About BuzzFeed

BuzzFeed (Ticker: BZFD) is home to the best of the internet. Across food, news, pop culture & commerce, our brands drive conversation & inspire what audiences watch, read, buy, & obsess over next. Born on the internet in 2006, BuzzFeed is committed to making it better: providing trusted, quality, brand-safe news & entertainment to hundreds of millions of people; making content on the internet more inclusive, empathetic, & creative; & inspiring our audience to live better lives. We'll continue to recruit the best founders & creators to join us in this mission, with more additions like Complex Networks & HuffPost to come.

Business Area: Administrative
Job Category: Legal
Salary: 170,000-195,000 USD
Union Status: Non Union 
BuzzFeed is committed to fair & equitable compensation practices. We reserve the ability to adjust the final compensation for this role based on the final candidate's experience, skillset, certifications, & geography.

The Role

BuzzFeed is looking for an experienced development & production attorney to join our business & legal affairs team.  You will provide a full range of attorney functions relating to the negotiation, drafting, & execution of development, production & distribution agreements, & related advice & support to BuzzFeed Studios, Business Development, Video Production, Sales, Experiential/Events & other internal teams.  You will report directly to the Senior Vice President, Commercial Transactions & Business Affairs. You know, & can evaluate, all matters in a way that balances needs & mitigates risk while achieving the business end-goal. You will be a trusted & knowledgeable point of contact for business leaders, & will maintain alignment between BuzzFeeds commercial objectives & its legal policies as reflected in the library of forms that have been developed, & you will update those forms & create new ones as necessary. You will work in the New York Metropolitan area or Los Angeles, & on a regularly recurring schedule.

You Will

• Structure, negotiate, & draft development, production & distribution deals for scripted & unscripted programming for all film, television & digital licensees/platforms
• Handle development through production business & legal affairs on projects & manage the day-to-day issues related to production, including negotiating deals for writers, talent, directors, executive producers, etc. & advise on union/guild collective bargaining issues & standards of film, television & digital exhibitors
• Negotiate & draft overall deals, first look agreements, partnership agreements, rights agreements (books, articles, podcasts, etc.), license & co-production agreements, production services agreements, & financing agreements
• Analyze, review & interpret contracts (including complicated chain of title matters & availability of content for exploitation), & provide thoughtful & practical legal advice on potential risks & issues
• Interface on a day-to-day basis with various internal teams (Creative, Production, Finance, etc.) & production personnel, as needed
• Partner with cross-functional teams (including Sales, Experiential/Events & Business Development) to support the execution of BuzzFeeds tentpole live events & key partnerships
• Manage relationships with outside counsel
• Be a key member of the legal & business affairs team

You have:

• 6+ years of legal experience (post-JD) working in a film or television business affairs department, legal affairs department and/or top-tier entertainment law firm
• Substantial experience in negotiating & drafting all manner of contracts for domestic & international development, production & distribution deals for film & television
• Excellent negotiating, drafting & transaction structuring skills (in particular, the ability to manage negotiations with a multiplicity of parts), & strong analytical & organizational skills
• Past exposure to the strategic thinking that underpins the structures of complex film & television financing models
• Familiarity with employment, insurance & litigation matters, production clearance issues, entertainment guild rules & regulations, & copyright & trademark matters
• Strong legal acumen with the ability to demonstrate sound judgment (in particular, the ability to develop creative solutions in areas with evolving legal guidance)
• Collaborative, positive & team-oriented style with a proven record of building strong relationships, both internally & externally at all levels
• Willingness to tackle matters in & outside areas of expertise with a can-do attitude, understanding that no job is too big or too small
• Excellent communication skills, both written & oral
• Experience managing a high-volume workload while operating autonomously within corporate parameters & deadlines.
• Excellent attention to detail & ability to respond to matters in a quick yet accurate manner
• Experience in managing, supervising & training personnel is a plus
• J.D. from an ABA accredited law school, & a valid license to practice law in California or New York State
• Proficiency with standard office communication & work processing systems
• English fluency is required

Life at BuzzFeed

We celebrate inclusion & are committed to equal opportunity employment. We are  proud to be an equal opportunity workplace. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to, & will not be discriminated against based on age, race, gender, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, disability or any other protected category.

You can expect:

• A supportive, inclusive atmosphere on a team that values your contributions
• Opportunities for personal & professional growth through work experience, offerings from our in-house Learning @ BuzzFeed team, our Employee Resource Groups, & more
• An attractive & equitable compensation package, including salary & stock options.
• A generous benefits program featuring paid time off, unlimited sick time, comprehensive medical benefits, a family leave policy, access to mental health platforms, retirement plans, gym & wellness discounts, & much more.

We want all employees to feel safe & comfortable when they engage in any in-person meetings, when visiting the office, or when working from an offsite production or meeting location. As part of this commitment to health & safety, BuzzFeed requires COVID-19 vaccines for current U.S. employees, including all newly hired employees. Requests for accommodation per applicable law for health and/or religious reasons will be considered. Union employees are subject to what is outlined in their applicable collective bargaining agreement.

Note: BuzzFeed offers remote/flexible work (unless specified to be required to be in-person) & open to hiring remote candidates who are residents in the following states: CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, HI, IL, KY, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MS, MT, NC, NH, NJ, NM, NY, OH, OR, PA, TX, VA, WA, & WV. For non sales roles, we can also hire in AK, AR, AZ, ID, KS, MO, ND, SC, & VT.