Job Description
Every M&A deal that closes right now has an AI question buried in the diligence. Whose model trained on what data. Which open source licenses are sitting inside the target's codebase. Whether the SaaS agreements the company signed two years ago actually permit the use case the buyer cares about. Whether the joint development agreement with that strategic partner gave away rights nobody noticed at signing. You're the associate who answers those questions. And you're starting to realize you're the most leveraged person on every deal you touch — and the least visible. You're the IP transactions associate that the corporate team pulls in for diligence on Friday afternoon and expects a clean memo by Monday morning. You're drafting the licensing schedules that make the deal work. You're the one flagging the open source contamination in the target's repo, the AI training data exposure, the SaaS reseller agreement that has a change-of-control trigger nobody read. Without your sign-off, deals don't close — but the M&A partner takes the client to dinner. And on the licensing side, you're doing some of the most interesting work in the firm. SaaS agreements, OEM and VAR structures, joint development deals, AI tooling agreements that didn't exist as a category three years ago. But your firm treats tech transactions as a service line that supports the corporate group, not as a standalone practice with its own clients and its own partnership track. A top-tier AmLaw firm with one of the most recognized IP transactions practices in the country is adding a mid-level associate to its New York team. This is not a corporate group that does the occasional license — it's a dedicated IP transactions team that runs its own matters, advises its own clients, and gets pulled into M&A as the IP lead, not as the cleanup crew. The work includes: Technology and IP licensing — SaaS, software, OEM, VAR, distribution, reseller Joint development, collaboration, and strategic alliance agreements IP and technology diligence on M&A transactions, with the IP team owning the workstream Open source compliance and AI/ML licensing issues across the deal lifecycle Counseling on emerging IP issues presented by generative AI tools and training data What you bring: 3-6 years of tech transactions and IP licensing experience at a major law firm Substantive M&A IP diligence experience — you've run the workstream, not just contributed to it Familiarity with open source license frameworks (GPL, Apache, MIT, copyleft issues) Exposure to AI/ML licensing and the IP issues presented by generative AI tools New York bar admission (or eligibility) What you get: A practice where IP transactions is the business — not a support function for the corporate group Direct client relationships with technology companies, life sciences platforms, and PE sponsors A seat at the front of the AI licensing wave, not a back-office role papering it after the fact Cravath scale + bonus Apply here directly or send your resume confidentially to srushing@laterallink.com