The WME Business Affairs Department supports the agents at WME by utilizing the law, contracts and business judgment to help agents make the best deals for their clients. We also manage the contractual relationships between the company and its clients and customers, and advise company executives in effectively balancing business and legal risks. 

The Role :
WME is currently seeking an attorney with 7-10 years’ experience to support agents in the Literary department. The ideal candidate has experience in-house at a literary agency, publishing house and/or top law firm, and expertise in copyright/intellectual property, licensing and publishing. The position is located in New York City. This is a high-volume practice supporting literary agents, both domestically and internationally, who operate within tight timeframes and whose author clients include bestselling writers and media personalities with a wide range of literary properties. Candidate must be highly organized, detail-oriented and thorough, with the ability to manage and prioritize multiple projects at once. Primary responsibilities for this position include: 

• Advise agents on business strategy for domestic and foreign book deals of varying complexity
• Negotiate and draft book and magazine publishing agreements, and related ancillary agreements including collaboration agreements, photography and illustration agreements, permissions, releases and NDAs
• Analyze author clients’ copyrights and other intellectual property rights to maximize value and integrity of the rights
• Provide real-time advice to agents on business and legal issues, including questions of copyright, intellectual property, contract interpretation and enforcement
• Foster positive long-term relationships with the company’s clients and customers
• Implement and refine policies and procedures to ensure efficient and effective contract administration and document management processes

Qualifications:

• Experience at a top law firm and/or in-house practice working with intellectual property rights management and agreements (ideally, publishing)
  
• Knowledge of intellectual property rights including copyright
• Outstanding drafting, negotiation and organizational skills
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills that will enable interaction with a range of personalities and styles in a fast-paced business environment (including explaining legal concepts to clients and colleagues without legal knowledge, and with limited time and patience)
• Solid analytic skills, creative problem-solving abilities and a practical business-oriented viewpoint
• Upbeat temperament, dynamic personality and highly team-oriented approach to work
• Strong work ethic
• Admitted to NY Bar