Assistant General Counsel
ASSISTANT GENERAL COUNSEL - August 2021 to July 2023PRINCIPAL COUNSEL - December 2015 to August 2021• Key stakeholder among senior leadership, setting strategy for product launches, sales, & marketing initiatives. Advised senior executives on substantive law (anti-trust, contract, intellectual property, privacy, consumer protection, advertising, bankruptcy, product integrity, environmental sustainability, tax, anti-piracy). • Led team of lawyers (including outside counsel) and support staff facilitating a variety of distribution models on a global basis: digital (SVOD/EHV/VOD, pay TV, new media apps); content aggregation/interoperable platforms (Movies Anywhere); physical HV vertical & licensing (DVD/Blu-ray, digital/e-copy, videograms, manufacturing-on-demand); subscription services/ecommerce (Disney Movies Club, Disney+).• Lead counsel for all physical HV legal matters (product mgmt, pricing, windowing, packaging, advertising/promotion, instore supply chain, operations, account mgmt, payment terms, collections, consumer complaints, recalls). Set strategy and led team executing product launches and business restructure to maximize return (outsourcing, post-M&A content library integration/winddowns, distribution-related RFPs). • Responsible for legal staff managing complex distribution-related agreements (+$100MM) with high-profile licensees and big-box retail (e.g., Amazon, Apple, Netflix, Google, Microsoft, Vudu, Walmart, Target, Costco, Best Buy); consumer-facing EULAs/subscription offers; PO T&Cs and B2B TOUs for product offerings. Articulated expectations for solutions-oriented dealmaking.• Analyzed high-risk legal matters in connection with regulatory/contractual compliance (auto-renewal laws, privacy, accessibility requirements, language laws, ratings regulations, MFNs, holdbacks, limitations of liability, participations, audits). •Cross-trained legal staff, clients, vendors, and cross-functional teams on distribution policies & best practices.