Associate General Counsel - Labor & Employment

Socket.dev; San Diego (CA); Hybrid; USD 250,000 - 300,000; Full time

Job summary

StepStone is seeking a senior legal advisor to join the Corporate Legal team as lead employment counsel on U.S. and global labor, compensation, privacy, and governance matters.

You will partner with human resources and business teams to draft and negotiate a wide range of agreements, support international expansion, monitor regulatory developments, manage outside counsel, and contribute to ESG disclosures while balancing legal risk with business objectives.

Qualifications

• Licensed to practice law in the United States and eligible to work in the U.S.
• Approximately 8–12 years of combined law firm and in-house experience.
• Significant expertise in U.S. labor and employment law and cross-border matters.

Responsibilities

• Lead U.S. and global labor and employment matters, including policies and investigations.
• Advise on executive and employee compensation, equity, and related awards.
• Provide guidance on privacy, data protection, and governance for employment tech.
• Draft, review, and negotiate employment, recruiting, vendor, and consulting agreements.
• Support international expansion and cross-border workforce matters.
• Manage outside counsel and coordinate ESG disclosures and risk mitigation.

Skills

Labor & Employment

Executive Compensation

Privacy & Data Protection

Contract Negotiation

Education

Juris Doctor (JD) from a top-tier U.S. law school

Bachelor's degree (4-year college) or equivalent

Job description

We are global private markets specialists delivering tailored investment solutions, advisory services, and impactful, data driven insights to the world's investors. Leveraging the power of our platform and our peerless intelligence across sectors, strategies, and geographies, we help identify the advantages and the answers our clients need to succeed.

Position Overview:

You will be part of the StepStone Corporate Legal team and serve as a senior legal advisor on a broad range of U.S. and global labor and employment, compensation, benefits, privacy, governance, and related corporate matters.

Essential Functions:

You will work closely with the corporate legal and human resources teams and other stakeholders to provide practical, risk-based legal advice across the following broad areas:

• Serve as lead employment counsel on U.S. and global labor and employment matters, including but not limited to, workforce policies and practices, employee relations, investigations, accommodations and leaves, terminations, organizational change, and employment-related disputes.
• Advise on executive and employee compensation matters, including carried interest, equity and deferred compensation, incentive arrangements, and related award, transfer, and amendment processes, including the drafting of relevant documents.
• Provide advice on employment and applicant privacy, data protection, artificial intelligence, and other technology-related legal and governance matters.
• Support employee benefits and workplace programs, in coordination with Human Resources and relevant business functions.
• Draft, review, and negotiate employment, recruiting, consulting, vendor, commercial, and other agreements.
• Support international expansion, cross-border workforce matters, and employment aspects of foreign entity and branch operations, coordinating with local counsel as appropriate.
• Draft and support ESG-related disclosures and reports, including the annual Modern Slavery Statement and portions of the Responsible Investment Report.
• Proactively monitor legal developments, assess risk, and develop practical and scalable processes, guidance, and standard operating procedures that align legal requirements with business objectives.
• Manage outside counsel and other legal service providers, including scope, quality, cost, and implementation of advice.

Personal Skills and Abilities:

• Independently manage a broad range of legal matters, exercising sound judgment, establishing priorities, proactively identifying and addressing risks, and driving projects to completion while balancing legal considerations, business objectives, and stakeholder needs.
• Flourish in a challenging, fast-paced, and professional environment with frequent shifts in priorities as business needs dictate
• Adaptability and flexibility to work on a variety of matters, including those of first impression
• Utilize effective organizational and time management skills to maintain a commitment to quality and attention to detail; ensure that all work is completed accurately and on time
• Foster a sense of teamwork, assisting others when needed/required; work collaboratively with other legal and compliance team members to share best practices, provide coverage, etc.
• Professionally communicate with all levels of staff and external clients and stakeholders
• Have a strong sense of integrity, behaving consistently with expressed values and ethical principles of StepStone
• Focus on specific goals and demonstrate a sense of personal growth, accountability and urgency for achieving results

Education and Experience Requirements:

• Four-year college degree and law degree from a top-tier S. law school
• Approximately 8 to 12 years of combined law firm and in-house legal experience, preferably experience supporting global organizations
• Significant expertise in U.S. labor and employment law, with experience advising on cross-border and global labor and employment matters preferred
• Experience supporting executive and employee compensation matters, including incentive compensation, equity arrangements
• Broad-based corporate and privacy law experience, preferably including within an in-house environment
• Demonstrated ability to independently manage a broad range of legal matters, provide practical business-oriented advice, and effectively balance legal risk with business objectives.

Salary Range: $250,000 - $300,000

The salary range is an estimate of pay for this position. Actual pay may vary depending on job-related factors that can include location, education, skill, and experience. The salary range does not include any benefits or other forms of possible compensation that may be available to employees.

#LI-Hybrid

At StepStone, we believe that our people are our most important asset and crucial to our success. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer that strives to create an environment that empowers our employees and allows them to be heard, regardless of title or tenure. Our organizational community features multiple Employment Resource Groups as well as mentorship programs to enhance the employee experience for all.

As an Equal Opportunity Employer, StepStone does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, religion, sex, national origin, citizenship status, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information or any other characteristic protected by law.

Candidates must be at least 18 years old to apply.

Developing People at StepStone