Associate General Counsel - Marketing & IP

Build your career at Sazerac! With almost 400 years of rich history, Sazerac Company has thrived as an independent, American family-owned company with operations in the United States and around the world. Since the 2000s, Sazerac has averaged double digit growth every year! Sazerac Company produces and markets the most award-winning bourbons and whiskeys in the world, including Buffalo Trace, Pappy Van Winkle, Eagle Rare, Blanton’s, and Sazerac Rye. Additionally, Sazerac owns many popular brands across a range of spirits, including Fireball, Southern Comfort, Seagram’s V.O., Myers’s, Goldschläger, Parrot Bay, 99 Brand, and Platinum Vodka. 

We’re proud of our award-winning culture and distilleries. Our Louisville office has been named one of the “Best Places to Work in Kentucky” four times, and our Buffalo Trace Distillery has earned the title of “world’s most award-winning distillery” through the dedication of our craftsmen for well over 200 years. Whether you’re a recent graduate or an experienced professional, Sazerac provides extraordinary opportunities for growth with competitive salaries and benefits in an exciting, entrepreneurial industry.

Bio: The Associate General Counsel – Marketing & IP plays a critical leadership role in supporting the company’s global growth by guiding its intellectual property strategy and ensuring that all marketing and product development activities comply with international laws, regulations, and industry standards. This role manages the company’s global IP portfolio, provides strategic counsel on advertising, promotions, trade practices, and brand protection, and supports the negotiation of marketing and sponsorship agreements.  The role also leads the legal and compliance function for new business development across the company’s expanding global brand portfolio. This includes managing the marketing compliance team to ensure that new products — including formulas and labels — meet regulatory requirements in all relevant markets, and that marketing claims are properly assessed and risks mitigated. The Associate General Counsel provides strategic advice to marketing leadership on campaign strategy and brand positioning, and is responsible for training marketing teams to ensure consistent application of the company’s responsible marketing guidelines.  This position requires a combination of global regulatory acumen, cross-functional leadership, and business-oriented legal guidance to support innovation, protect company assets, and enable responsible, compliant growth in a rapidly globalizing environment.

• Manage the global intellectual property portfolio, including trademark registration, enforcement, and brand protection strategies.
• Identify, assess, and mitigate risk associated with marketing claims, supporting substantiation and regulatory defense.
• Support negotiation and review of marketing, advertising, and sponsorship agreements, ensuring alignment with legal and brand standards.
• Design and lead training programs to ensure adherence to responsible marketing guidelines across global teams.
• Provide strategic legal counsel to cross-functional stakeholders in Marketing, Innovation, and Commercial functions.
• Implement anti-counterfeiting and brand integrity initiatives to safeguard the company’s assets in key markets.
• Advise on regulatory considerations and compliance pathways for new product launches in international markets.
• Lead and mentor the marketing compliance team responsible for evaluating and clearing labels, formulas, and campaign content.
• Partner with business leaders to enable compliant growth while maintaining speed to market and innovation support.
• Oversee label and formula compliance for all new products, ensuring regulatory adherence in global markets.

MUST

• Change Management experience
• Juris Doctor Degree
• 10 years relevant experience (minimum)

PREFERRED

• Requires Alcoholic Beverage Industry compliance experience
• Cpg company experience
• Combination of law firm and in-house roles

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