Legal Counsel

In-house counsel at a game company works on publishing and distribution agreements, development and work-for-hire contracts, licensing of brands, music and engines, platform requirements, consumer protection rules for in-game purchases, age ratings, privacy obligations and the terms players accept when they log in.

The work is practical rather than abstract: product teams come with a feature, an event or a partnership and need to know what it commits the company to. That means reading a design document as carefully as a contract, and answering while the feature is still cheap to change.

It differs from a contracts manager, who administers agreements that already exist, and from a licensing manager, who negotiates the use of brands commercially. Counsel carries the legal responsibility for the position the company takes, which is why postings ask for qualified lawyers with industry-specific experience.