JOB SUMMARY

Burning Man Project’s Associate Counsel will support the Legal team in handling the legal affairs of Burning Man Project and its subsidiaries. Major duties include drafting and reviewing contracts; helping maintain the organization’s intellectual property (“IP”) portfolio, including educational outreach about our IP policies and Burning Man’s Decommodification Principle; and legal research and writing on a wide range of issues, including IP, employment, constitutional, transactional, non-profit, regulatory, and real estate law. Other regular duties include responding to a variety of different legal requests from Burning Man Project staff, report writing, and legal file management.

This position requires a self-directed, highly organized, and detail-oriented attorney with at least some experience working in a fast-paced law firm or in-house legal department, with preference given to candidates with previous in-house experience. Work involves considerable internal and external contacts, complex non-routine tasks, access to confidential information, and high-level support on ongoing legal projects. Judgment, professionalism, and initiative are frequently exercised in answering and interpreting verbal and written communications and projects. The successful candidate must have strong interpersonal skills and be able to communicate about legal issues in plain language to internal clients from all teams across the organization.

This is a full-time, regular position eligible for benefits, with preference given to candidates in proximity to either our San Francisco office or Reno office. Working hours will be based on Pacific Time.

The deadline to apply for this role is 5:00pm Pacific on Friday, December 16, 2022.

DUTIES & ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS

Contracts Administration (40%)

• Supports the Legal team with all requests within the organization for contract development and review, including drafting template agreements for consultants, service providers, grant recipients, licensees, affiliates, and other collaborators; and reviewing and revising external agreements.
• Coordinates with the Accounting team to ensure that payments for services are tied to contracts that have been reviewed by the Legal team, signed, and filed with Legal and Accounting.
• Keeps contract managers and senior staff members regularly apprised of the organization's contract processes and procedures, creating and delivering training materials as directed by the Legal team.
• Oversees the work of the Paralegal to conduct the initial legal review of contracts that use the organization's templates.

Intellectual Property Enforcement (30%)

• Engages in educational outreach to individuals and entities about the appropriate use of Burning Man Project's intellectual property, including proactively reviewing, assessing, and responding to reports that Burning Man Project's IP or media policies are being violated; researching reported violations; drafting and sending outreach correspondence and any required follow-ups; and collaborating with the Paralegal to track IP reports through resolution.
• Reviews results of proactive searches for intellectual property infringement that are logged by the Paralegal and IP Team volunteers; drafts and submits cease-and-desist or takedown notices as appropriate.
• Stays abreast of developments in copyright and trademark law.

Responding to Legal Requests (15%)

• Reviews all legal correspondence received from Burning Man Project staff and external parties and coordinates with the Legal team on appropriate responses.
• Assists with regular staff trainings on legal request processes and procedures.
• Supports the Legal team with overseeing litigation and administrative proceedings in which Burning Man Project is a party.
• Performs legal research and drafts research memorandums as needed.
• Assists with investigations as needed.

Report-Writing & Matter-Tracking (5%)

• Primary responsibility for tracking the organization’s legal matters and special projects.

• Helps keep Burning Man Project managers informed about legal issues as needed.

• Assists with reports to the Board of Directors and various management committees as requested by the General Counsel or other members of the senior leadership team.

Legal Department File Management (5%)

• Oversees the work of the Paralegal to maintain the organization's electronic contract filing system, ensuring that all final contracts are filed in an organized, efficient, and timely manner; and to manage the organization's other electronic legal files, ensuring that all documents are stored securely and appropriately, in compliance with all applicable laws, and using appropriate naming conventions to enable the efficient retrieval of documents.

• Makes recommendations about how to improve the filing system's efficiency over time.

• As directed, manages the production of both hardcopy and electronic documents for litigation and audits, coordinating with other departments as needed.

Other Functions and Responsibilities (5%)

• Performs other duties as assigned.

LEARNING AND TEACHING

• Documentation - Assists in the creation, publishing, and maintenance of process documentation related to their assigned duties.
• Teaching – Takes a leadership role in the acculturation and training of staff. Teaches live or e-learning classes as requested. Promotes a culture of teaching and learning throughout the organization.
• Knowledge sharing – Helps acculturate and educate junior staff in Burning Man culture and business processes.

• Training development - Collaborates with the Education Department to develop training materials in their area of expertise, as requested.

• Learning – Pursues ongoing learning in their area of expertise, working to stay current on emergent knowledge, skills, and processes.
  

QUALIFICATIONS

Required:

• Juris Doctor from an ABA-accredited law school.
• Applicants must be admitted to the bar in at least one U.S. state, with California and/or Nevada admission(s) preferred.
• Relevant legal work experience, including at least some experience with intellectual property enforcement and contracts administration.

• Familiarity with Burning Man Project and the Burning Man event in Black Rock City, Nevada.

• Excellent oral and written communication skills.

• Strong computer skills, including advanced knowledge of MS Office, Google Workspace, and Adobe Acrobat.

• Extremely detail-oriented with impeccable organizational skills and a track record of successfully completing projects.
• Demonstrated ability to juggle numerous concurrent tasks, manage a high-volume workload, pay extremely close attention to detail, adapt quickly to changing organizational priorities, and meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• Motivated self-starter, able to take initiative, problem-solve, multi-task, and work independently.
• Ability to maintain personal integrity and uphold high standards of confidentiality.
• Ability to foster a cooperative work environment.
• Cheerful, outgoing personality and professional demeanor.
• Flexibility to work fluctuating hours, and time beyond the regular work week as needed, including the ability to work at the Burning Man event in Nevada.

Preferred:

• Experience working in an in-house legal department.
• Experience with legal risk management.
• Previous experience participating in, and a passion for, the Burning Man event.

REQUIRED LICENSES/CERTIFICATIONS

• Applicants must be admitted to the bar in at least one U.S. state and in good standing, with California and/or Nevada admission(s) preferred.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS/WORK ENVIRONMENT

• Off-playa: Work is primarily sedentary in nature, no special demands are required.
• On-playa: Work is primarily sedentary but will also include the need to find and meet with department representatives who may not be in the vicinity therefore this could include walking or using some form of transportation. Some of the work will be in outside weather conditions and will be exposed to fumes or airborne particles as well as possible extremes in temperature.

NOTICE FOR ALL APPLICANTS:

• Burning Man Project celebrates the importance of creating a diverse environment and enthusiastically encourages Black, Indigenous, Peoples of Color, LGBTQIA+, Immigrant, women, and people with disabilities, of all ages, to apply.
• Burning Man Project provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.
• Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.
• Notice for Remote Opportunities: Burning Man Project is currently able to hire remote employees living/working in the following states: AZ, CA, CO, FL, ID, LA, MA, MI, MT, NC, NM, NV, NY, OR, TX, UT, VA, WA, WI. Working hours for all positions are based in Pacific Time.

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