Assistant General Counsel, Employment (Senior Director)

Reports to Equinox's Chief Legal Officer / Hudson Yards, Manhattan, NY / Hybrid - 4 days/week in office; 1 day remote Equinox isn't just a fitness company - it's shaping the future of wellness, longevity, hospitality, and media. As Assistant General Counsel, Employment, you'll be the legal backbone protecting and empowering the people who make that happen - a workforce as varied as our brands spanning health club personnel, corporate teams, and media talent across the country, and in the UK and Canada. We are seeking a business-minded, experienced, employment attorney to serve as a primary legal advisor on all workforce matters across a global portfolio that includes Equinox Health Clubs, SoulCycle, Equinox Hotels, and Equinox Media. You'll help build and modernize how Equinox manages employment risk across a fast-growing, multi-brand portfolio. No two days look the same. Reporting to the Chief Legal Officer, you will primarily focus on ensuring that the company stays compliant with current and emerging state and federal employment laws. You will be a trusted and strategic partner to the Chief Legal Officer on high-stakes mediation, arbitration, and litigation, and to People & Culture, Risk Management, Asset Protection and senior leadership on various employment-related matters. This is a high-visibility, high-impact leadership role for someone who thrives in a fast-moving, people-first environment. Who You'll Work With You'll join a team of 16 people supporting the CLO's office, and will work closely with People & Culture, Risk Management and Asset Protection. What You'll Do • Track and ensure compliance with evolving federal, state, and local employment law; translate developments into compliant policies, manuals, agreements, and SOPs. • Identify and advise on legal risk across the employee lifecycle - hiring, performance, discipline, and terminations, and produce and report on employment risk metrics. • Spot systemic risk trends and recommend proactive legal or policy changes on wage & hour, benefits, and leave-of-absence issues; partner with People & Culture to implement them. • Partner with Employee Relations on allegations of harassment, hostile work environment, discrimination, and retaliation, as well as disability accommodations and leaves of absence. • Draft agency (e.g., EEOC) position statements and respond to pre-mediation, pre-arbitration, and pre-litigation demand letters. • Manage employment-related claims asserted under the company's ADR Program - and help shape how that program evolves. • Lead an annual audit to ensure job descriptions, offer letters, employment agreements, restrictive covenant agreements, executive arrangements, and separation agreements stay legally current across all brands. • Partner with People & Culture on building and delivering training for people managers (terminations, performance management, harassment prevention). • Help leverage AI-assisted analysis, legal research, and drafting tools as part of a broader push toward more efficient legal operations. Qualifications • JD from an accredited law school; admitted to New York or at least one U.S. state bar. • 10+ years of employment law experience, ideally including 3-5 years at an employment law firm and 2-3 years in-house at a large, multi-state employer. • Deep knowledge of federal, state, and local employment law: wage & hour, discrimination, leave, accommodations, and workforce restructuring. • Proven track record managing employment claims and EEOC/agency matters. • Strong business instincts - you balance legal risk with operational reality and give actionable answers, not just issue-spotting. • Exceptional written and verbal communication skills; you make complex legal concepts accessible to non-lawyers and can influence at every level. • Strong interpersonal skills, with experience advising senior executives and P&C leadership. • Highly organized and detail-oriented, comfortable managing a busy, varied docket with competing priorities. • Comfort using AI-assisted legal research and drafting tools (e.g., Claude or similar) as part of a modern legal practice. Pay Transparency: $245K - $260K + bonus Additional Information AS A MEMBER OF THE EQUINOX TEAM YOU WILL RECEIVE: • We offer competitive salary, benefits, and industry leading commission opportunities for club employees • Complimentary Club membership • Perks and incentives with our products and services including Personal Training, Pilates, Spa and Shop This job description is intended to describe the general requirements for the position. It is not a complete statement of duties, responsibilities or requirements. Other duties not listed here may be assigned as necessary to ensure the proper operations of the department.