Senior Corporate Counsel, Labor and Employment

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Guild Mortgage Company, closing loans and opening doors since 1960. As a mortgage banking firm we are dedicated to serving the homeowner/buyer. Our goal is to provide affordable home financing for our customers, utilizing the best terms available while providing a level of professionalism and service unsurpassed in the lending industry.

Position Summary

The Senior Corporate Counsel, Labor and Employment serves as a trusted legal advisor to the Legal and Human Resources Department, providing practical, business-focused counsel on employment law, workforce management, regulatory compliance, workplace investigations, employment agreements, vendor contracts, risk management, and strategic initiatives. This role independently analyzes complex legal issues, exercises sound legal judgment and discretion, and advises leaders on legal risks and solutions across a broad range of labor and employment matters, including wage and hour compliance, leave and accommodations, workplace safety, harassment, discrimination, performance management, disciplinary actions, reductions in force, terminations, and employment-related claims. The attorney partners closely with Legal, HR, Compliance, and business teams to mitigate risk, support organizational objectives, and ensure compliance with applicable laws. The position is also responsible for drafting, reviewing, and negotiating employment-related agreements and HR vendor contracts, including employment contracts, executive agreements, offer letters, severance agreements, restrictive covenants, and independent contractor agreements. Working with a high degree of autonomy, the attorney manages routine and complex employment law matters while appropriately escalating novel, high-risk, or strategically significant issues to the General Counsel, delivering practical legal solutions that support business objectives while minimizing legal exposure.

Compensation

This role is an exempt position with a targeted salary range of $154,000 to $202,000 annually.

Compensation at Guild is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to local and federal minimum wage requirements, education, level of experience, and applicant’s geographical location.

Essential Functions

• Labor and Employment Law
  • Counsel stakeholders regarding federal, state, and local employment laws and regulations (including FLSA, ADA, FMLA, EEO, OSHA, Title VII, ADEA, PWFA) and industry best practices.
  • Provide guidance in compliance strategies to mitigate organizational risk.
  • Analyzes proposed and existing legislation. Reviews company policies.
• Employee Relations & Investigations
  • Provide legal guidance on employee relations matters, including disciplinary actions, performance management, terminations, reductions in force, and workplace conflicts.
  • Advise HR and management on discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and misconduct complaints.
  • Review workplace investigations and provide recommendations regarding findings, corrective actions, and legal exposure.
  • Support complex employee relations issues while balancing legal risk and business objectives.
  • Manage legal escalations and provide timely, practical solutions to support business objectives while appropriately managing legal risk and liability.
• Workforce Changes & Separations
  • Review separation agreements, release agreements, and severance programs.
  • Provide legal support for reorganizations, reductions in force, and workforce restructuring initiatives to include mergers and acquisitions.
  • Evaluate legal risks associated with employment decisions and recommend risk mitigation strategies.
• Compensation & Wage and Hour Compliance
  • Advise on employee classification, wage and hour compliance, overtime requirements, and pay practices.
  • Partner with HR and Compensation teams to assess legal risks related to compensation programs and employment practices.
• Leave & Accommodation Management
  • Provide legal guidance regarding ADA accommodations, interactive processes, and return-to-work matters.
  • Advise on FMLA, state leave programs, pregnancy accommodations, disability management, and other protected leave issues.
  • Review high-risk accommodation and leave decisions.
• Litigation & Agency Charge Management
  • Participates with the Legal Department and outside counsel in legal proceedings and prepares cases for defense. Participates in trial preparation, discovery, and negotiations.
  • Respond to and manage employment-related claims, agency charges, demand letters, and litigation matters.
  • Coordinate with outside counsel regarding employment disputes and litigation.
  • Draft position statements and responses to administrative agencies, including the EEOC and state labor agencies.
  • Support discovery, witness preparation, and litigation strategy.
• Contract Management
  • Draft, review, advise, and negotiate employment-related agreements, including employment contracts, executive employment agreements, offer letters, retention agreements, separation and severance agreements, independent contractor agreements, consulting agreements, and contingent workforce arrangements.
  • Review, draft, and negotiate HR-related contracts, including agreements associated with benefits providers, recruiting agencies, contingent workforce vendors, HR technology platforms, learning and development partners, background screening providers, and other third-party service providers.
  • Develop, maintain, and update standard employment contract language, templates, and legal provisions to ensure compliance with applicable federal, state, and local laws.
  • Review and advise on restrictive covenant provisions, including confidentiality, non-disclosure, non-solicitation, intellectual property, arbitration, and other employment-related clauses, in accordance with applicable legal requirements.
  • Monitor legal and regulatory developments that may impact vendor relationships, outsourced services, employee data management, and third-party workforce arrangements.
  • Support additional Legal Department initiatives, contract matters and special projects as assigned.

