Sr. Litigation and Employment Attorney

At Early Warning, we’ve powered and protected the U.S. financial system for over thirty years with cutting-edge solutions like Zelle®, Paze℠, and so much more. As a trusted name in payments, we partner with thousands of institutions to increase access to financial services and protect transactions for hundreds of millions of consumers and small businesses.

Positions located in Scottsdale, San Francisco, Chicago, or New York follow a hybrid work model to allow for a more collaborative working environment.

Candidates responding to this posting must independently possess the eligibility to work in the United States, for any employer, at the date of hire. This position is ineligible for employment Visa sponsorship.

This role will sit in one of our offices: Scottsdale-AZ, Chicago, IL, New York, or San Francisco.

Overall Purpose

Reporting to the Associate General Counsel, this role is responsible for managing enterprise litigation matters and providing legal advisory support on labor and employment matters for the company’s People team.

Essential Functions

• Proactively manage assigned litigation matters, performing case assessments, identifying and mitigating risks in a manner that protects the company’s interests commensurate with the company’s business objectives and associated risk appetite.
• Manage all aspects of routine litigation matters including issuance and administration of legal holds, fact investigation, strategy development, discovery, motion practice, mediation, settlement negotiations, trial and appeal.
• Manage outside counsel and other legal service providers in the management of pending and threatened litigation and other legal proceedings.
• Engage in active oversight of legal support staff assigned to assist in the investigation and management of litigation related matters.
• Oversee and provide advisory support with respect to the the company’s responses to subpoenas, third-party discovery (including government agency and law enforcement) and other legal service of process.
• Coordinate and partner with internal business leaders across the organization to proactively identify and develop strategies to mitigate litigation risk associated with business operations.
• Respond to complaints and inquiries from Federal and State regulatory agencies (including state attorneys general).
• Track and provide regular reporting on litigation matters including e.g. facts, status, strategy, next steps and trends.
• Update and maintain policies and procedures related to the management and handling of litigation, federal and state regulatory complaints, subpoenas, and other legal service of process.
• Monitor federal, state, and municipal legal developments, and prepare and deliver memoranda and briefings to the People team and other stakeholders
• Conduct legal research and provide written analyses related to various labor, employment and benefits matters, including but not limited to, Title VII, ADA, ADEA, FMLA, Affirmative Action, Equal Pay, Employee Privacy, FLSA, OSHA, Immigration, DE&I, and ERISA.
• Provide day to day legal advisory support to the People Team and business leaders on employee relations issues including disciplinary matters, terminations and other adverse employment actions.
• Respond to demand letters, wage claims, and employment-related charges filed with municipal, state or federal enforcement agencies (e.g., EEOC, DOL, OFCCP, DOJ, OSHA) and courts and oversee the defense of matters by outside counsel.
• Assist in the development of company policies, procedures, guidelines, standards and other practices designed to ensure compliance with applicable employment-related laws and regulations affecting employees.
• Develop and provide preventative training to the People team and business leaders on personnel policies and procedures and applicable state and federal laws.
• Perform other duties as assigned to support the legal department and company.
• Support the company’s commitment to risk management and protecting the integrity and confidentiality of systems and data. 

Minimum Qualifications

• Juris Doctor from accredited law school
• Admission and active license in good standing to practice law in Arizona or other State bar
• Five or more years of relevant legal experience  
• Unyielding commitment to highest professional ethics
• Background and drug screen

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior experience in consumer financial services litigation.
• Prior in-house experience as an employment advisory attorney.
• Proactive self-starter with demonstrated experience identifying and resolving legal issues quickly and effectively, with an ability to make real-time decisions with imperfect information.
• Strong business acumen—the ability to be forward-thinking and innovative while understanding our business needs and limitations
• Highly effective working in a team environment with strong interpersonal and collaborative skills to build partnerships and alliances internally at all levels of the organization and with external partners.
• Prior experience effectively managing legal support staff and outside legal resources.
• Ability to comprehend and communicate complex law and regulation and judicial and regulatory interpretations of law and regulations to internal clients at all levels of the organization
• Strong presentation skills and excellent written and verbal communication skills

Physical Requirements

Working conditions consist of a normal office environment.  Work is primarily sedentary and requires extensive use of a computer and involves sitting for periods of approximately four hours.  Work may require occasional standing, walking, kneeling, and reaching.  Must be able to lift 10 pounds occasionally and/or negligible amount of force frequently.  Requires visual acuity and dexterity to view, prepare, and manipulate documents and office equipment including personal computers. 

Employee must be able to perform essential functions and physical requirements of position with or without reasonable accommodation.

The above job description is not intended to be an all-inclusive list of duties and standards of the position.  Incumbents will follow instructions and perform other related duties as assigned by their supervisor.

The pay scale for this position in:

Phoenix, AZ/ Chicago, IL in USD per year is: $130,000 - $155,000.
New York, NY in USD per year is: $140,000 - $165,000.

This pay scale is subject to change and is not necessarily reflective of actual compensation that may be earned, nor a promise of any specific pay for any specific candidate, which is always dependent on legitimate factors considered at the time of job offer. Early Warning Services takes into consideration a variety of factors when determining a competitive salary offer, including, but not limited to, the job scope, market rates and geographic location of a position, candidate’s education, experience, training, and specialized skills or certification(s) in relation to the job requirements and compared with internal equity (peers). The business actively supports and reviews wage equity to ensure that pay decisions are not based on gender, race, national origin, or any other protected classes.

Some of the Ways We Prioritize Your Health and Happiness 

• Healthcare Coverage – Competitive medical (PPO/HDHP), dental, and vision plans as well as company contributions to your Health Savings Account (HSA) or pre-tax savings through flexible spending accounts (FSA) for commuting, health & dependent care expenses.
• 401(k) Retirement Plan – Featuring a 100% Company Safe Harbor Match on your first 6% deferral immediately upon eligibility.
• Paid Time Off – Unlimited Time Off for Exempt (salaried) employees, as well as generous PTO for Non-Exempt (hourly) employees, plus 11 paid company holidays and a paid volunteer day.
• 12 weeks of Paid Parental Leave
• Maven Family Planning – provides support through your Parenting journey including egg freezing, fertility, adoption, surrogacy, pregnancy, postpartum, early pediatrics, and returning to work.

And SO much more! We continue to enhance our program, so be sure to check our Benefits page here for the latest. Our team can share more during the interview process!

Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Early Warning Services, LLC (“Early Warning”) considers for employment, hires, retains and promotes qualified candidates on the basis of ability, potential, and valid qualifications without regard to race, religious creed, religion, color, sex, sexual orientation, genetic information, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, protected veteran or disability status or any factor prohibited by law, and as such affirms in policy and practice to support and promote equal employment opportunity and affirmative action, in accordance with all applicable federal, state, and municipal laws. The company also prohibits discrimination on other bases such as medical condition, marital status or any other factor that is irrelevant to the performance of our employees.