Lateral Associate - Litigation: Employment

Sullivan & Cromwell LLP

$235K — $455K *
Legal & Accounting
Less than 5 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Minimum 4 years experience in employment law, focused on management side
  • Experience with drafting employment and separation agreements
  • Knowledge of federal, state, and local employment laws
  • Strong interpersonal and collaborative skills
  • Ability to handle complex employment-related issues

Responsibilities

  • Advise clients on employment law compliance and disputes
  • Conduct internal investigations on allegations such as discrimination and harassment
  • Draft and negotiate employment agreements and handbooks
  • Collaborate with cross-disciplinary teams for comprehensive legal services
  • Assist in litigation involving discrimination and employment contracts

Benefits

  • Opportunity to work in a collaborative, cross-disciplinary environment
  • Engage with high-profile clients on challenging employment law issues
  • Participation in sensitive corporate internal investigations
  • Access to the Firm's extensive general practice resources
  • Support for emerging workplace legal issues such as diversity and inclusion
Full Job Description
Sullivan & Cromwell is seeking an associate to join the Firm's Litigation Group and work with lawyers in the Employment Practice. Ideal candidates should have at least four years of experience working in a law firm's employment group on the management side. Candidates with prior government experience-such as the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) or a state or local agency responsible for enforcing employment laws-are also encouraged to apply

This is an opportunity for experienced lawyers, and as such, current law students are not eligible for consideration for this particular role.

Key Qualifications

Candidates should have:
  • A broad range of experience in employment, including drafting employment/separation agreements, advising on terminations, restrictive covenants, workplace investigations, reductions in force, employer handbooks, employment diligence for transactions, and compliance with applicable employment laws
  • Knowledge of relevant federal, state and local employment laws
  • Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work collaboratively, including with other groups with whom we interact frequently, e.g. executive compensation


About the Employment Practice

Sullivan & Cromwell's Employment Law Group regularly advises clients on their most challenging matters related to state and federal employment law. In the evolving landscape of the workplace, we provide guidance on emerging legal issues involving social responsibility, Human Capital Management, and diversity and inclusion, trade secret protections, non-competes and other restrictive covenants.

We take a cross-disciplinary approach, working collaboratively with our colleagues from other practice areas to provide clients with a full range of employment law services. Working with members of our Workplace Investigations Group and Criminal Defense & Investigations Group, we conduct sensitive and complex corporate and workplace internal investigations, including examining whistleblower claims and retaliation allegations. The Group also works closely with members of the Firm's General Practice Group, including, in particular, the Executive Compensation Group and Intellectual Property Transactions and Intellectual Property Litigation practices.

The Employment Law Group regularly advises clients on:
  • routine and complex discrimination issues and defending employers in discrimination litigation in state and federal courts and before arbitration panels;
  • difficult senior executive transition and retention issues, including advice on separation negotiations and litigation concerning such matters as disputes over "good reason" contract provisions;
  • restrictive covenant cases involving non-compete, non-solicit and trade secret claims;
  • cases involving forfeiture of stock awards;
  • expedited and thorough internal investigations regarding allegations of sexual harassment, discrimination, retaliation, financial misconduct, conflicts of interest, and other violations of corporate policy; and
  • a broad spectrum of employment matters, including workforce restructuring; compliance with complex U.S. and non-U.S. statutes, independent contractor and Fair Labor Standards Act classification and related wage and hour issues; investigations of employee complaints; resolution of particular employee situations; creation of employment agreements and severance arrangements; international issues; and additional traditional labor law matters.


Salary

The associate base salary is tied to assigned associate class year. The standard scale is included below.
  • Class of 2026: $235,000
  • Class of 2025: $235,000
  • Class of 2024: $245,000
  • Class of 2023: $270,000
  • Class of 2022: $320,000
  • Class of 2021: $385,000
  • Class of 2020: $410,000
  • Class of 2019: $440,000
  • Class of 2018: $455,000
  • Class of 2017: $455,000


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