Qualifications

• J.D. and Bachelor's Degree or college courses/technical training related to Business, Finance, Legal or related field; A combination of education and experience may be considered in lieu of the Bachelor’s degree.
• Minimum five years experience of labor and employment law experience, preferably advising employers.
• Admission to a state bar in good standing.
• Experience supporting Human Resources functions in a corporate environment.
• Experience in multi-state employment law compliance.
• Prior in-house counsel experience.
• Exercises independent legal judgment and discretion in analyzing employment-related issues, assessing risk, and developing recommendations.
• Makes decisions and provides legal guidance on matters within established authority and area of expertise.
• Identifies issues requiring escalation and collaborates with senior legal leadership on matters involving significant legal, financial, regulatory, or reputational risk.
• Balances legal requirements, business objectives, and risk tolerance when developing practical solutions and recommendations.
• Experience conducting or advising on workplace investigations.
• Experience managing agency charges, employment litigation, and outside counsel.
• Deep knowledge of federal, state, and local employment laws and regulations.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and risk assessment skills.
• Ability to influence and build trusted relationships with leaders at all levels.
• High degree of discretion and ability to manage confidential information.
• Ability to balance legal compliance with business needs.
• Ability to analyze facts and data to determine issues and resolution.
• Manage multiple priorities and deadlines; strong sense of urgency and responsiveness.
• Comfortable in a paperless environment.
• Strong project management and organizational skills.
• Specializes in employment law and provides legal assistance to employers.
• Research skills. Judgement. Leadership skills.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills required.
• Highly organized and detail-oriented; ability to work in a fast-paced, metrics-driven environment required.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, Word, Excel, Wiki, collaborative cloud-based programs, and third-party software applications required.
• Commitment to company values.
• Customer Service - Proactive attention to each person.
• Integrity - Do and say what's right.
• Respect - Treat others with dignity.
• Collaboration - Listen and work together.
• Learning - Seek knowledge and strive for improvement.
• Excellence – Deliver the unexpected.

Supervision

Job Scope: Plays a key role in area by generating insights and ideas on policies, processes, procedures, and efficiency; contributes ideas to strategic and operational plans to ensure alignment.

Complexity: Problems encountered are often complex and may involve significant resource coordination and availability, evaluating and resolving discrepancies with data, analyses, processes, etc. using own expertise and judgment.

Impact: Decisions and actions have a major impact on the strategic and operational outcomes of the area/unit; Has a direct and significant impact on the business and/or operations of the organization as a whole.

Interaction/Supervision: Works under broad direction with considerable latitude for independent actions; guided by professional standards, desired outcomes and unit/project/program specifications.

Requirements

• Work is primarily sedentary; mobility in an office setting.
• Ability to operate standard office equipment and keyboards.
• Ability to accurately interpret sounds and associated meanings at a volume consistent with interpersonal conversation.
• Regularly required to accurately perceive, distinguish and interpret information received visually and through audio; e.g., words, numbers and other data broadcasted aloud/viewed on a screen, as well as print and other media.
• Expressing or exchanging ideas by means of the spoken word to impart oral information to clients or the public and to convey detailed spoken instructions to other workers accurately, loudly, or quickly.
• Office environment – moderate noise, no substantial exposure to adverse environmental conditions.
• Must be able to adhere to process protocol. Must be able to apply established protocols in a timely manner.
• This role requires effective adaptation to workplace stressors, including customer service complaints, security responsibilities, and competing priorities.
• Work is primarily performed during the business week, Monday - Friday.

Guild offers a pleasant work environment, competitive compensation and excellent benefits package; including medical, dental, vision, life insurance, AD&D, LTD and 401(k) with employer match.

Guild Mortgage Company is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

REQ#: SENIO018345