Senior Legal Counsel, Fanatics
Director
Offers performance-based bonus
More information about location
3+ days a week in office (Upper Kirby Street, Manchester)
Sports merchandise retailer
Be an early applicant
Sports merchandise retailer
1001+ employees
Be an early applicant
Offers performance-based bonus
More information about location
3+ days a week in office (Upper Kirby Street, Manchester)
1001+ employees
Company mission
Fanatics' mission is to ignite and amplify the passion of global fans across their digital sports journey, and maximize the presence and reach for hundreds of partners worldwide.
Role
Who you are
- Qualified as a Solicitor in England and Wales
- 10+ years of post-qualification experience working on a wide range of sophisticated commercial transactions, including rights acquisition, intellectual property licensing, digital technology, e-commerce, and/or brand partnerships
- Willingness to always be a hands-on lawyer, dealing with all of the company’s needs, from the largest to the smallest matters
- Broad commercial and strategic background working on international transactions
- Strong business acumen and savvy, good common sense and sound judgment
- Ability to execute under pressure and under time constraints in a fast-paced environment
- Creative thinker who can initiate and develop alternative approaches to complex issues
- Self-starter with strong work ethic and ability to work independently and take ownership of business-critical transactions
- Strong academic background and law firm training
- Experience in the global sports industry and/or a background in licensing and retail, including e-commerce, are strongly preferred
- In-house experience is strongly preferred
- At Fanatics, we value transparency and honesty. If you don’t meet every single requirement, that’s okay – we still want to hear from you! We believe in the power of diverse experiences and talents. If you’re excited about the role and confident that you can contribute, don’t hesitate to apply. We’re genuinely interested in how your unique skills and perspective can help us build something amazing together
What the job involves
- Fanatics Commerce is seeking an experienced, commercial/transactional lawyer to join Fanatics’ global legal team as Director, Senior Counsel
- Reporting to the Vice President - International Legal. This role will provide significant hands-on support (including drafting commercial contracts and rights acquisition), oversee outside counsel and partner with subject matter experts in various areas including intellectual property, privacy, regulatory and M&A
- Advise on complex global legal issues across a wide range of matters including commercial transactions, business operations, manufacturing, e-commerce, rights acquisition and licensing
- Serve as a trusted business partner to leaders across the organisation, including engaging in creative problem-solving, proactive issue-spotting and business-focused risk assessment
- Provide transactional legal advice to various departments across the organisation, including engagement in proactive issue-spotting and risk assessment
- Partner closely with the business development and business affairs teams to structure, draft, negotiate and execute a variety of complex strategic transactions with sports teams, leagues, associations and athletes, for rights acquisition, product licensing and operation of e-commerce and physical retail
- Provide general advice with respect to key areas affecting the business and operations, including data protection, privacy and intellectual property matters
- Interpret and advise with respect to rights and obligations under Fanatics' agreements
- Ensure the business is aware of, and in compliance with, all relevant laws, rules and regulations across many countries
- Review, analyse, draft and negotiate a wide range of complex commercial transactions including licensing, sublicensing, co-branding, personal services, MSAs, manufacturing, distribution and vendor agreements
- Manage international disputes, investigations, and regulatory matters, including through supervision of outside counsel
- Create and provide cross-functional legal training to employees
- Develop policies, protocols, best practices and templates
Our take
Fanatics is a sports-based eCommerce company that offers teams and leagues a convenient online platform through which to sell licensed apparel and merchandise. As well as the Fanatics online store, it runs the online stores of dozens of teams and leagues including the MLB, NHL, NBA, and NASCAR. They've also signed a number of exclusive deals to become the sole vendors of officially licensed merch for top athletes across multiple leagues.
It operates using a Cloud Commerce sales system which tracks clicks and purchases on the site as well as sports and player news and updates to inform retail and marketing decisions in real time. The company was first established as Football Fanatics, a chain of bricks-and-mortar stores in malls across Florida. Since then, it has been bought out by GSI Commerce and expanded.
Looking ahead, while its commerce business remains its biggest source of revenue for now, Fanatics has expanded into livestreamed shopping around collectibles and trading cards, acquiring Tops and hiring Snap and Alphabet executive to launch this new business. It also has an NFT arm in Candy Digital, of which it’s the majority owner, as well as a fledgling betting and gaming division.
Kirsty
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
20% employee growth in 12 months
Company
Funding (last 2 of 9 rounds)
Dec 2022
$700m
GROWTH EQUITY VC
Apr 2022
$1.5bn
GROWTH EQUITY VC
Total funding: $4.8bn
Company benefits
- At Fanatics we place our focus on results and empowerment and encourage you to enjoy your time on and OFF the field with our competitive time off policies
- Fanatics values our internal fans too! Our programs are designed to thank and reward Fanatics athletes for their hard work and commitment to winning as a team
- From breakfast to happy hour and every hour in between – Fanatics employees can enjoy time together at one of our many company events.
- As an employee you will receive a special discount on all of your favorite sports merchandise and memorabilia
- Fanatics cares about the fans around us. We encourage you to partner up with your teammates in giving back and serving the communities where we work and play
- You never know who will show up to the office. You might just meet one of your all-time favorite athletes
- Here at Fanatics we want you to accomplish your goals. We offer tuition reimbursement
- Fanatics cares about helping and supporting our teams in their busy lifestyles. Through wellness relationships with fitness and weight management partners we are here to support you in whatever your lifestyle goals
Company HQ
West Village, New York, NY
Leadership
Michael Rubin
(CEO)Michael founded GSI Commerce in 1998, before co-owning New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia 76ers since 2011. They also founded Fanatics in 2011 alongside roles at ShopRunner, Rue La La, Reform Alliance and Kynetic.
Doug Mack
(Vice Chairman and Board Director, not founder)Previously served as CEO for One Kings Lane. Co-founded and acted as CEO and Director of Scene7.
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