Manager, Counsel

We believe that difference sparks brilliance, so we welcome people and ideas from everywhere to join us in stretching what’s possible.
At Tapestry, being true to yourself is core to who we are. When each of us brings our individuality to our collective ambition, our creativity is unleashed. This global house of brands – Coach and Kate Spade New York – was built by unconventional entrepreneurs and unexpected solutions, so when we say we believe in dreams, we mean we believe in making them happen. We’re always on a journey to becoming our best, but you can count on this: Here, your voice is valued, your ambitions are supported, and your work is recognized.
A member of the Tapestry family, we are part of a global house of brands that has unwavering optimism and is committed to being innovative and wholly inclusive. Visit Our People page to learn more about Tapestry's commitment to equity, inclusion, and diversity. 

Primary Role

This attorney will serve as a trusted legal advisor responsible for protecting some of the most valuable assets of Tapestry, Inc. and its Coach and kate spade new york brands. The role combines hands-on execution with strategic counseling across intellectual property clearance, prosecution, enforcement, and brand protection programs, partnering with cross-functional teams to support innovation, mitigate risk, and preserve brand equity worldwide.

Key Responsibilities

• Conduct clearance reviews for names, designs, artwork, prints, packaging, and campaign assets, including risk assessments and go/no-go recommendations on routine and moderately complex matters.
• Participate in seasonal legal walkthroughs with the Coach and kate spade new york design teams.
• Manage global trademark prosecution, including office action responses, renewals, and portfolio maintenance, in collaboration with the IP paralegal and foreign counsel.
• Handle routine contentious matters, including watch notice reviews, cease-and-desist correspondence, oppositions and cancellations, coexistence and consent discussions, and the resolution of straightforward intellectual property disputes.
• Support global brand protection efforts and oversee day-to-day enforcement activities in North and South America across marketplaces, social media platforms, and domain names, including takedowns, customs recordations, and coordination with investigators, law enforcement, and enforcement vendors.
• Support the training and supervision of intellectual property interns and externs, including assigning and reviewing substantive work such as clearance searches and portfolio research, providing day-to-day direction, delivering performance feedback, and contributing to the continued development of the program.
• Provide input on portfolio reporting, brand protection metrics, and legal key performance indicator (KPI) reporting.
• Support regional legal teams and cross-functional workstreams on intellectual property matters arising within their markets.

Qualifications

Required

• J.D. from an accredited law school and admission in good standing to the New York or New Jersey Bar.
• Three to five years of substantive trademark, copyright, design patent, and brand protection experience gained at a law firm, in-house legal department, or a combination of both.
• Demonstrated ability to independently manage trademark clearance, prosecution, and enforcement matters, and effectively communicate legal risk assessments to non-lawyers.
• Experience advising marketing, creative, or product teams in a high-volume, deadline-driven commercial environment.
• Experience managing and directing outside counsel on assigned matters.
• Working knowledge of copyright law, rights of publicity, advertising claims, and online enforcement mechanisms.

Preferred

• Experience in the consumer products, fashion, luxury, or retail industries.
• Experience with design rights, trade dress, or design patent strategy.
• Experience with Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) oppositions and cancellations, Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy (UDRP) proceedings, or customs recordation programs.
• Familiarity with intellectual property docketing and clearance platforms, as well as legal intake and workflow management tools.
• Experience supporting international trademark portfolios and coordinating with a network of foreign counsel.

Our Competencies for All Employees
Courage: Doesn’t hold back anything that needs to be said; provides current, direct, complete, and “actionable” positive and corrective feedback to others; lets people know where they stand; faces up to people problems on any person or situation (not including direct reports) quickly and directly; is not afraid to take negative action when necessary.
Creativity: Comes up with a lot of new and unique ideas; easily makes connections among previously unrelated notions; tends to be seen as original and value-added in brainstorming settings.
Customer Focus: Is dedicated to meeting the expectations and requirements of internal and external customers; gets first-hand customer information and uses it for improvements in products and services; acts with customers in mind; establishes and maintains effective relationships with customers and gains their trust and respect.
Dealing with Ambiguity: Can effectively cope with change; can shift gears comfortably; can decide and act without having the total picture; isn’t upset when things are up in the air; doesn’t have to finish things before moving on; can comfortably handle risk and uncertainty.
Drive for Results: Can be counted on to exceed goals successfully; is constantly and consistently one of the top performers; very bottom-line oriented; steadfastly pushes self and others for results.
Interpersonal Savvy: Relates well to all kinds of people, up, down, and sideways, inside and outside the organization; builds appropriate rapport; builds constructive and effective relationships; uses diplomacy and tact; can diffuse even high-tension situations comfortably.
Learning on the Fly: Learns quickly when facing new problems; a relentless and versatile learner; open to change; analyzes both successes and failures for clues to improvement; experiments and will try anything to find solutions; enjoys the challenge of unfamiliar tasks; quickly grasps the essence and the underlying structure of anything.
 
Our Competencies for All People Managers
Strategic Agility: Sees ahead clearly; can anticipate future consequences and trends accurately; has broad knowledge and perspective; is future oriented; can articulately paint credible pictures and visions of possibilities and likelihoods; can create competitive and breakthrough strategies and plans.
Developing Direct Reports and Others: Provides challenging and stretching tasks and assignments; holds frequent development discussions; is aware of each person's career goals; constructs compelling development plans and executes them; pushes people to accept developmental moves; will take on those who need help and further development; cooperates with the developmental system in the organization; is a people builder.
Building Effective Teams: Blends people into teams when needed; creates strong morale and spirit in their team; shares wins and successes; fosters open dialogue; lets people finish and be responsible for their work; defines success in terms of the whole team; creates a feeling of belonging in the team.                                                                                                    
 

Tapestry, Inc. is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer and we pride ourselves on hiring and developing the best people. All employment decisions (including recruitment, hiring, promotion, compensation, transfer, training, discipline and termination) are based on the applicant’s or employee’s qualifications as they relate to the requirements of the position under consideration. These decisions are made without regard to age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic characteristics, race, color, creed, religion, ethnicity, national origin, alienage, citizenship, disability, marital status, military status, pregnancy, or any other legally-recognized protected basis prohibited by applicable law.

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

Tapestry, Inc. will provide applicants and employees with reasonable accommodation for disabilities or religious beliefs. If you require reasonable accommodation to complete the application process, please contact Tapestry People Services at 1-855-566-9264 or [email protected]

Visit Tapestry, Inc.

Base Pay Range

Here are some of the benefits that we offer: Medical insurance, Dental insurance, Vision insurance, 401 (K), Paid Paternity and Maternity leave, Commuter Benefits, Disability insurance and Tuition assistance. Please click here for a complete list of U.S Corporate Compensation & Benefits.