Senior Counsel, Labor & Employment
The Senior Counsel, Labor & Employment will serve as a lead legal expert, strategic advisor, and trusted partner to the Human Resources department, senior business leadership, and operational teams. This role is primarily focused on providing proactive, day-to-day legal advice and counseling to mitigate organizational risk, ensure compliance with U.S. federal, state, and local employment laws, and support a high-performance workplace culture.
While this role involves overseeing employment litigation, administrative charges, and labor-related matters, the ideal candidate will prioritize proactive advisory functions-building scalable, compliant policies and providing real-time, practical guidance that aligns with the company’s strategic business objectives and values.
You Will...
- Manage and develop the defense strategy for employment-related litigation, including class actions, single-plaintiff lawsuits, and administrative charges.
- Direct and manage a large, active docket of employment-related litigation, including class actions, collective actions, and single-plaintiff lawsuits (claims involving discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wage and hour, and wrongful termination).
- Develop and execute comprehensive defense strategies from inception through resolution, including driving early case assessments, determining settlement vs. trial strategies, and managing discovery.
- Early Dispute Resolution: Evaluate pre-litigation demands and internal escalations; negotiate strategic resolutions to minimize financial exposure and operational disruption.
- Act as the primary legal partner to HR and business leaders on a wide range of day-to-day employment matters, including recruiting, hiring, performance management, accommodations, discipline, terminations, and organizational restructurings/RIFs.
- Balance legal risks with business goals, demonstrating a strong ability to find creative, compliant pathways to achieve business objectives (finding the "yes" through risk-calibrated solutions).
- Provide expert guidance on FLSA classifications, state-specific wage and hour laws, pay transparency requirements, pay equity initiatives, and compensation practices.
- Advise on complex disability, religious, and leave of absence issues involving the ADA, FMLA, Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), and various state-level paid leave programs.
- Provide legal oversight, strategy, and guidance on sensitive internal investigations into allegations of harassment, discrimination, retaliation, fraud, or other violations of company policy.
- Advise and review workplace policies, employee handbooks, and employment-related agreements (e.g., executive offer letters, separation agreements, and confidentiality/restrictive covenant agreements).
You'll Have...
- Education: Juris Doctor (JD) from an accredited law school.
- Bar Admission: Active member in good standing of at least one U.S. State Bar (with the ability to register as in-house counsel if relocating).
- Experience: Minimum of 5-8 years of dedicated experience practicing labor and employment law.
- Jurisdictional Reach: Proven experience managing employment law issues across multiple U.S. jurisdictions, with a deep understanding of state-specific variations (e.g., California, Illinois, New York).
- Dual Experience: A combination of rigorous training at a major law firm and subsequent in-house corporate legal experience.
- Legal Expertise: Comprehensive, up-to-date knowledge of U.S. federal and state employment laws (Title VII, ADEA, ADA, FMLA, FLSA, NLRA, etc.).
- Communication Skills: Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with a demonstrated ability to translate complex legal concepts into clear, actionable, and business-friendly advice.
- Executive Presence: Strong interpersonal skills and the professional maturity to advise, influence, and build trust with senior executives and stakeholders.
You May also Have…
- Industry Experience: Experience providing legal support within the automotive, manufacturing, supply chain, or industrial sectors.
- Change Management: Experience advising on employment matters related to corporate mergers, acquisitions, integrations, or major business transformations.
What you'll receive in return…
As part of the Ford family, you’ll enjoy excellent compensation, and a comprehensive benefits package that includes generous PTO, retirement, savings and stock investment plans, incentive compensation, and much more. You’ll also experience exciting opportunities for professional and personal growth and recognition.
Our benefits summary can be found here:
You may not check every box, or your experience may look a little different from what we've outlined, but if you think you can bring value to Ford Motor Company, we encourage you to apply!
As an established global company, we offer the benefit of choice. You can choose what your Ford future will look like: will your story span the globe, or keep you close to home? Will your career be a deep dive into what you love, or a series of new teams and new skills? Will you be a leader, a changemaker, a technical expert, a culture builder…or all of the above? No matter what you choose, we offer a work life that works for you, including:
- Immediate medical, dental, vision and prescription drug coverage
- Flexible family care days, paid parental leave, new parent ramp-up programs, subsidized back-up child care and more
- Family building benefits including adoption and surrogacy expense reimbursement, fertility treatments, and more
- Vehicle discount program for employees and family members and management leases
- Tuition assistance
- Established and active employee resource groups
- Paid time off for individual and team community service
- A generous schedule of paid holidays, including the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day
- Paid time off and the option to purchase additional vacation time.
This position is a leadership level 5.
Visa sponsorship is not available for this position.
Candidates for positions with Ford Motor Company must be legally authorized to work in the United States. Verification of employment eligibility will be required at the time of hire.
We are an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, age, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability status or protected veteran status. In the United States, if you need a reasonable accommodation for the online application process due to a disability, please call 1-888-336-0660.
Onsite work of up to three days per week may be required for candidates within commuting distance of a Ford hub location. #LI-Onsite #LI-MB3