Senior Counsel, Employment Law - Mars Veterinary Health

Why This Role Matters

The Senior Counsel, Employment Law supports Mars Veterinary Health’s (MVH) business units in North America, including Banfield, BluePearl, and VCA. This role is part of the MVH Legal function’s regional Employment Law Center of Excellence & Deployment (CoE&D).

What You Will Do

• Provide proactive legal counsel to People & Organization (P&O) and business leaders to support day-to-day decision-making and workforce strategy development.
• Advises on a wide range of employment and labor-related issues and strategic workforce matters, including employment agreements, restrictive covenants, policy development, administrative claims, litigation (single party and class action), and other dispute management, associate relations, and professional licensing and liability matters.
• Advise on employment litigation and pre-litigation matters, including responding to agency charges, internal complaints, and managing outside counsel.
• Contribute to the development, implementation, and maintenance of employment policies, handbooks, and training materials tailored to the North American workforce as well as conduct trainings with the P&O teams.
• Draft and advise on Employment Agreements for veterinarians as well as other Associates throughout MVH.
• Stay current with and communicate changes in federal, state, provincial, and local employment laws across North America; assess potential impacts and coordinate responsive actions.
• Collaborate with global Legal colleagues across MVH and greater Mars to align North American practices with global employment law strategies and policies.
• Provide legal guidance in connection with workforce changes, including restructuring/severance, acquisitions, divestitures, and related integration activities.
• Partner with P&O on immigration matters. Supervise outside attorney preparation of employment-based immigration petitions, prepare, review and file PERM applications and provide support to P&O in preparing PERM recruitment documentation.
• Participate in and/or lead cross-functional projects, sharing knowledge and insights with peers across Legal (including risk and regulatory compliance), P&O, and operational teams.
• Mentor more junior attorneys or Legal staff as needed.

Qualifications

• Juris Doctor (JD) from an ABA-accredited law school and admission to practice law in the United States.
• 8+ years of experience practicing employment law preferred, with a significant portion spent as in-house counsel in a large, matrixed, or multi-unit organization.
• Deep understanding of U.S. federal and state employment laws; labor law and Canadian employment law experience strongly preferred.
• Proven ability to manage multiple complex legal issues simultaneously while maintaining responsiveness in a dynamic business environment.
• Experience in employment litigation management, investigations, and proactive risk mitigation.
• Strong interpersonal, communication, and collaboration skills, with the ability to partner effectively across MVH functions (e.g. P&O, Legal, and Operations) and greater Mars.
• Comfortable working in an environment of shifting priorities and shared resource allocation.
• High integrity, sound judgment, and a practical, solutions-oriented mindset.

Benefits

Salary Range: $166,023 – $259,411
Compensation is determined based on education, experience, and other relevant credentials. Our salary ranges are determined by role, level, location, and market competitiveness.