At American Express, our culture is built on a 175-year history of innovation, shared values and leadership behaviors, and an unwavering commitment to back our customers, communities, and colleagues. As part of Team Amex, you’ll experience this powerful backing with comprehensive support for your holistic well-being and many opportunities to learn new skills, develop as a leader, and grow your career.

Here, your voice and ideas matter, your work makes an impact, and together, you will help us define the future of American Express.

The General Counsel’s Organization (GCO) of American Express is where great legal minds influence global business strategy. The GCO mission is to protect and strengthen American Express through legal expertise and strategic advice that helps business partners manage risk, identify opportunities, and deliver on the company’s promise of exceptional products and services.

This role is part of the legal team that supports advertising, marketing, media, sponsorship, and entertainment activities for certain business units at American Express.

Role: Director & Counsel – Sponsorships, Media & Entertainment

Responsibilities:

• Transactional: Inform the strategy for and draft, review, and negotiate complex contracts with sophisticated counterparties in the areas of sponsorships (e.g., sports and venues), entertainment (e.g., talent and influencers), media buying (e.g., insertion order terms), services providers/suppliers (e.g., agencies), and other related contracts.
• Advertising Law: Review certain advertising and marketing materials for advertising law compliance.
• Advice: Promptly provide actionable legal advice on business activities (e.g., Shop Small) and initiatives that is informed, tailored (to the matter and audience), and pragmatic; identify creative solutions to challenges.
• Risk Management: Accurately identify and classify risks (both legal and business) and support business colleagues to mitigate and manage those risks.
• Communication: Effectively communicate complex legal concepts and the associated risks of different business strategies in a clear and concise manner.
• Consistency: Drive consistent legal frameworks and thought leadership; develop and communicate best practices, guidelines, and other relevant tools.
• Opportunities: Proactively identify opportunities and solutions to drive efficiency and efficacy with respect to legal advice and transactional support; collaborate with relevant business and legal stakeholders to implement solutions.
• Relationships: Develop strong relationships of trust and reliance with business and legal colleagues, as well as external partners.
• Acumen: Leverage well-developed business acumen and a deep understanding of relevant legal requirements to execute the responsibilities of this role.
• Collaboration: Collaborate efficiently and effectively with colleagues across the enterprise (at various levels of seniority and functions) to receive and provide subject matter expertise relevant to the role.
• Influence: Influence, advocate, and generate consensus with business and legal stakeholders on issues of importance to achieve enterprise objectives.
• Prioritization: Manage competing priorities and aggressive timelines/deadlines.
• General Support: Provide legal support for ad-hoc projects supporting American Express’s business and legal objectives and strategy.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Both a Bachelor’s degree and Juris Doctor
• Admission, in good standing, to practice law in the State of New York
• Years of experience: 5+ years of relevant legal experience (8+ years preferred)

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience working for other banks or financial institutions or in other highly regulated industries.
• Proven ability to act as a trusted advisor.
• Strong transactional experience: effectively draft, review, and negotiate contracts, and inform transactional strategy.
• Knowledge of advertising laws, regulations, and NAD decisions, including, for example, UDAP/UDAAP and applicable FTC Guides.
• Honed analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to identify the important from the urgent and to accurately prioritize tasks.
• Ability to generate innovative solutions to challenges.
• Ability to identify, initiate, and implement process improvements.
• Capacity to be agile when presented with new information or evolving circumstances.
• Team-oriented, self-starter with strong interpersonal and communication skills, executive presence, and ability to effectively interact at all levels within the organization.
• Ability to work well in cross-functional team settings.

Salary Range: $144,250.00 to $256,250.00 annually + bonus + equity (if applicable) + benefits

The above represents the expected salary range for this job requisition. Ultimately, in determining your pay, we’ll consider your location, experience, and other job-related factors.

We back you with benefits that support your holistic well-being so you can be and deliver your best. This means caring for you and your loved ones' physical, financial, and mental health, as well as providing the flexibility you need to thrive personally and professionally:

• Competitive base salaries
• Bonus incentives
• 6% Company Match on retirement savings plan
• Free financial coaching and financial well-being support
• Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, life insurance, and disability benefits
• Flexible working model with hybrid, onsite or virtual arrangements depending on role and business need
• 20+ weeks paid parental leave for all parents, regardless of gender, offered for pregnancy, adoption or surrogacy
• Free access to global on-site wellness centers staffed with nurses and doctors (depending on location)
• Free and confidential counseling support through our Healthy Minds program
• Career development and training opportunities
  For a full list of Team Amex benefits, visit our Colleague Benefits Site.

American Express is an equal opportunity employer and makes employment decisions without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran status, disability status, age, or any other status protected by law. American Express will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with arrest or conviction records, in accordance with the requirements of applicable state and local laws, including, but not limited to, the California Fair Chance Act, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, and the City of Los Angeles’ Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance. For positions covered by federal and/or state banking regulations, American Express will comply with such regulations as it relates to the consideration of applicants with criminal convictions.

We back our colleagues with the support they need to thrive, professionally and personally. That's why we have Amex Flex, our enterprise working model that provides greater flexibility to colleagues while ensuring we preserve the important aspects of our unique in-person culture. Depending on role and business needs, colleagues will either work onsite, in a hybrid model (combination of in-office and virtual days) or fully virtually.

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Employment eligibility to work with American Express in the United States is required as the company will not pursue visa sponsorship for these positions.