Description:

Job Title: Assistant General Counsel
Department: Legal
Reports To: Executive Vice President & General Counsel

About the New York Historical
New York's first museum, The New York Historical is a leading cultural institution documenting over 400 years of American history through a peerless collection of art, documents, and artifacts. Our offerings span groundbreaking exhibitions; acclaimed educational programs for teachers and students nationwide; and thought-provoking conversations among leading scholars, journalists, and thinkers about the past, present, and future of the American experiment. The New York Historical is a museum of museums and a collection of collections. We are home to the Patricia D. Klingenstein Library, the Center for Women's History, the Reiss Family Graduate Institute for Constitutional History, the Dorothy Tapper Goldman Center for Teaching Democracy, the DiMenna Children's History Museum, and the future American LGBTQ+ Museum. We elevate the perspectives and scholarship that define the United States' democratic heritage and challenge us all to shape our ongoing history for the better.

Job Summary:
The Assistant General Counsel will provide day-to-day legal support and counsel across a wide spectrum of matters affecting The New York Historical. Responsibilities include drafting and negotiating contracts; supporting compliance and governance by preparing board and committee minutes, maintaining bylaws and policies, coordinating trustee communications, and assisting with regulatory filings. The role also includes advising on employment, intellectual property, cultural property, insurance, and gift agreements; managing legal aspects of major institutional partnerships and initiatives; and contributing to risk management policies and procedures. The ideal candidate will have experience working with nonprofit organizations and a strong understanding of the unique legal challenges faced by cultural institutions.

Essential Job Duties:

Draft, review, negotiate, and interpret contracts, including those related to exhibitions, loans, acquisitions, sponsorships, services, and vendor agreements.
Assist in ensuring compliance with nonprofit regulations, including IRS requirements, charitable solicitation laws, and municipal procurement processes (e.g., DCLA, DDC).
Support institutional leadership, and board and committee governance by preparing minutes, maintaining bylaws and policies, drafting resolutions, coordinating trustee communications, and assisting with regulatory filings.
Provide legal counsel on employment/HR matters, including policy development, wage/hour compliance, and benefit plan compliance, in coordination with HR.
Address intellectual property and collections issues, including copyright, trademark, licensing, rights clearances, and cultural property basics.
Provide legal support for fundraising initiatives, including gift agreements, donor restrictions, naming rights, and endowment compliance.
Manage legal aspects of major institutional partnerships — including cultural collaborations, service/vendor relationships, and other strategic arrangements — with responsibility for day-to-day contractual, governance, and compliance matters.
Contribute to institutional risk management by assisting in the development of policies and procedures to mitigate legal and operational risks.
Liaise with outside counsel on specialized matters as needed.
Perform additional duties as required.

Requirements:

Juris Doctor (J.D.) from an accredited law school.
Admission to the New York State Bar.
Minimum of 4 years of post-JD legal experience, preferably in a cultural nonprofit, public sector, or related in-house/firm practice.
Demonstrated contract drafting and negotiation experience (vendor/services, licensing, exhibitions/loans, consultants, sponsorships).
Employment/HR support experience.
Collections/IP competence: copyright, trademark, licensing, image/rights clearances.
Working knowledge of insurance/risk allocation in agreements.
Excellent writing and judgment, with the ability to explain complex legal issues clearly to non-lawyers and collaborate across curatorial, operations, development, finance, and HR.
Strong organizational and project-management skills.

Preferred:

Experience with government and foundation grant agreements and compliance reporting.
Exposure to construction/architect/engineering agreements and NYC capital-funded projects.
Familiarity with privacy/data protection issues in museums/libraries (photo consents, donor data, vendor data).
Familiarity with accessibility, anti-discrimination, and fair procurement compliance and operations.
Comfort with AI-assisted drafting/research tools, clause libraries, and document automation; ability to learn and adopt emerging technologies.
Experience supporting institutional partnerships/shared initiatives.
Real estate, leasing, or facilities agreements exposure.

Physical Demands:
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee, with or without accommodation, to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. At times, this is a sedentary role using a computer; however, some filing or shelving is required. This would require the ability to lift files, open filing cabinets, and bend or stoop as necessary.

Compensation & Benefits:
The expected salary range for this position is $140,000 - $150,000 per year. The successful candidate will be offered a salary within this range based on specific factors such as their individual qualifications, experience, and internal equity considerations.

The New York Historical provides a generous benefits package for eligible employees to support their health and wellbeing, which includes:

Paid time off, including vacation, sick and personal days, and holidays observed by the Museum;
Medical, dental, vision and life insurance;
Short and long-term disability coverage options;
403(b) retirement plan with eligibility for employer contributions following one year of full-time service;
Flexible spending accounts for health-related expenses, dependent care, and parking and transit expenses;
Employee Assistance Program for all employees and their families;
20% discount at the NYHistory Store;
Free admission to various museums and cultural institutions across the city.

The New York Historical is an Equal Opportunity Employer.