Senior Director - Litigation & Employment Counsel

About the role

Own the company's litigation strategy and docket end-to-end across commercial, IP, employment, and platform/product disputes—directing pleadings, discovery, depositions, motion practice, mediation, arbitration, trial preparation, and settlement.

Partner cross-functionally with Product, Engineering, and Operations on the employment- and litigation-adjacent legal questions that surface in the platform itself—contractor and gig workflows on Handshake AI, employer/recruiter features on the careers platform, user disputes, payout infrastructure, content and trust & safety issues, and platform terms—providing practical, risk-calibrated guidance that helps teams ship.

Serve as Handshake's in-house employment expert—advising the People team and managers on day-to-day matters including hiring, performance management, separations, leaves of absence, reasonable accommodations, wage and hour, pay equity, internal investigations, a reductions in force across a multi-state workforce, plus a growing international footprint.

Manage agency investigations, single-plaintiff and class/representative claims (including PAGA), severance and separation negotiations, and pre-litigation employee disputes; partner with the People team on root-cause learnings.

Partner with the People team to maintain and evolve the employee handbook, offer letters, restrictive covenants, separation templates, and required training programs (anti-harassment) anti-retaliation, manager training); monitor multi-state compliance obligations and lead rollout of new requirements (e.g. AI-in-hiring rules) across handbook, training, and product.

Serve as a senior thought partner to the leadership team on the disputes, employment, and platform-risk questions that shape company strategy—influencing how Handshake calibrates risk, expands into new products and markets, and navigates high-stakes inflection points, and building alignment with peer leaders in Product, Engineering, People, Finance, and Communications.

Responsibilities

• Own the company's litigation strategy and docket end-to-end across commercial, IP, employment, and platform/product disputes—directing pleadings, discovery, depositions, motion practice, mediation, arbitration, trial preparation, and settlement.
• Partner cross-functionally with Product, Engineering, and Operations on the employment- and litigation-adjacent legal questions that surface in the platform itself—contractor and gig workflows on Handshake AI, employer/recruiter features on the careers platform, user disputes, payout infrastructure, content and trust & safety issues, and platform terms—providing practical, risk-calibrated guidance that helps teams ship.
• Serve as Handshake's in-house employment expert—advising the People team and managers on day-to-day matters including hiring, performance management, separations, leaves of absence, reasonable accommodations, wage and hour, pay equity, internal investigations, a reductions in force across a multi-state workforce, plus a growing international footprint.
• Manage agency investigations, single-plaintiff and class/representative claims (including PAGA), severance and separation negotiations, and pre-litigation employee disputes; partner with the People team on root-cause learnings.
• Partner with the People team to maintain and evolve the employee handbook, offer letters, restrictive covenants, separation templates, and required training programs (anti-harassment) anti-retaliation, manager training); monitor multi-state compliance obligations and lead rollout of new requirements (e.g. AI-in-hiring rules) across handbook, training, and product.
• Serve as a senior thought partner to the leadership team on the disputes, employment, and platform-risk questions that shape company strategy—influencing how Handshake calibrates risk, expands into new products and markets, and navigates high-stakes inflection points, and building alignment with peer leaders in Product, Engineering, People, Finance, and Communications.

Requirements

• JD and active membership in good standing in at least one U.S. state bar (California admission or eligibility to register as in-house counsel in California).
• 12+ years of combined law firm and in-house experience at a high-growth technology, gig platform, or marketplace company.
• Hands-on litigation experience managing complex commercial, employment, and/or platform-related disputes from intake through resolution, including first-chair trial, arbitration, and/or hearing experience.
• Deep in-house employment expertise across wage and hour, leaves and accommodations, investigations, and agency practice (EEOC, DFEH/CRD); strong expertise in worker classification laws and proven compliance strategies for gig and contractor populations at scale.
• Demonstrated ability to advise Product, Engineering, and Operations teams on legal questions arising from platform or marketplace products.
• Exceptional judgment and communication skills, with a passion for Handshake's mission and the legal questions presented by the future of work.

Bonus Points

• Prior experience as the first or early litigation/employment hire at a high-growth company.
• Familiarity with two-sided platform or marketplace businesses, including platform liability, user disputes, and trust & safety issues.

Benefits

Ownership: Equity in a fast-growing company
💰 Financial Wellness: 401(k) match, competitive compensation, financial coaching
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Compensation Range

$276K - $345K