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Associate Counsel
Since 1870,The Metropolitan Museum of Art, one of the preeminent cultural institutions in the world, has considered its employees among its greatest assets. The Museumprovides exciting opportunities for employees to enrich and develop their love of the arts while contributing their specific skills and talents to the mission of the Museum. With professional areas as diverse as the civilizations represented, the legal issues addressed by its in-house staff are varied and challenging.
The Museum seeks an Associate Counsel, reporting to the Senior Vice President, Secretary & General Counsel. The Associate Counsel will be a member of the Museum's in-house legal team, with principal duties as a transactional lawyer. The Associate Counsel is responsible for the initial intake, research and drafting of legal work and governance issues related to the following departments: Finance, Investments, Real Estate, Construction and Facilities, Procurement, Government Affairs and others.The Associate Counsel also assists with identification and management of outside counsel, and counsels and advises a wide group of staff on projects central to the Museum's mission and strategic plan. The candidate should be able to work independently in a collaborative setting.
PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES and DUTIES
General transactional work and other duties for various departments may include these topics:
- FINANCE: Financial contracts, banking agreements, authorized signatory guidelines, endowment spending policy, Finance Committee preparation, debt policy, debt management, including tax exempt and taxable facilities
- INVESTMENTS: Review select investment agreements, NDAs and other transaction matters, advise on governance issues
- REAL ESTATE: Negotiate leases, purchases, or other transactions, liaison to city agencies, as necessary
- CONSTRUCTION AND FACILITIES: Construction management agreements, trade agreements, architect agreements, construction-related contractual disputes, landmarks and other governmental approvals, consultant agreements, environmental issues, policies and procedures, contracts for Federal, State, and City funding of construction, garage contract, licenses and code compliance
- SECURITY, PROCUREMENT AND DESIGN: Managing all legal matters including contracts, policies and insurance issues
- GOVERNMENT/COMMUNITY RELATIONS: Attend neighborhood and community board meetings; advise government affairs department on certain City, State and Federal issues
- GOVERNANCE: Assist General Counsel with Governance issues: NPCL issues, By-Laws, Board resolutions, attend and prepare materials for several board committees
- Other related duties.
REQUIREMENTS and QUALIFICATIONS
Experience and Skills:
- Minimum 7-10 years of legal experience required
- Experience negotiating and drafting contracts required
- General corporate or finance experience preferred
Knowledge and Education:
- Law Degree required
- Admission to New York Bar required
The Associate Counsel is full-time and includes full benefits. Salary will be commensurate with experience. Send cover letter, indicating position of interest, resume, and salary history to:
as a Word attachment only
with “Associate Counsel, SVP” in the subject line.
Application Deadline: February 29, 2016
The Metropolitan Museum of Art provides equal opportunity to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, age, mental or physical disability, pregnancy, alienage or citizenship status, marital status or domestic partner status, genetic information, genetic predisposition or carrier status, gender identity, HIV status, military status and any other category protected by law in all employment decisions, including but not limited to recruitment, hiring, compensation, training and apprenticeship, promotion, upgrading, demotion, downgrading, transfer, lay-off and termination, and all other terms and conditions of employment.