Employment Litigation Associate Attorney

Law firm ranked “Best Companies to Work For” among U.S. law firms for 2024 is seeking an Employment/HR Litigation Associate Attorney with 3-6 years of experience to join its team!

Benefits:
Competitive compensation, benefits package, and a generous 401k plan
Their policy is 10 days a month in office, it’s very hybrid friendly
Commitment to mentorship, training, and professional development with an achievable path to partnership.
Low turnover, collegial and collaborative environment.
Healthcare (medical, vision, dental), life and disability insurance.
Employee discounts and wellness programs

Seeking a Mid-Senior Level Associate to join the Human Resources & Employment Law Practice. The ideal candidate will have significant experience with all aspects of employment litigation, human resources counseling and policy review, and employer training and educational programs.
Candidates can look forward to gaining direct client interaction, business development experience, and significant responsibility on complex and sophisticated legal matters.

Must have experience drafting contracts, employee handbooks, and other employment policies, and advised clients on
employment and human resource matters, such as discrimination, retaliation, accommodations,
terminations, wage and hour issues, overtime pay, etc., to avoid litigation

Conducting legal research, analyzed legal positions, drafted motions and legal briefs, advised clients, and
successfully argued on behalf of clients in commercial litigation, employment, HR, and school law matters


Additional Requirements

• 3-6 years of experience with both employment litigation and human resources counseling.
• Experience researching and/or counseling employers on a variety of human resources-related topics, including accommodations for disabled or pregnant employees, the Family and Medical Leave Act, legal issues relating to potential employment terminations, investigating harassment complaints, wage & hour law and liability related to plant closings.
• Strong litigation skills, including researching and writing legal memoranda, drafting complaints, motions and written discovery, taking depositions and preparing for trial.
• Experience assisting employers with training their workforces on employment-related topics, including harassment prevention, accommodating disabled employees and leadership/supervisory skills and risk management.
• Experience drafting, reviewing and editing employee handbooks and other employment policies.
• Experience negotiating and drafting executive employment agreements and restrictive covenant agreements.
• Strong writing, analytical, interpersonal and communication skills.
• Candidates must be currently licensed in Illinois or licensed in another state with a UBE score that qualifies in Illinois for comity, be eligible to waive in, or be willing to sit for an upcoming IL bar exam (open to relocation candidates that meet these requirements).

The Human Resources and Employment Law Practice advises company management on a broad array of employment matters and state and federal labor laws. They focus the practice on three core disciplines: (1) employment and benefits counseling, (2) employee training and educational programs, and (3) employment litigation.
The lawyers regularly provide advice in a vast array of areas including:

• Planned discharge decisions, including assessing risk and compliance with EEO law
• Impact of labor and employment law issues on mergers and acquisitions
• Legal compliance audits of human resources practices
• Layoffs and reductions in force
• Leave issues under the Family and Medical Leave Act, workers’ compensation law and the Americans with Disabilities Act
• Requests for reasonable accommodation
• Drafting and enforcing non-compete, non-solicitation and non-disclosure agreements
• Investigating harassment complaints
• Revising and updating employee handbooks
• Securing I-9 compliance through internal audits
• Strategies to ensure exemptions from the requirement of paying overtime

In addition to consulting on the latest human resources topics, the attorneys elevate human resources to the “C” suite, draft executive compensation agreements, and design and draft employee benefit plans.
Our team consists of a diverse group of trial attorneys focusing on all areas of complex commercial disputes for public and private companies, as well as business-related disputes for closely held and family businesses. We also represent employers in employment-based lawsuits in state and federal courts across the country and before various federal, state and local governmental agencies. We have handled and won cases involving all aspects of employment law, including:

• Employment discrimination (race, national origin, age, disability, etc.)
• Sexual harassment
• Workers’ compensation retaliation
• Enforcement of restrictive covenants
• Breaches of fiduciary duty
• Breaches of contract
• Unfair labor practice charges
• EEOC charges
• Wage and hour