Fast Facts

We are seeking a Corporate Counsel to support the U.S. commercial contracting team at Discovery Education, focusing on K-12 and Corporate Education Partnerships. This role involves drafting and negotiating a variety of contracts while collaborating with multiple departments and driving legal innovation.

Responsibilities: Support U.S. commercial contracting activities, advise on legal issues, manage contract requests, and develop legal operations initiatives.

Skills: Excellent communication, negotiation, and analytical skills; experience in commercial contracting; strong collaborative abilities.

Qualifications: J.D. from an accredited law school; minimum 3+ years of relevant legal experience; familiarity with IP, data privacy, or education technology is preferred.

Location: Charlotte, NC, USA; hybrid role with in-office presence required on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Compensation: Not provided by employer. Typical compensation ranges for this position are between $90,000 - $130,000.

We are looking for a highly skilled Corporate Counsel to support our centralized U.S. commercial contracting team. Reporting to the head of U.S. commercial contracts, this role drive contracting strategy and supports revenue-generating agreements across Discovery Education’s K-12 customer sales and Corporate Education Partnerships (CEP). The Corporate Counsel will be embedded in our day-to-day legal operations, serving as the first point of contact and legal triage attorney for inbound commercial contract requests and working across cross-functional teams including Sales, Product, Finance, Information Technology, and Global Operations. This is a highly collaborative, high-impact role where you will be expected to contribute to innovation in legal service delivery, including workflow improvements, legal operations, and AI adoption.

In This Role You Will:

This role will support commercial contracting across Discovery Education’s U.S. revenue-generating activities, which span two primary lines of business.  One is our K-12 customer contracting, where we sell digital products and services to school districts and state agencies through structured public procurement process. The other is our Corporate Education Partnerships (CEP) business, in which we collaborate with corporate sponsors to develop innovative, mission-driven education programs. While both workstreams are grounded in commercial contracting, they differ in deal structure, stakeholder dynamics, and legal complexity. This position offers the opportunity to deepen your experience in traditional customer contracting while also building skills in partnership-driven agreements with Fortune 500 sponsors.

This role is deeply embedded in the day-to-day legal operations that power the business. You'll be part of a team that uses a centralized intake and flex staffing model to triage and manage high volumes of commercial requests. The bulk of your time will be spent reviewing, redlining, and negotiating contracts, but the scope of this role goes well beyond that.

This is a great fit for someone who enjoys varied work, wearing many hats, and jumping into high-impact projects. You’ll touch everything from data privacy and product design, to IP rights, procurement, and state gifting laws. And you’ll work closely with Legal leadership to help modernize our legal operations by adopting legal tech, building workflows, and exploring how AI can enhance how we deliver legal services across the business.

This is a team-first environment, and success in the role requires both solid legal acumen and a “how can I help?” mentality, with plenty of space for curiosity, laughter, and learning along the way.

Commercial Contracting

• Review, draft, and negotiate a wide range of contracts, including product sales agreements, RFP submissions, partner sponsorships, NDAs, and data privacy agreements (DPAs)
• Serve as triage counsel for inbound commercial contract requests, escalating and prioritizing as needed
• Communicate clearly and pragmatically with internal business leads to ensure contract terms meet strategic goals

Generalist Legal Counseling

• Advise on a wide range of legal questions such as intellectual property, data privacy, regulatory counseling, and ethics, gifting, and conflicts of interest
• Contribute to team training, resource-building, and legal process documentation

Cross-Functional Legal Support

• Provide guidance to Sales, Finance, and Global Operations on deal structure, risk management, and contract positioning
• Partner with Product and Technology teams to support compliance and product design, including microsite reviews and data privacy considerations (e.g., COPPA and FERPA)

Legal Operations & Innovation

• Support development of legal operations initiatives including AI-assisted workflows, contract playbooks, and self-service tools
• Build and refine scalable systems for delivering legal support aligned to business velocity

Core Competencies for Success:

• Commercial contracting
• Excellent written and verbal communication, analytical, and negotiation skills
• Skillful issue spotting, risk prioritization, and comfort operating in ambiguity
• Collaborative team player with client-focused, cross-functional approach

Credentials and Experience:

• J.D. from an accredited law school; active bar membership in good standing for at least one U.S. state bar
• Minimum of 3+ years of legal experience, ideally with major law firm training
• Demonstrated experience drafting and negotiating commercial contracts
• Experience with public sector procurement, K–12 contracting, or edtech is a plus
• Familiarity with IP counseling and licensing, privacy law, or product counseling is a plus
• Legal right to work in the United States

This role is designed to be hybrid. Only candidates local to Charlotte, North Carolina (and surrounding areas with proximity to our office) will be reviewed for consideration. You can expect to work primarily in a typical office setting, with in-office presence expected on Tuesdays and Wednesdays in line with company policy.