Role OverviewThe Head of Legal will lead day-to-day legal work across SFM' media portfolio. This includes contract review, partner and key vendor agreements, and senior employee and consultant agreements across portfolio companies.
The role serves as the primary legal partner to portfolio leadership and works closely with SFM's central legal and compliance teams on investment transactions, material disputes, and regulatory matters. This role will collaborate with SFM's legal resources within portfolio companies and/or external counsel where appropriate, while maintaining overall responsibility for ensuring work is delivered to a high standard.
In addition, this role will establish and maintain legal structures and governance frameworks across entities, ensuring consistency and scalability as the portfolio grows.
This is a full-time, New York-area role requiring four in-office days per week in our New York city office.
Major ResponsibilitiesLegal Advisory & Business Partnership- Oversee day-to-day legal work across portfolio companies, including contract review, commercial agreements, and senior employee and consultant agreements
- Serve as the primary legal partner to portfolio leadership, providing practical, business-oriented advice on ongoing operations
- Work with SFM's central legal and compliance teams on investment transactions, disputes, and regulatory matters, ensuring alignment with portfolio needs
Governance, Compliance, & Legal Frameworks - Establish and maintain entity structures and governance frameworks across a mix of minority and controlled investments
- Set and maintain clear, practical legal standards (templates, policies, playbooks) across companies where consistency is helpful
- Ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations across jurisdictions, working with internal and external partners as needed
Legal Operations & Infrastructure - Manage and coordinate external counsel, including selecting firms, scoping work, and controlling costs
- Identify and implement off-the-shelf automation tools and processes to improve contract review, tracking, and legal workflows
What We Value:- Bachelor's degree and JD required, with excellent academic record
- A minimum of 8 years of relevant experience in corporate law
- Experience working on both day-to-day commercial legal work (e.g., contracts, employment, vendor agreements) and transactional matters (e.g., investments, acquisitions, structuring)
- Enthusiasm to support multiple operating teams across a portfolio
- Interest in working across a portfolio of businesses, rather than a single company or purely investment-focused role
- Team player with a positive, "can-do" attitude
- Highly responsive, diligent, and detail-oriented
- Excellent organizational and communication skills, both verbal and written
- Ability to manage multiple workstreams in a fast-paced environment
- Practical, business-oriented judgment
- Familiarity with standard legal tools (e.g., Microsoft Office, Adobe Acrobat); openness to use and adopt new tools, including AI, to improve workflows
What Success Looks Like- Legal work is handled quickly and pragmatically, without slowing down operators or decision-making
- Portfolio leadership views legal as a responsive, business-oriented partner they trust and go to early
- Contracts and commercial agreements (including production, partner, and vendor agreements) are clear, consistent, and easy to use across companies
- Entity structures and governance frameworks are well-organized, easy to manage, and scale as new companies and transactions are added
- Legal practices are consistent across the portfolio where appropriate, without creating unnecessary process or rigidity
- SFM's central legal and compliance teams are effectively leveraged on transactions, disputes, and regulatory matters, with clear roles and no duplication of work
- External counsel is used selectively and efficiently, with strong cost control and clear scoping
- Legal risks are identified early and addressed in a practical way that supports the business
We anticipate the base salary of this role to be between $320,000 to $350,000. In addition to a base salary, the successful candidate will also be eligible to receive a discretionary year-end bonus.
