General Counsel

Museum of Ice Cream•Los Angeles, CA

11d•$200,000 - $250,000•Remote

About The Position

The General Counsel will serve as MOIC’s senior legal leader and trusted advisor to executive leadership and the Board of Directors. As the company’s first in-house legal hire, this role will build and oversee a scalable legal function that supports MOIC’s growth, multi-site operations, brand protection, commercial strategy, and employee-facing risk. This leader will be responsible for building a systems-driven legal infrastructure that matches business velocity with tech-enabled workflows and automated contract lifecycles while ensuring proper controls and data-driven risk assessment. The General Counsel will be a key member of the leadership team, directly influencing portfolio expansion, commercial strategy, and guest experience.

Requirements

8–12+ years of legal practice, with meaningful in-house experience at a consumer, hospitality, experiential, or multi-unit retail brand.
Prior law firm background is welcome — what matters is operational fluency in a physical-footprint business.
JD from an ABA-accredited law school; active bar membership in good standing.
Comfort with modern contract and legal management tools and a genuine interest in using technology to reduce manual legal workload.
You view legal as a service function that must be optimized for its internal users.

Nice To Haves

Direct implementation experience with contract and legal management tools is a plus, not a requirement.

Responsibilities

Oversee a global portfolio of trademarks and trade dress, protecting our proprietary environmental designs and brand equity.
Lead legal strategy for guest safety, F&B compliance, data privacy (GDPR / CCPA / CPRA), and employment / workforce compliance across markets.
Provide oversight for complex commercial leases and construction agreements as we expand into new markets.
Manage board governance, equity / cap table administration, and support future fundraising or strategic M&A activities.
Establish lightweight guardrails for how MOIC adopts AI — covering employee data, hiring, privacy, and vendor tools — so the business can move fast without creating downstream risk.
Operationalize a recurring cadence to review and refresh policies, templates, controls, and compliance practices as the company scales into new markets.
Implement contract lifecycle management (CLM) tools (e.g., Ironclad, Juro) and automation workflows to handle high-volume routine legal tasks.
Design and own a structured intake and approval process that enables business velocity.
Build a library of automated templates for recurring agreements.
Audit key business cycles (lease negotiation, new museum openings, brand activations) to embed approval controls proactively.
Act as the lead negotiator for Tier-1 brand collaborations, licensing deals, and strategic vendor relationships.
Serve as a direct partner to the CEO and executive team — delivering proactive risk-benefit analysis.
Partner closely with People, Operations, Finance, Marketing, and IT/Data so legal guidance is embedded into decisions early.
Build the systems for employee-relations escalations, documentation standards, and manager accountability so people issues are handled consistently across sites, not ad hoc.
Own the framework for wage-and-hour, accommodations, leaves, pay transparency, and multi-state employment compliance as the footprint grows.
Serve as the primary legal partner to the People team on high-risk decisions and sensitive investigations, escalating complex matters to specialized outside counsel.
Build a disciplined model for selecting, managing, and budgeting outside counsel — with matter tracking and clear escalation criteria — so external spend is leveraged, not the default.
Manage litigation, demand letters, agency charges, regulatory inquiries, and settlements — resolving matters efficiently while protecting the brand.

Benefits

Competitive pay
Annual bonus
Stock options
PTO and sick time
Medical, dental, vision
Perks including Classpass, commuter discounts, employee assistance program, and, of course, unlimited ice cream
Employee development opportunities
16 free museum tickets per year for friends and family, with free entry for self
50% off retail products
Ability to advance within the organization. As Museum of Ice Cream scales, we anticipate the GC evolving into a broader Chief Administrative Officer mandate, encompassing corporate governance, select operational functions, and executive leadership. We are looking for someone who is clearly on that trajectory. Build it well, and the seat grows with you.