Attorney

NEW IN – Employment Litigation Associate | 4–5 Years | Plaintiff + Defense | High-Stakes Matters | No Billable Requirement | Newport Beach

I'm currently working with a nationally active litigation practice looking to add an Employment Litigation Associate to its Newport Beach team. This is a strong opportunity for an attorney who wants to handle high-stakes employment disputes on both sides of the V, gain genuine responsibility on lean teams and build a broader practice spanning litigation, strategic counseling and complex executive-level matters.

Why This Opportunity Stands Out

• Both Sides of the V – Handle employment matters for both plaintiffs and defendants, giving you exposure to the full spectrum of employment disputes rather than being locked into one side of the practice.
• High-Stakes, High-Visibility Matters – Work on complex and sensitive disputes involving significant financial, professional and reputational exposure, including matters that may require careful strategic handling beyond routine employment litigation.
• Executive & Professional-Level Disputes – Gain exposure to sophisticated matters involving senior executives and professionals, including compensation, equity, separation agreements and restrictive covenants.
• Litigation + Counseling – Build a genuinely broader Employment practice across litigation, compliance, investigations, risk mitigation, discipline, termination decisions and strategic personnel issues.
• No Firm-Wide Billable Requirement – Develop your practice without being tied to a set annual firm-wide billable-hour target.
• Lean Teams, Real Responsibility – Work closely with experienced partners and take ownership of key workstreams, case strategy and substantive litigation responsibilities as your experience develops.
• Beyond the Standard Employment Docket – Gain exposure to employment disputes intersecting with business, executive, trade secret and unfair competition issues, creating a more varied practice than a traditional single-track Employment Litigation role.
• Direct Client & Strategic Exposure – Communicate directly with clients and play an active role in litigation strategy, pre-litigation advice and key decisions throughout the lifecycle of a matter.

The Role

• Manage employment litigation matters and key case components with increasing independence.
• Handle single-plaintiff employment disputes, including discrimination, retaliation, harassment, wrongful termination and l eave-related claims.
• Work on wage-and-hour litigation, including class and representative actions.
• Support matters involving executive compensation, equity, separation agreements and restrictive covenants.
• Gain exposure to employment-related trade secret and unfair competition disputes.
• Draft pleadings, dispositive motions, discovery and substantive briefs.
• Conduct and defend depositions and support preparation for hearings, mediations and settlement conferences.
• Provide strategic litigation and pre-litigation advice to employers and employees.
• Conduct workplace investigations and support internal employment assessments where appropriate.
• Communicate directly with clients, opposing counsel and agency representatives.
• Take ownership of key workstreams and contribute to overall case strategy.

About You

• 4–5 years of litigation experience in state and/or federal court.
• Employment Litigation experience is required.
• Experience with dispositive motions and discovery management.
• Strong legal research, writing and analytical skills.
• Working knowledge of California employment statutes and civil procedure.
• Active California Bar admission in good standing.
• Strong credentials and attendance at a good law school.
• Comfortable handling complex employment disputes and counseling matters.
• Interest in building a long-term career and developing a practice.
• Experience with legal AI tools such as CoCounsel, Claude or Harvey is a plus.

Location

• Newport Beach, California

Package

• Up to $175,000 base salary, depending on experience and qualifications.
• No firm-wide billable-hour requirement.
• Potential long-term progression toward partnership.

If you're an Employment litigator looking for both plaintiff and defense experience, high-stakes matters, genuine responsibility and the opportunity to build both your litigation and counseling practice, I'd love to speak with you.

Please apply below or forward your résumé to Sign in to view email for a confidential, no-obligation discussion.