Senior Counsel, Employment

Databricks•Chicago, IL

About The Position

The mission of Databricks Legal is to apply legal resources and expertise to help Databricks achieve its growth and strategic objectives, while thoughtfully protecting Databricks with a reasonable balance of risk versus opportunity. What we look for The Senior Counsel, Employment will provide legal counseling to the Databricks People Team on U.S. employment matters, and collaborate to resolve U.S. disputes. You will also lead global employment-related projects. You will have excellent written and verbal communication skills and practical business judgment, exhibit a high level of organization and flexibility, and have the skills and drive to support and accelerate this leading technology company, addressing cutting-edge legal issues and organizational challenges. This is a full-time position reporting to Databricks’ Senior Director and Associate General Counsel of Global Employment Legal, joining a team of 4 international lawyers and a paralegal.

Requirements

JD from a top-tier accredited institution; licensed to practice law in Washington State, California, Colorado, Illinois, Virginia, New York, or Massachusetts
10+ years of employment law and litigation experience; in-house experience (including as a firm secondee) strongly preferred
Fluency in translating legal advice into practical, risk-balanced, business-oriented advice
Experience supporting business operations and partnering with the People Team/HR and other professionals across multiple locations
Experience supporting multi-jurisdictional projects
Experience providing advice directly to clients, including executive stakeholders
Strong work ethic and the highest level of integrity and business ethics
Ability to quickly and independently assess employment-related situations and develop practical options to respond to and resolve risks
Ability to build strong relationships quickly and work with all levels of the business with ease
Exceptional judgment and attention to detail, including judgment for when to escalate matters to legal leadership
Excellent written and verbal communication skills

Nice To Haves

Tech sector experience preferred, including cloud services, data, and AI
A desire to work on complex legal issues and in new global regions as we continue to expand
Experience working with a client-service focus and a bias for action
Strong aptitude and appetite for identifying, developing, and implementing critical process improvements

Responsibilities

Provide pragmatic, risk-balanced advice to Databricks’ People Team (including employee relations and business partners) on employment law matters for Databricks’ U.S. workforce, including: hiring and recruiting, investigations, discipline and termination, leaves of absence, disability accommodation, wage and hour, anti-discrimination, compensation and benefits (including sales compensation plans and bonus programs), non-competition and non-solicitation, protection of confidential information, contingent staffing, credentialing and background checks (including related to public sector and regulated customers), file and data subject access requests, restructuring plans, and other topics
Respond to demand letters, administrative charges, and other disputes, including investigating claims, communicating with opposing counsel, negotiating resolutions, and drafting separation and settlement agreements
Monitor new U.S. laws, regulations, and decisions affecting the substantive legal areas above and provide strategic, proactive advice to the People Team and cross-functional partners
Draft employee-facing policies, handbooks, and other resources
Prepare and lead training events on employment law-related matters
Manage outside counsel handling employment litigation and global projects, including management of budgets, driving litigation strategy, and collaborating on pleadings and other documents
Support employment-related aspects of mergers, acquisitions, strategic investments, and divestitures, including due diligence and related workforce integration efforts
Support employment-related aspects of commercial and procurement deals, including those relating to background checks and access requirements
Partner closely with privacy legal to consider employment-related impacts from business technology
Establish and maintain credibility and trust with internal clients, legal team members, and other partners
Provide sophisticated, pragmatic advice and counsel on both day-to-day and individual employee issues and strategic and organizational plans
Identify and implement process improvements that help the legal team, the People Team, and the business scale for growth, including through automated and AI solutions.