Jeff Schneider is executive director of the Center for Sports, Entertainment, Media & Technology Law at USC Gould School of Law. He brings decades of senior-level experience across the entertainment, media and digital industries.

Schneider most recently served as executive vice president of Business Affairs & Operations for National Geographic Content, where he oversaw all non-creative business functions, including strategic deal-making, business policy and operational management. He also was chief legal officer of National Geographic Partners, the joint venture between The Walt Disney Company and the National Geographic Society.

Before joining National Geographic, Schneider was executive vice president of Business & Legal Affairs and general counsel at Shine America (now Endemol Shine U.S.), leading its in-house legal and business affairs division. He also held senior leadership roles at NBCUniversal as executive vice president of Business Affairs for Entertainment & Digital Networks, where he managed business affairs across networks including Bravo, Oxygen, Style, Sprout, Telemundo, Fandango, and Daily Candy.

From 2007 to 2011, Schneider served as senior vice president of Business Affairs and deputy general counsel at Lifetime Television Networks, a subsidiary of A+E Networks. In that role, he oversaw business and legal affairs for Lifetime’s programming, marketing and digital platforms, as well as scripted content business affairs across Lifetime, A&E and The History Channel. His earlier career includes executive legal and business affairs positions at Fox Television Studios, MTV Networks and Paramount Pictures.

He began his legal career in private practice, first as a litigator at Slaff, Mosk & Rudman, and later as a transactional attorney representing talent and production companies at Katz, Golden & Sullivan. He also served as a judicial law clerk to the Hon. Edward C. Reed Jr., chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada.

A dedicated legal educator, Schneider has served as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center and has taught entertainment law and media business at Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College, Pepperdine University School of Law and USC Gould. He also has been a frequent speaker at industry conferences and a member of the USC Entertainment Law Symposium syllabus committee.

Schneider earned his JD from USC Gould School of Law, where he was a member of the Southern California Law Review. He holds a BA in Communication Studies from UCLA, graduating cum laude.