Job Description
THE ROLE
An expert, agile, practical, business-focused attorney and leader to provide advice and cross-functional support for a global SaaS company's compliance priorities, with a focus on employment law and Human Resources counseling and guidance, litigation and investigations, as well as company-wide compliance, including Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) matters.
Reporting to the Vice President, Deputy General Counsel, Compliance & Litigation, the Associate General Counsel will have wide-ranging responsibilities that include:
(i) providing guidance, support, and expertise to the Company's global Human Resources team;
(ii) tackling challenging employment law and other compliance-focused projects that support the Company's products and services;
(iii) assisting with company-wide litigation and investigations;
(iv) working collaboratively and proactively across the Corporate, Commercial, and IP & Product legal teams to address legal compliance and litigation priorities, with a focus on identifying and mitigating risk; and
(v) developing cross-functional and influential relationships with stakeholders, including Human Resources, Product and Technology, Information Security, Information Technology, Training and Development, Sales, Finance, and Internal Audit.
This role may be remote or in person (in locations where the Company maintains offices, including Redwood City, CA; Boston, MA; or Atlanta, GA), based on candidate preference and manager alignment. Some travel may be required to build relationships with business partners and legal colleagues.
RESPONSIBILITIES
The successful attorney will:
- Provide day-to-day legal guidance to HR and business leaders on global employment law matters, including hiring, performance management, investigations, leaves of absence, accommodations, and terminations.
- Draft, review, and update employment agreements, policies, handbooks, and HR procedures to ensure compliance with local and international labor laws.
- Manage and advise on workplace investigations involving misconduct, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and policy violations.
- Partner with global HR teams to drive consistent application of employment policies across regions, while accommodating local legal requirements.
- Support strategic HR initiatives, including workforce planning, organizational restructuring, employee engagement programs, and ESG efforts.
- Mitigate legal risk by advising on disciplinary actions and sensitive employee-relations matters.
- Monitor changes in employment laws across jurisdictions and communicate impacts to HR and leadership.
- Develop and deliver training to HR and management on employment law, compliance, and best practices.
- Advise the business on employee benefits, compliance, and leave-of-absence regulations globally.
- Manage complex litigation (including employment litigation), regulatory matters, and region-specific challenges, while overseeing outside counsel.
- Support cross-functional initiatives such as compensation updates, contingent workforce compliance, and other proactive compliance programs, including responsible use of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
- Ensure compliance with privacy, data protection, and personnel file requirements (e.g., GDPR, local data retention rules).
COMPETENCIES / PERSONAL TRAITS
- High ethical standards and excellent judgment.
- Proactive, solution-oriented, and creative problem solver.
- Comfortable operating in a fast-paced, evolving environment; able to build scalable processes from the ground up.
- Strong ability to influence and earn trust across all levels through:
- Clear, concise, and actionable legal guidance
- Empathy for business goals and constraints
- Resilience and positivity in the face of ambiguity
- Practical, business-oriented risk management
- Independent execution with minimal supervision
- Engaging leader with the presence to advise senior leadership and inspire colleagues.
- Highly collaborative and effective communicator across functions, cultures, and geographies.
- Agile and process-driven, with the ability to simplify, automate, and operationalize workflows.
- Strong organizational skills with the ability to prioritize multiple complex matters in a matrixed environment.
EDUCATION / EXPERIENCE
- 7-10+ years of relevant law firm and/or in-house legal experience.
- JD or equivalent from an accredited law school; licensed to practice law in at least one U.S. jurisdiction.
- Substantive expertise in employment law, including counseling and litigation experience.
- Demonstrated in-house experience advising on HR, compliance, privacy, investigations, and litigation risks.
Experience supporting SaaS, technology, or data-driven businesses is a plus.
Determining compensation for this role (and others) at Vaco/Highspring depends upon a wide array of factors including but not limited to the individual's skill sets, experience and training, licensure and certifications, office location and other geographic considerations, as well as other business and organizational needs. With that said, as required by local law in geographies that require salary range disclosure, Vaco/Highspring notes the salary range for the role is noted in this job posting. The individual may also be eligible for discretionary bonuses, and can participate in medical, dental, and vision benefits as well as the company's 401(k) retirement plan.
Additional disclaimer:
Unless otherwise noted in the job description, the position Vaco/Highspring is filing for is occupied. Please note, however, that Vaco/Highspring is regularly asked to provide talent to other organizations. By submitting to this position, you are agreeing to be included in our talent pool for future hiring for similarly qualified positions. Submissions to this position are subject to the use of AI to perform preliminary candidate screenings, focused on ensuring minimum job requirements noted in the position are satisfied. Further assessment of candidates beyond this initial phase within Vaco/Highspring will be otherwise assessed by recruiters and hiring managers. Vaco/Highspring does not have knowledge of the tools used by its clients in making final hiring decisions and cannot opine on their use of AI products.
Desired Skills and Experience
*7-10+ years of relevant law firm and/or in-house legal experience.
*JD or equivalent from an accredited law school; licensed to practice law in at least one U.S. jurisdiction.
*Substantive expertise in employment law, including counseling and litigation experience.
*Demonstrated in-house experience advising on HR, compliance, privacy, investigations, and litigation risks.
Experience supporting SaaS, technology, or data-driven businesses is a plus.