VP, Deputy General Counsel

kate spade new york•New York, NY

8d•$320,000 - $360,000•Onsite

About The Position

We are seeking a Vice President, Deputy General Counsel to join the Office of the Legal Department at one of the nation's leading S&P 500 retail companies. This is a high-impact, senior-level position for a seasoned legal professional who thrives in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment and is ready to serve as a trusted advisor to senior leadership across the organization. As a Deputy General Counsel, you will serve as a senior member of the legal leadership team and manage a broad portfolio spanning North America litigation and disputes, employment law and have responsibility for helping to coordinate NA and cross-border internal investigations. This role will oversee regulatory proceedings, and the enterprise ethics and compliance program. You will lead a team of attorneys and support professionals experienced in litigation, employment law, compliance, and legal operations.. You will partner directly with the CLO and senior management to protect the company, mitigate legal risk, and drive a proactive, solutions-oriented legal and compliance culture. This position is ideal for someone with in-house sensibility who is comfortable operating with a high degree of autonomy in a lean organizational structure where responsibilities span multiple functions.

Requirements

Juris Doctor (J.D.) from an accredited law school.
Admitted and in good standing with the New York State Bar.
Minimum of 15 years of legal experience with a primary focus on litigation, investigations, and compliance, including meaningful experience in a senior in-house leadership role.
Significant hands-on experience across all phases of litigation and disputes, including trial preparation.
Strong employment law experience, with an ability to advise on day-to-day employment issues when needed.
Experience managing internal investigations, subpoenas, discovery, cross-border data issues, litigation holds, document management applications, and e-discovery tools.
Demonstrated experience running or holding significant leadership responsibility for a corporate ethics and compliance program.
Demonstrated experience coordinating and conducting cross-border investigations, including managing local counsel and navigating foreign data privacy and employment law constraints.
ability to work independently, multitask, and manage complex matters with minimal supervision.
Strong litigation judgment and the ability to act quickly to assess legal risk, business impact, and strategic options.
Excellent drafting, analytical, communication, and negotiation skills.
Sound judgment, discretion, and the ability to handle sensitive and confidential matters.
Ability to translate complex legal concepts into clear, practical advice for non-legal senior stakeholders.
Strong relationship-building skills and the ability to partner across Legal, Compliance, Risk, HR, Operations, Supply Chain, IT and other business teams.
Proven experience leading, managing, and developing legal teams.
Experience overseeing or building a legal operations function, including legal technology, process improvement and outside counsel management.

Nice To Haves

Blend of big law and/or government and in-house experience, ideally supporting multi-strategy or complex business platforms.
Familiarity with the retail industry, including global sourcing and supply chain compliance.
Familiarity with AI and data governance
Experience advising store, distribution, supply chain, or other operations teams at a multi-site enterprise.
Experience with government investigations and self-disclosure decisions (e.g., DOJ, SEC, EEOC, state attorneys general).
Intellectual curiosity and a willingness to learn the business deeply.
Entrepreneurial mindset — adaptable, willing to roll up your sleeves, and comfortable operating in a non-siloed environment where responsibilities span multiple functions.

Responsibilities

Manage all phases of litigation and disputes — with and without outside counsel — including case strategy, risk evaluation, budgeting, discovery, witness preparation, depositions, motion practice, arbitration, trial preparation, and settlement.
Manage and resolve pre-litigation disputes, demand letters, governmental agency and regulatory inquiries, and threatened claims.
Assess risk, evaluate litigation exposure, and provide practical, solution-oriented counsel to executives and internal stakeholders.
Evaluate claims and exposure and make recommendations regarding case strategy and resolution, including settlement authority within designated limits.
Advise Human Resources and business leaders on employment-related disputes, workplace investigations, employee relations issues, administrative claims, disciplinary matters, and separation-related issues in North America and, from time-to-time, work with regional office to provide legal advice on international issues.
Coordinate and conduct cross-border investigations involving the company's international operations, suppliers, and vendors, including matters implicating anti-corruption (FCPA and local law), fraud, supply chain, and workplace misconduct; manage local counsel and forensic providers; and navigate data privacy, data transfer, labor consultation, and privilege considerations across jurisdictions.
Establish consistent investigation protocols, escalation criteria, and root-cause and remediation processes, and report investigation outcomes to senior leadership and the Board as appropriate.
Coordinate responses to regulatory and government agency proceedings, and state agency inquiries.
Partner closely with the CLO and senior management on all aspects of the company's compliance and regulatory framework, including governmental examinations, investigations, and ongoing regulatory readiness.
Lead, operate, and continuously enhance the company's enterprise ethics and compliance program, including program governance, risk assessments, policies and procedures, training and communications, and reporting to the CLO and senior management.
Oversee the company's ethics hotline program, including the framework for intake, triage, case assignment, investigation tracking, anti-retaliation safeguards, documentation, trend analysis, and periodic reporting of hotline metrics to leadership.
Support the integration of new products and market strategies into the existing compliance structure.
Provide legal and regulatory support cross-functionally, partnering with business teams on both strategic and day-to-day matters.
Serve as a strategic legal partner to the company's operations leadership, including store operations, distribution and fulfillment, supply chain, logistics, facilities, and loss prevention.
Advise on operational legal risks, including workplace safety (OSHA), wage and hour compliance, premises liability, consumer protection, product safety and recalls, and vendor and supplier matters.
Partner with operations teams to design and implement compliant policies, procedures, and controls that support efficient, scalable operations across the store and distribution network.
Support incident response, crisis management, and business continuity planning, and manage operational claims and disputes in coordination with Risk Management and insurers.
Advise on operational initiatives, including pricing, workforce scheduling, automation, and technology deployments in stores and distribution centers.
Coordinate the legal operations function, assist with setting strategy and priorities for how the legal department delivers services efficiently and at scale.
Coordinate the department's legal technology, tools and reporting, including matter management, document retention, e-discovery and document management,
Coordinate and evolve legal processes and ways of working, including intake and triage, e-discovery, playbooks, templates, knowledge management, and self-service resources for business partners.
Assist with develop and tracking department metrics and reporting.
Lead, mentor, and develop attorneys and legal professionals, including hiring, performance management, succession planning, training, and career development, and foster a collaborative, inclusive, high-performing team culture.
Serve as a key strategic partner to the CLO
Support Board and Audit Committee matters, as needed.
Take ownership of projects and operate with a high degree of autonomy within a lean organizational culture.
Handle ad hoc legal matters, research and analysis of complex issues, and directly engage with internal stakeholders on legal issues as they arise.