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Guardian Life · 1 week ago

Associate General Counsel, Head of Employment Law

New York, NY

Full-time

Hybrid

Senior Level, Lead/Staff

$290K/yr - $330K/yr

10+ years exp

Guardian Life is seeking an Associate General Counsel, Employment, who will serve as lead counsel on labor and employment matters across the enterprise. The role involves advising executive stakeholders on strategic organizational and employment matters, managing investigations, and overseeing the drafting of company policies and procedures.

DentalFinancial ServicesHardwareInsuranceLife Insurance

Responsibilities

Advise and provide counsel to Executive stakeholders across the Guardian enterprise on strategic organizational and employment matters

Advise and provide counsel to Human Resource partners on all aspects of day-to-day employment-related matters including hiring and termination issues, harassment, discrimination and retaliation, leaves of absence, reasonable accommodations, wage and hour issues, restrictive covenants, conflicts of interest, independent contractor issues, statutory employee issues, employee investigations, hiring of current and former government employees, etc

Manage investigations and represent the company at the administrative level (EEOC, DOL, equivalent state and local agencies). Prepare position statements and manage outside counsel

Advise on legal matters related to employee benefits and ERISA compliance

Partner with litigation team colleagues on employment and labor litigation, reviewing pleadings, developing strategy, facilitating the gathering of information (documents, interviews); making recommendations at key stages in the process, etc

Provide legal advice in ethics investigations; may be asked to serve as lead investigator in high-level or sensitive matters

Review, interpret, and draft company policies and procedures and, specifically with respect to employee benefit matters, oversee the drafting of benefit plans by our incumbent employee benefits law subject matter expert

Assist in the preparation and delivery of internal training courses on a variety of employment law topics

Assist in company acquisition efforts as needed in areas of subject matter expertise

Develop professional credibility and relationships with internal and external stakeholders as well as manage relationships with outside counsel

Manage team of senior employment attorneys

Qualification

LaborEmployment LawJD DegreeNYS Bar AdmissionEmployee Benefits LawLegal Counsel ExperienceAnalytical SkillsCommunication SkillsCollaboration SkillsOrganizational Skills

Required

Demonstrated experience providing excellent, business focused legal advice and counsel and excel at building deep, trusted relationships with CHRO and key stakeholders

Demonstrated experience building a strong culture of engagement and high performance with your direct team, and of collaboration and trust building with your Law Department Executive-level peers

Superior communication skills and experience presenting to Executive Management and Board level

A proactive approach to horizon scanning and forward-looking insight to address issues before they create legal exposure, and an ability to handle a multitude of complex and challenging legal issues and situations

Commitment to innovation and partnership on department modernization efforts

Advise and provide counsel to Executive stakeholders across the Guardian enterprise on strategic organizational and employment matters

Manage investigations and represent the company at the administrative level (EEOC, DOL, equivalent state and local agencies). Prepare position statements and manage outside counsel

Advise on legal matters related to employee benefits and ERISA compliance

Provide legal advice in ethics investigations; may be asked to serve as lead investigator in high-level or sensitive matters

Assist in the preparation and delivery of internal training courses on a variety of employment law topics

Assist in company acquisition efforts as needed in areas of subject matter expertise

Develop professional credibility and relationships with internal and external stakeholders as well as manage relationships with outside counsel

Manage team of senior employment attorneys

A JD degree, with preferred NYS bar admission or eligible to be admitted with NYS bar under its in-house counsel admission program

A minimum of ten years of relevant professional legal experience practicing labor/employment law in a large law firm or an in-house legal department

Strong oral and written communication skills as well as outstanding organizational and analytical skills required

Strong collaboration skills in a team setting while displaying a high level of self-direction and sound judgment

Preferred

Familiarity with the laws and regulations governing qualified and non-qualified employee benefit plans is preferred

Benefits

Through skill-building, leadership development and philanthropic opportunities, we provide opportunities to build communities and grow your career, surrounded by diverse colleagues with high ethical standards.

As part of Guardian’s Purpose – to inspire well-being – we are committed to offering contemporary, supportive, flexible, and inclusive benefits and resources to our colleagues.