Employment and Commercial Counsel

Rent the Runway (RTR)  is transforming the way we get dressed by pioneering the world’s first Closet in the Cloud. Founded in 2009, RTR has disrupted the $2.4 trillion fashion industry by inspiring women with a more joyful, sustainable and financially-savvy way to feel their best every day. As the ultimate destination for circular fashion, the brand now offers infinite points of access to its shared closet via a fully customizable subscription to fashion, one-time rental or ownership. RTR offers designer apparel and accessories from hundreds of brand partners and has built in-house proprietary technology and a one-of-a-kind reverse logistics operation. RTR has been named to CNBC’s “Disruptor 50” five times in ten years, and has been placed on Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies list multiple times.

As Employment & Commercial Counsel, you will play a key role in advising our business partners and driving RTR’s growth. You will work primarily advising and counseling our People Team and executives on employment law matters as well as drafting and negotiating commercial agreements. At the same time, you will be a generalist who is excited and interested to jump into the wide range of questions the Legal team handles every day, including brand relationships, transportation, safety, environmental compliance, and international trade. You’ll be a strategic, hands-on, and creative partner to the business - as well as a practical problem solver. 

You will report to the Chief Legal & Administrative Officer and work collaboratively with the other members of RTR’s lean Legal team. We are an “office centric” company and you will work from Rent the Runway’s Brooklyn headquarters Monday - Thursday.

• →Serve as the lead attorney and strategic advisor for all employment matters across the business, including recruitment, employee relations, performance management, leaves of absence and accommodations, labor matters, wage and hour matters, internal investigations, worker’s compensation, and immigration.
• →In partnership with the People team, develop and maintain effective HR policies, procedures and other documentation, including drafting, implementing, and maintaining form documents and ensuring clear and effective procedures for employment matters.
• →Draft and review commercial contracts, including agreements with designer partners, sponsorships, advertisers/influencers/ambassadors, technology partners including but not limited to, SaaS and software licensing partners, and consultants, and more. 
• →Partner with your colleagues on the Legal team to continue to scale RTR’s legal function, including building templates, policies, procedures, and the legal tech stack that enable us to provide top tier legal services as efficiently as possible. 
• →Pitch in and advise various teams on everything from key business initiatives to one-off “what if…” questions.
• →Develop training materials and other resources for your business partners.
• →Collaborate with other business functions and develop pragmatic solutions that support the growth of the Company while appropriately managing the legal risk. 
• →Work independently on matters you own, and collaborate on key legal and business deliverables with RTR’s Chief Legal & Administrative Officer, Deputy General Counsel, Sr. Manager of Legal, and leaders across the business.

• JD and NY bar membership or eligibility to register as an in-house attorney in NY.
• 4+ total years of practicing law, including 2+ years experience in employment law and 2+ years of work as in-house counsel for an operating company.
• Experience with non-exempt workforces is a plus.
• Experience drafting and negotiating commercial agreements. 
• Interest in developing skills as a legal generalist.
• Familiarity with marketing/advertising, traditional or digital media, tech, ecommerce, retail, manufacturing, or contract lifecycle management is a plus.
• A practical, proactive, creative, and risk-based approach to counseling and negotiating.
• Excellent judgment.
• Systemic and process-driven thinker who is excited about scaling RTR’s Legal services.
• The ability to translate legal issues into clear, “plain English” guidance and business solutions for non-lawyers.
• A highly collaborative work ethic, while also exercising autonomy as a subject matter expert.
• Flexibility necessary to thrive at an ambitious, dynamic growth company, including strong business judgment and an ability to calibrate when we need a quick response versus a deep dive to get something precisely right.
• An ability to interact effectively with your colleagues and clients, and to build strong relationships and influence across departments.
• An ability to prioritize and manage multiple critical projects under tight deadlines.