Associate General Counsel

About The Role

We’re looking for a pragmatic, solution-oriented employment and litigation lawyer to serve as Associate General Counsel, Americas. In this role, you’ll be responsible for overseeing employment and general litigation matters across the Americas, primarily the U.S. and Canada, providing legal guidance across a broad range of employment-related issues, and providing oversight of the legal operations and corporate governance functions supporting the region. This position reports directly to the General Counsel and will directly oversee and manage a small, but mighty team of in-house counsel and legal operations support professionals.

The role includes identifying and mitigating compliance risks and potential and actual claims against the Company and its’ affiliates, overseeing external counsel, and helping ensure the Legal department’s processes, systems, budgets, policies, and corporate governance practices operate effectively and at scale. This role is for you if you have a passion for providing creative, proactive, and pragmatic legal guidance. A successful candidate will be both a strategic advisor and hands-on problem solver.

What You Will Do

Provide advice and counseling on a broad spectrum of employment law issues primarily in the U.S. and Canada with a focus on California laws, including background checks, AI, recruiting, DEI, internal investigations, performance management, executive agreements, leaves of absence, accommodations, wage and hour, pay equity, terminations, and reorganizations/role eliminations, etc.

Work with other department members to identify, mitigate, and manage compliance and legal risk for the Company, including developing, reviewing, and revising internal policies, procedures, and governance frameworks, and supporting related training and awareness efforts

Provide legal representation and/or supervise outside counsel regarding employment litigation, general litigation, government administrative agency charges, audits, and investigations (e.g., EEOC, DOL, OSHA, and state/local agencies l), as well as pre-litigation demand letters and claims

Enforcement of contracts with temporary staffing agencies and other contingent labor providers. 

Oversee a small team of corporate counsel and legal operations professionals in the U.S., setting priorities, developing talent, and ensuring consistent service delivery across the Americas

Provide oversight of the legal operations function, including matter and knowledge management, legal technology and systems, outside counsel engagement and panel management, legal spend and budget management, reporting and metrics, and continuous improvement of department workflows

Provide oversight of corporate governance matters for the Americas, including entity maintenance and corporate records, board and committee support, delegation of authority and signature policies, and related regulatory filings, partnering with internal stakeholders and outside counsel who handle day-to-day execution

Partner with cross-functional stakeholders (e.g., People/HR, Product, Contracts, Finance, Operational Compliance, Privacy, Information Security, and business leadership) on enterprise initiatives, escalations, and risk governance

Advise and assist with other general legal needs as they arise

Serve as a senior member of the global Legal leadership team and taking on other responsibilities as assigned by the General Counsel

Required Qualifications:

Juris Doctor degree

Member in good standing of a State Bar or the District of Columbia

10-15+ years of employment and litigation experience; preferably a combination of in-house and law firm experience. Exposure to legal operations, corporate governance, or broader commercial/corporate matters is a plus

California wage and hour / PAGA experience required

Strong knowledge of labor and employment laws and regulations in various geographies

Self-motivated, able to work with minimal supervision, and assume significant responsibility

Prior experience managing and developing a team of attorneys and/or legal professionals

Experience overseeing or building legal operations capabilities (e.g., matter management, legal technology, outside counsel and spend management, process improvement, and department reporting)

Working knowledge of corporate governance and entity management practices, including board and committee support, corporate records, and delegation of authority a plus

Track record managing outside counsel and litigation budgets across a distributed, multi-state/country workforce

Exceptional written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills 

Ability to work in a fast-paced, high-pressure environment to prioritize and meet required deadlines 

Compensation

Salary range is $200,000-$225,000 USD annually. 

Salary rates are based on experience, skills, and geographical location.