Senior Legal Counsel, Distribution
London, United Kingdom
Full Time
Business Affairs
Senior Manager/Supervisor
The Team & The Role
The Legal and Business Affairs team at Avalon support all of Avalon’s various divisions, including talent management, TV production, distribution and live promotions, as well as overseeing legal and regulatory compliance for the Avalon Group in the UK and the US.
The team includes six other lawyers, and prides itself on being collaborative, commercially astute and effective, with a substantial combined knowledge of all areas of the entertainment industry.
We are seeking an experienced and commercially minded Senior Legal Counsel, Distribution to join our Legal & Business Affairs team. This role is at the heart of our international distribution activities, working closely with our Distribution team to drive and protect the commercial interests of the distribution business across all forms of content exploitation worldwide.
The successful candidate will be the primary legal resource for our Distribution team, providing support throughout the full lifecycle of distribution deals — from initial commercial negotiation through to contract execution. In addition to this specialist focus, the role also provides broader legal and business affairs support as required across the business.
Key Responsibilities
Specific Duties
About You
About Avalon
Avalon is a multi-award-winning talent management, television production and live promotion group with offices in London, Los Angeles and New York. Avalon, Artists Rights Group and The Agency together represent a diverse and distinctive roster of artists including actors, comedians, writers and directors, among them Academy Award, BAFTA, Emmy, Tony and Olivier Award-winners. You can find more information here.
Our core values help define our purpose and are at the essence of what we do and shape our culture. You can read about our values here.
We are always on the lookout for exceptional talent. Avalon is committed to creating a diverse environment and proud to be an equal-opportunity employer. We encourage applications from individuals from underrepresented groups. Regardless of your race, colour, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, age, or veteran status, you are welcome at Avalon.
What We Offer
The Legal and Business Affairs team at Avalon support all of Avalon’s various divisions, including talent management, TV production, distribution and live promotions, as well as overseeing legal and regulatory compliance for the Avalon Group in the UK and the US.
The team includes six other lawyers, and prides itself on being collaborative, commercially astute and effective, with a substantial combined knowledge of all areas of the entertainment industry.
We are seeking an experienced and commercially minded Senior Legal Counsel, Distribution to join our Legal & Business Affairs team. This role is at the heart of our international distribution activities, working closely with our Distribution team to drive and protect the commercial interests of the distribution business across all forms of content exploitation worldwide.
The successful candidate will be the primary legal resource for our Distribution team, providing support throughout the full lifecycle of distribution deals — from initial commercial negotiation through to contract execution. In addition to this specialist focus, the role also provides broader legal and business affairs support as required across the business.
Key Responsibilities
- Act as the primary legal advisor to the Distribution team, supporting the negotiation of key commercial terms across all forms of content exploitation.
- Provide practical, commercial legal advice to the Distribution team at all stages of a deal, balancing legal risk against commercial opportunity.
- Support the exploitation of ancillary and secondary rights arising from Avalon’s content catalogue, ensuring robust contractual protections and appropriate revenue sharing arrangements.
- As required, supervise and oversee other members of the legal & business affairs team on distribution or other matters.
- Identify, assess and advise on legal risks associated with distribution activities and broader business operations.
- Manage relationships with external legal counsel where specialist advice is required.
- Provide legal and business affairs support to all internal clients in a timely and accurate manner, always taking into account business priorities and strategies.
- Proactively collaborate with all departments within Avalon, including Distribution, Talent Management, Press & Publicity, Finance, Corporate, Digital & Marketing and Production.
- Whilst this role will be focused on supporting the Distribution team – all members of the legal & business affairs team are expected to be able to work across a wide range of matters in support of all Avalon businesses as and where required (including those relating to podcasts, live tours and events, television production, theatre, talent management, publishing, business development, operations, marketing and corporate).
Specific Duties
- Draft, review, negotiate and finalise a wide range of distribution agreements, including finished programme licences, format licences (for local adaptations), and ancillary rights agreements (including but not limited to merchandise, board games, and other consumer products).
- Negotiate agreements relating to international co-productions (including with respect to financing agreements, distribution agreements, production services agreements, etc).
- Advise the Distribution team on appropriate deal structures, taking into account distributor deficit financing, production incentives, tax incentives, official co-production treaties, regional screen agency funding, etc).
- Respond to Distribution queries relating to the exploitation of rights, holdbacks, clearances and onward reporting in respect of our programming.
- Maintain and develop standard form distribution contract templates.
- Where required, provide support to the PR and Marketing teams in connection with promotional activities, brand partnerships, sponsorship, advertising, and clearance matters.
- Where required, provide support in respect of live comedy tours, theatre and events promoted and produced by Avalon and/or corporate work undertaken by our clients.
- Where required, provide support to the Avalon talent management and television development and production teams, in respect of talent deals and/or production matters.
- Where required, provide legal support on matters such as client reporting, debt recovery, data protection, trademarks and other forms of brand and IP protection, corporate compliance and general corporate and commercial work in support of all the various Avalon businesses.
- Support the Head of Legal & Business Affairs on any other legal matters as required by the business from time to time.
About You
- Qualified solicitor admitted in England & Wales (or equivalent UK qualification), with a current practising certificate.
- Substantial post-qualification experience in media and entertainment law, with a demonstrable focus on television distribution and international content and format licensing.
- Deep, hands-on experience negotiating finished programme licence agreements and format licence agreements across multiple international territories.
- Good working knowledge of ancillary rights exploitation, including merchandise licensing, publishing, and consumer products.
- Proven ability to confidently lead commercial negotiations independently and effectively, managing counterparties and internal stakeholders simultaneously.
- Ability to interpret and clearly and concisely explain complex legal and contractual issues to non-lawyers.
- Pro-active business orientated approach.
- Highly organised and with an ability to deal with a variety of matters at once, managing and prioritising effectively in order to meet deadlines.
- Excellent technical drafting skills with strong attention to detail and the ability to produce clear, precise contractual language.
- Commercial mindset: able to give practical, solutions-focused legal advice and understand the wider business context of legal decisions.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills, and the ability to build effective working relationships with sales and commercial teams.
- Passion for content.
About Avalon
Avalon is a multi-award-winning talent management, television production and live promotion group with offices in London, Los Angeles and New York. Avalon, Artists Rights Group and The Agency together represent a diverse and distinctive roster of artists including actors, comedians, writers and directors, among them Academy Award, BAFTA, Emmy, Tony and Olivier Award-winners. You can find more information here.
Our core values help define our purpose and are at the essence of what we do and shape our culture. You can read about our values here.
We are always on the lookout for exceptional talent. Avalon is committed to creating a diverse environment and proud to be an equal-opportunity employer. We encourage applications from individuals from underrepresented groups. Regardless of your race, colour, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, age, or veteran status, you are welcome at Avalon.
What We Offer
- Private Medical Cover
- Cycle to work scheme
- Income protection scheme
- Life assurance
- Pension scheme
- Employee assistance programme
- Competitive holiday allowance
- Season ticket loans
- Monthly staff drinks, seasonal parties, tickets for our Live gigs, Monday breakfasts and more
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