Director, Commercial Counsel

Nexxen•Chicago, IL

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

We are seeking a driven and commercially savvy Director, Commercial Counsel to join our Legal & Compliance team in Chicago. This is a high-impact, cross-functional role will be based in our Chicago office and embedded within a fast-paced AdTech business where legal acumen meets commercial strategy. You will serve as a trusted partner to our Sales, Finance, and Business Development teams, enabling deals to close faster while protecting Nexxen's interests. The ideal candidate understands the rhythm of a sales organization — quarterly urgency, margin trade-offs, balancing risk with revenue, impact of legal language on revenue recognition revenue creativity — and can translate complex legal matters risk into actionable commercial guidance without slowing down the business.

Requirements

J.D. from an accredited law school and active bar membership (Illinois preferred or willingness to waive in).
10+ years of commercial legal experience in a nationally or internationally recognized law firm and/or in-house legal department, with preference for meaningful time spent in-house at an adtech, martech, advertising agency/media, or data company — or equivalent law firm experience advising such clients.
Deep expertise in complex commercial contract negotiation: MSAs, SOWs, IOs, data licensing agreements, SaaS agreements, and agency-of-record arrangements.
Strong financial literacy — ability to read a P&L, working understanding of SOX compliance, impact of deal terms on margin structures, and appreciation for how creative deal terms (tiered pricing, earn-outs, minimums, revenue shares) impact the business.
Familiarity with SOX compliance requirements as they intersect with commercial contracting and revenue recognition.
Hands-on knowledge of the adtech ecosystem: DSPs, SSPs, DMPs, CDPs, programmatic buying, audience segmentation, and how brands and agencies transact.
Working knowledge of global data privacy regulations (GDPR, CCPA/CPRA, and others) preferred and the ability to negotiate data processing addenda and privacy-compliant data licensing terms.
Proven ability to operate in a fast-paced, quota-driven environment where legal is a business enabler, not a bottleneck.
Exceptional communicator who can distill complex legal concepts for non-legal audiences including Sales, Finance, and C-suite stakeholders.
Demonstrated people leadership skills, including mentoring counsel or contracts professionals, providing quality control, and handling escalations effectively.

Nice To Haves

Experience with data licensing sales — you've sat on or closely supported the commercial side of data deals and understand the negotiating dynamics.
Background working directly with ad agencies (holding companies, independents) and brand direct clients on commercial terms.
Exposure to identity resolution, clean rooms, or contextual targeting technologies and their associated legal considerations.

Responsibilities

Lead and own end-to-end complex commercial contract negotiations supporting the demand business, including strategic enterprise deals with ad agencies, brands, and other ad tech partners.
Partner closely with the Sales team to understand deal economics and structure creative revenue provisions, fee arrangements, and performance clauses that protect Nexxen’s P&L.
Manage the full contract lifecycle with data partners — from NDA through MSA and IO to close.
Review and advise on deal financials, ensuring contract terms align with revenue recognition requirements, SOX controls, and audit readiness.
Act as a trusted advisor to internal teams, including Sales, Business Development, Product, Engineering, and Account Management, primarily in support of Nexxen’s demand business, while also providing support for other product matters where appropriate.
Provide concise, practical, executive-ready legal advice that aligns business priorities with risk tolerance and closes deals quickly.
Operate with a strong sense of quarterly urgency — understand pipeline pressure, end-of-quarter dynamics, and how to accelerate legal review without compromising risk management.
Serve as the internal subject-matter expert on adtech platforms, programmatic ecosystem, ad agency and brand commercial relationships, and industry-standard deal structures.
Advise on data licensing agreements, data use rights, and audience data monetization arrangements with full command of applicable frameworks.
Partner with the compliance team to ensure all commercial contracts comply with data privacy regulations including CCPA, GDPR, and emerging state-level privacy laws, and maintain appropriate DPAs and data processing terms.
Collaborate with Finance on revenue recognition requirements, audit readiness, SOX compliance as it relates to contract terms, revenue reporting, and financial controls embedded in commercial agreements.
Maintain and continuously improve contract templates, playbooks, and fallback positions to enable faster, more consistent deal execution.
Build and improve scalable legal support systems for the demand business, including updated templates, negotiation playbooks, approval matrices, training materials, and intake/escalation processes.
Identify and flag legal and business risk proactively, presenting solutions rather than roadblocks.
Mentor and support other counsel and contracts specialists. Provide quality control on key workstreams, help resolve escalations, and contribute to the development of best practices across the legal team.