Senior Director, Business & Legal Affairs, Film & Television - Santa Monica, 90404

Senior Director, Business & Legal Affairs, Film & Television - Santa Monica, 90404, United States of America

How we LEAD:

The Senior Director, Legal Affairs – Film & Television will be a key member of UMG’s legal team supporting the company’s Film and TV business across Mercury Studios, Polygram Entertainment, and label groups. Reporting to, and working closely with, the EVP, Business & Legal Affairs, this role will provide hands-on legal leadership across the full content lifecycle—development, financing, production, distribution, and other ancillary exploitation.

This is a highly collaborative position working directly with business leaders across Film & TV, Creative, Finance, Production, Business Affairs, Music Licensing, Merchandising, and other key partners across many UMG divisions. The ideal candidate brings strong transactional capabilities, a sophisticated understanding of production and financing mechanics, excellent drafting and negotiation skills, and a business-forward mindset that enables solutions while protecting UMG’s interests.

How you’ll CREATE:

· Deal Structuring & Negotiation: Draft and negotiate core film and television agreements across development, financing, production, and distribution/licensing, translating business objectives into clear, executable legal terms.

· Underlying Rights & Chain of Title: Structure and secure underlying rights (options/purchases, life rights, books, articles, podcasts), advise on chain-of-title and rights scope, and ensure clearance readiness prior to greenlight and production.

· Production Legal Support: Provide day-to-day legal guidance to production teams on all production-related agreements, including production services, individual participant releases, vendors, locations, releases, credits, and other operational production matters.

· Distribution, Licensing & Delivery: Draft and negotiate domestic and international distribution and platform licensing agreements, advising on delivery requirements, approvals, credits, marketing obligations, and remedies.

· Rights, Clearances & Legal Risk Management: Advise on rights analysis, third-party materials, clearances, publicity/privacy issues, and legal risk mitigation across the content lifecycle.

· Film Financing & Co-Financing: Structure and document financing, co-financing, and co-production arrangements, partnering with Finance to align legal terms with budgets, recoupment structures, approvals, and risk allocation.

· Cross-Divisional Partnership: Serve as a legal partner to Mercury Studios, Polygram Entertainment, and label production groups (including Federal Films and Interscope Films), coordinating across UMG divisions as needed.

· Guild/Union Compliance (as applicable): Support compliance with applicable guild and union frameworks (WGA, DGA, SAG-AFTRA) by incorporating requirements into deal terms and production workflows.

· Process, Templates & Legal Infrastructure: Develop and maintain templates, playbooks, and workflows that improve speed, consistency, and risk management across UMG’s film and TV slate.

Bring your VIBE:

·4-6 years of experience in entertainment law with a focus on film and/or television transactional work, gained at a top law firm and/or in-house at a studio, production company, or content-driven media company

· Juris Doctor (J.D.) from an accredited law school; California Bar membership (or eligibility to register as in-house counsel in California)

· Demonstrated experience drafting and negotiating film and television agreements across development, financing, production, and distribution/licensing for both unscripted and scripted projects

· Strong working knowledge of production mechanics and financing structures as related to both independently financed projects and projects financed within the more traditional studio system, including budgets, delivery requirements, approvals, and risk allocation

· Solid grounding in intellectual property law relevant to film and TV, including copyright, chain-of-title, rights clearances, and third-party materials

· Familiarity with applicable guild and union frameworks (WGA, DGA, SAG-AFTRA), with the ability to incorporate requirements into deal terms and workflows

· Highly organized and detail-oriented, with the ability to manage multiple, time-sensitive matters simultaneously in a fast-paced environment

· Commercial, solutions-oriented legal thinker who balances risk management with business objectives and creative execution

· Clear, confident communicator with strong judgment and the ability to partner effectively with senior executives, creative teams, production, finance, and external partners

· Collaborative, low-ego professional who thrives in cross-functional environments and enjoys working close to the business