seeking a Senior Counsel to support the Lead Counsel and the broader legal team, focusing on programming acquisitions, production agreements, marketing and promotion, digital media, and direct-to-consumer offerings. Position may be based in New York, NY or Bristol, CT.

The attorney will draft and negotiate contracts, advise on legal risks, supervise outside counsel, and help translate corporate strategy into actionable legal guidance for internal clients across ESPN.

Qualifications

• JD required from an accredited law school.
• Admission to NYS Bar or CT Bar in good standing or willing to become Registered In-House Counsel.
• Minimum 5 years of relevant experience in transactional practice.

Responsibilities

• Drafts contracts and other legal documents and negotiates with outside parties.
• Maintains knowledge of federal, state, and local laws and advises on compliance actions.
• Serves as primary Legal Department representative for ESPN departments or categories.
• Oversees outside counsel and analyzes their performance.
• Translates corporate strategy into mid- and long-term legal actions.

Skills

Contract negotiation

Communication skills

Analytical skills

Interpersonal skills

Time management

Education

JD from accredited law school

Bar admission NY or CT

Job description

Senior Counsel

ESPN is seeking a seasoned attorney for the role of Senior Counsel. This position will report to the Lead Counsel and will assist and support the Lead Counsel, Chief Counsel, General Counsel, and other attorneys in fulfilling the legal affairs and requirements of the corporation. Areas of focus can include, but are not limited to, programming acquisitions, production agreements, marketing and promotion, digital (including social) media and platforms, and distribution, as well as legal work related to various aspects of direct-to-consumer offerings. ESPN will consider placement of this position in New York, NY, or Bristol, CT.

What You Will Do:

• Maintains current knowledge of substantial range of federal, state, and local laws and of legislative and regulatory developments, analyzes how these might impact ESPN, and conceives and recommends compliance actions


• Serves as primary Legal Department representative for assigned ESPN departments or categories


• Drafts contracts and other legal documents, recommends approval/modification of contracts proposed by outside parties, and negotiates with outside parties


• Possesses and maintains (including through continuing legal education) knowledge in specialized legal areas, including emerging trends, specifically in connection with (1) content (including audiovisual programming, licensing and production); (2) intellectual property (copyright, trademark, rights of publicity); (3) marketing and promotion; and/or (4) digital (including social) media and platforms


• Conceives and recommends strategies and tactics in response to legislative and regulatory developments and other events or anticipated actions


• Keeps internal clients (and Legal leadership team) fully informed of relevant legal issues and implications of their current operations and proposed actions and, advises them accordingly of risks and legal consequences of alternative actions


• Reviews and edits significant guidelines, policies, letters, work orders, and other documents from applicable client departments to ensure that legal implications are appropriately handled


• Manages outside counsel in their representation of ESPN on litigation and other legal service matters and analyzes the approach and effectiveness of such outside counsel


• May supervise, on a non-exclusive basis, one or more Paralegal and Legal Assistant colleagues, and may supervise individual projects of Counsel(s)


• Recommends and may implement Legal Department policy at the direction of General Counsel and Chief Counsel


• Operates within the context of defined corporate strategies


• Recommends and implements enhancements and improvements to established processes and workflows


• Translates corporate strategy into mid- and long-term goals


• Translates the analysis and evaluation of trends in ESPN's legal positioning and compliance into recommended corporate actions


• Conceives and recommends strategies and initiatives to minimize the legal risks of current operations and proposed actions


• Determines / recommends the language of template legal documents


• Analyzes the legal implications of proposed ventures and current operations and proposed actions of internal clients


• Analyzes new laws and legislative and regulatory developments for their potential impact on ESPN


• Guides or participates in the management of client organizations in the interpretation of complex information


• Contributes to ensuring the processing efficiencies at all levels of the organizations


• Ensures that internal clients have an adequate understanding of the law as it applies to their operations


• Interacts with internal client management

Required Qualifications & Skills:

• A minimum of 5 years relevant experience, including extensive drafting, in a transactional practice at a law firm, network/studio, sports league, agency, and/or other in-house legal department


• A strong understanding of contract negotiating (including, by way of example only, programming acquisition, licensing, and production agreements) and general commercial/transactional legal matters


• Familiarity with entertainment, broadcast/cable, internet, mobile, direct-to-consumer, social and other digital media, and/or sports businesses


• Excellent interpersonal, written/verbal communication, and analytical skills


• Excellent organizational, prioritization, and time management skills with the ability to work under tight deadlines and execute efficiently against multiple, high-priority and high-volume projects in a fast-paced environment


• Exceptional ability to respond to and interact with creative and business executives at all levels of seniority in a manner that is personable and professional


• Exceptional facility with spotting issues, assessing, and communicating risks, making common-sense decisions, and finding flexible/creative solutions to achieve business goals

Preferred Qualifications:

• Familiarity with content agreement negotiating (including, by way of example only, audiovisual programming, licensing and production agreements) and intellectual property law (copyright, trademark, rights of publicity)


• Familiarity with audiovisual production legal work, including licensing of audiovisual content and data components


• Experience supervising paralegal/legal support staff

Education:

• JD degree or equivalent from an accredited law school


• Admission to New York State Bar or Connecticut State Bar in good standing or willingness and qualification to be Registered In-House Counsel in the applicable state of employment

The hiring range for this position in New York, NY is $182,900 to $236,600 per year and for Bristol, CT it is $174,600 to 225,800. 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.

Employment Type: Full time

Primary City, State, Region, Postal Code: New York, NY, USA

Alternate City, State, Region, Postal Code: USA - CT - ESPN Building 16 - 575 Birch St

Date Posted: 2026-08-07