Senior Counsel, Media Law

The Opportunity – Senior Counsel, Media Law

Chicago Public Media, Inc. (“CPM”) is looking for a Senior Counsel, Media Law, to join our public media organization. The Senior Counsel, Media Law, will support our award-winning journalists, editorial operations, marketing, events, membership and product teams at WBEZ and its affiliate, the Chicago Sun-Times. In addition, the role will support contract review, drafting and negotiation company-wide as well as compliance-related legal work. The Senior Counsel, Media Law, will report to the Chief Legal Officer of CPM and will work closely with other members of the law department, the organization’s Editor-in-Chief, executive and senior leadership teams.     

Key Responsibilities

The ideal candidate has a desire to connect Chicago to our fact-based and community-centered journalism. You’ll do this by supporting the organization through:

• Pre-publication Review: Review news articles, investigations, scripts, podcasts and footage prior to publication to identify and mitigate legal risks before publication.
• Access to information: Advise on requests for records under the federal Freedom of Information Act and state public records laws; work with journalists to respond to and prepare appeals from denials.
• Litigation: Manage First Amendment claims, defamation, invasion of privacy, copyright and trademark infringement matters, FOIA litigation, cases relating to court access.  Manage litigation counsel, assist with fact gathering and witness interviews, review pleadings.  Respond to subpoenas for documents. 
• Intellectual Property Management: Handle copyright and trademark issues and rights clearance and advise on and draft intellectual property, licensing, partnership, production and talent agreements.
• Contracts: Review, draft and negotiate contracts for clients across the company, including marketing, membership and event contracts, vendor and operational contracts and consulting agreements; create template agreements for future use.
• Regulatory Compliance and Privacy: Advise on FCC regulations for broadcasters and FTC rules for advertising; ensure privacy compliance by drafting strong privacy policies and terms of use for digital platforms; provide counseling on privacy matters.
• New Technology: Manage legal risks associated with new technologies, including artificial intelligence (“AI”), and assist with rollout of internal AI policies and use of AI in the newsroom.
• Journalist Safety: Offer support and advice on the legal rights and protections afforded to journalists in connection with newsgathering activities; assess and respond to threats lodged at journalists.
• Marketing, Events and Membership Support: Review communications, contests and giveaways, event contracts and rights clearances.
• Training: Develop and provide training to staff on best practices.
• Advice: Advise on day to day legal matters and provide substantive support for the rest of the legal team on an as-needed basis.

Required Skills and Experience

• Deep interest, knowledge and proficiency in media law
• 3+ years of media law experience, with experience working in-house in a media, internet, news or publishing company preferred
• The highest level of professionalism and sound judgment
• Problem-solving skills and excellent business judgment, comfortable providing advice to internal and external clients
• Resourceful and proactive, with a strong ability to balance legal risks with practical business needs
• Strong writing and communication skills 
• Strong attention to detail, passion for establishing clarity in the face of complexity and ambiguity, and bias to action
• Ability to collaborate and form relationships, gain credibility, and partner up and down a matrixed organization
• Ability to work well under pressure and manage multiple high priority projects and deadlines
• Demonstrated success of establishing client rapport and participating in an environment of continuous improvement
• An entrepreneurial spirit with high energy, enthusiasm and a strong work ethic

Education

• Graduation from an American Bar Association accredited law school with a Juris Doctor degree
• Admitted to practice in at least one jurisdiction in the United States, preferably Illinois

Compensation

The expected pay range for this position is $135,000 to $155,000 per ANNUM.

Chicago Public Media provides pay ranges representing its good faith estimate of what the organization reasonably expects to pay for a position.  The pay offered to a selected candidate will be determined based on factors such as (but not limited to the scope and responsibilities of the position, the qualifications of the selected candidate, departmental budget availability, internal equity, geographical location, and external market pay for comparable jobs.

The position is full-time with comprehensive benefits.  This role is based in Chicago and the Senior Counsel will be expected to work in-person at CPM’s office at Navy Pier in Chicago a minimum of two days per week and remotely when not in the office. Applicants must be eligible to work in the U.S.