General Counsel

About the Company

Museum of Ice Cream is an inclusive, experiential brand that brings imaginative, joy-filled experiences to life both online and in person. The company’s mission centers on creativity, wonder, and building spaces where everyone feels welcome. In this environment, ice cream is positioned as a symbol of creativity and connection, and the organization offers broad room to contribute, shape strategy, and grow.

Role Overview

The General Counsel will act as the company’s most senior legal advisor and a trusted partner to executive leadership and the Board. As MOIC’s first internal legal hire, this person will design and run a legal function that can support growth across multiple locations, protect the brand, manage commercial and workforce risk, and keep pace with a fast-moving business.

The role calls for building a practical, technology-enabled legal operation with streamlined workflows, contract automation, and clear risk controls. The General Counsel will also play a key leadership role in expansion planning, commercial decision-making, and shaping the guest experience through sound legal guidance.

Key Responsibilities

Lead company-wide legal strategy across governance, risk, compliance, contracts, employment matters, and commercial growth. Protect the company’s trademarks, trade dress, and brand-defining environmental designs, while supporting expansion into new markets and channels.

Oversee legal issues tied to guest safety, food and beverage compliance, privacy requirements such as GDPR, CCPA, and CPRA, and multi-state employment and workforce obligations. Review and guide complex lease arrangements, construction contracts, board governance, cap table matters, fundraising preparations, and potential M&A activity.

Create practical guardrails for responsible AI use, including employee data, hiring, privacy, and third-party tools, so business teams can move quickly without creating avoidable risk. Maintain and regularly update policies, templates, internal controls, and compliance processes as the organization grows.

Build and manage legal operations systems, including contract lifecycle management tools and automation workflows, to streamline high-volume routine work. Set up an efficient intake and approvals process, develop reusable templates, and build controls into major business cycles such as lease negotiations, new site launches, and brand activations.

Negotiate major brand partnerships, licensing arrangements, and strategic vendor agreements, while providing clear risk-versus-reward guidance to the CEO and executive team. Work closely with People, Operations, Finance, Marketing, and IT/Data so legal input is included early in business decisions.

Establish consistent processes for employee relations escalations, documentation, and manager accountability. Own the legal framework for wage and hour compliance, accommodations, leaves, pay transparency, and multi-state employment issues, and serve as the main legal contact for high-risk people matters and sensitive investigations, bringing in outside counsel where needed.

Develop a disciplined approach to selecting, supervising, and budgeting outside counsel, including matter tracking and escalation standards. Handle litigation, demand letters, agency inquiries, regulatory matters, and settlements in a way that protects the company while resolving issues efficiently.

Requirements

• At least 8–12+ years of legal experience, including substantial in-house work for a consumer, hospitality, experiential, or multi-unit retail business. Prior law firm experience is acceptable, but the role requires strong operational understanding of a business with physical locations.
• A JD from an ABA-accredited law school and an active bar license in good standing.
• Comfort working with modern contract and legal management platforms, along with a genuine interest in reducing manual legal work through technology. Direct implementation experience is helpful but not mandatory.
• A mindset that treats legal as a support function that should be optimized for internal business users.

Compensation and Benefits

The salary range for this position is USD 200,000 to USD 250,000, based on experience. The package also includes an annual bonus and equity options.

• Competitive compensation
• Annual bonus
• Stock options
• PTO and sick leave
• Medical, dental, and vision coverage
• Additional perks such as ClassPass, commuter discounts, employee assistance support, and unlimited ice cream
• Employee development opportunities
• 16 complimentary museum tickets each year for friends and family, plus free admission for the employee
• 50% discount on retail merchandise
• Clear growth potential within the company, with the possibility of expanding into a broader Chief Administrative Officer role as the business scales

Location and Eligibility

This is an on-site role. Candidates must be based in one of the following cities: New York City, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, or Miami. Only one opening is being filled, even if multiple similar postings appear elsewhere. Museum of Ice Cream is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, veteran status, or any other protected status under applicable law.