Mid-level to Sr. Associate for LA Office (Remote in CA)

About the Role

This is a full-time associate role at a well-established California employer-side labor and employment boutique founded by attorneys from AmLaw 100 firms, now 50-plus attorneys strong across five California offices. The firm is recognized by Law360 as a Best Law Firm for Women and Minority Attorneys four consecutive years running and is Chambers-ranked with 30 attorneys on the 2027 Best Lawyers list. The LA office is fully remote in practice, and the firm just completed a firm-wide compensation realignment specifically to compete with BigLaw and national employer-side boutiques. The billable target sits at 1,800 hours with flexibility between 1,600 and 1,900, and overage above target pays out at $100 to $125 per hour with no ceiling.

The ideal candidate has 3 to 8 years of employer-side California employment litigation experience and is ready to own matters from inception through resolution without heavy partner oversight. You are comfortable handling FEHA, PAGA, wage-and-hour, and class action defense independently, including depositions, motions, mediations, and arbitrations. You have a stable tenure history, sound judgment on case strategy, and a collegial approach that fits a boutique where partners are genuinely accessible. BigLaw or national employer-side boutique background is a strong plus, especially if you are looking for competitive compensation and a lower billable target without sacrificing the quality or complexity of your work.

Key Responsibilities

1. Manage California employment litigation matters from inception through resolution across single-plaintiff and class action defense, including discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, wage-and-hour, PAGA, and FEHA claims
2. Draft pleadings, motions, briefs, and discovery with full ownership of case strategy and execution
3. Take and defend depositions and represent employer clients at hearings, mediations, and arbitrations
4. Handle matters before state and federal agencies including the DLSE and NLRB
5. Provide day-to-day compliance counseling, risk avoidance guidance, and employer advisory support to clients ranging from early-stage startups to Fortune 500 corporations
6. Collaborate with partners and fellow associates in a mentorship-driven, collegial environment across the firm's California offices
7. Contribute optionally to business development through blogs, webinars, and client presentations; there is no BD pressure, but the opportunity is open to those who want it

Required Skills & Experience

• 3 to 8 years of California employment litigation experience, employer-side only; plaintiff-side background is a hard disqualifier
• Active California Bar membership in good standing with no disciplinary history
• Experience managing litigation matters independently from inception through resolution, not solely in a supporting junior capacity
• Experience with single-plaintiff defense and/or class action or PAGA defense matters
• Deep working knowledge of FEHA, PAGA, and California wage-and-hour law including DLSE and NLRB frameworks
• Ability to draft pleadings, motions, briefs, and discovery and to handle depositions, hearings, mediations, and arbitrations independently
• Stable tenure history with no pattern of multiple short stints of one to one and a half years and no unexplained gaps
• J.D. from an ABA-accredited law school
• Must be authorized to work in the United States without visa sponsorship
• Currently located anywhere in California

Preferred Skills

• Background at a BigLaw firm with a California employment practice group (Gibson Dunn, O'Melveny, Paul Hastings, Morgan Lewis, Proskauer, Sidley, Latham, Jones Day, or similar) or a national employer-side boutique (Littler, Jackson Lewis, Fisher Phillips, Ogletree, Seyfarth, or similar)
• UCLA J.D.