Counsel I - Employment and Product

NerdWallet, Inc; Northern (KY); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health and wellness benefits

Paid time off + holidays

Remote work stipend

Job summary

NerdWallet is seeking a versatile corporate generalist to serve as both Employment Counsel and Product Counsel within its legal department. You will advise on employment policies, employee relations, M&A diligence, and consumer-facing product agreements, partnering with HR and product teams.

This role blends policy work with transactional and privacy considerations. The ideal candidate brings 6+ years of experience across in-house and large law firm settings, with strong California/New York

Qualifications

• 6+ years in-house and/or major law firm experience.
• 3+ years as Employment Counsel and 3+ years as Product Counsel or Corporate Counsel.
• Bar admission in at least one state, preferably CA or NY.

Responsibilities

• Review and update employment policies and provide advice on employment matters.
• Draft and negotiate a wide range of commercial agreements including vendor and partnership terms.
• Support product and marketing teams with product compliance and consumer protection knowledge.
• Lead risk assessment and provide practical guidance to HR and product teams.

Skills

Employment law

Judgment

Communication

Ownership

Adaptability

Product support

Education

Bar admission (CA/NY)

Tools

Ironclad

Blee

LawVu

Job description

At NerdWallet, we're on a mission to bring clarity to all of life's financial decisions and every great mission needs a team of exceptional Nerds. We've built an inclusive, flexible, and candid culture where you're empowered to grow, take smart risks, and be unapologetically yourself (cape optional). Whether remote or in-office, we support how you thrive best. We invest in your well-being, development, and ability to make an impact because when one Nerd levels up, we all do.

NerdWallet is seeking a corporate generalist with broad experience managing labor and employment matters and supporting product-commercial strategy to join its legal department as Counsel. This position will report directly to the Deputy General Counsel. It will support the development and implementation of human resources policies, assist with employee relations matters, and support M&A activity and integration. This role will also provide product-consumer guidance to vertical leaders supporting the areas of contract review, digital marketing, compliance, privacy, and data.

In this role, you will have an opportunity to flex your versatility, acting as a hybrid Employment Counsel and Product Counsel. In this role, you will support the People Team by advising the team on risk related to employee relations matters and investigations, while also ensuring that our legal documents, policies, and employment practices are always up to date. You will also support our vertical teams by acting as an embedded advisor, guiding everything from contracts and partnership terms to negotiating vendor terms and supporting M&A.

Where you can make an impact:

Employment Counsel

• Review and update employment policies as needed.

• Provide practical, actionable advice on employment matters including reasonable accommodations, compliance, performance management, terminations, recruiting, hiring, and compensation and benefits.

• Manage and update, as needed, the company's legal documents, including offer letters, employment agreements, separation agreements and handbooks.

• Conduct diligence related to employment matters in M&A transactions.

• Work with HR Business Partners to handle and support employee issues and internal investigations.

• Manage employment law claims and arbitration, including all aspects of litigation and discovery.

• Educate internal clients and stakeholders on important legal developments affecting our business and proactively ensure risk mitigation.

• Identify and assess legal risks and opportunities in the employment area and advise accordingly.

Product Counsel

• Support product and marketing teams across multiple initiatives.

• Review, draft, and negotiate a wide range of revenue and vendor agreements. Provide practical, timely, and concise advice to internal partners regarding the same.

• Respond promptly to legal requests from product, business development, data and privacy, finance, marketing, senior leadership team, and other clients. Summarize and communicate legal concepts in a pragmatic, clear, and concise manner.

• Implement streamlined and thoughtful processes to ensure product compliance.

• Support the continuous improvement of NerdWallet and the legal department by identifying and implementing improvements in processes, forms, and operations.

• From time to time, you may assist with M&A deals and onboarding integrated teams

• Negotiating new vendor and referral agreements

• Collaborate with team leads to evaluate new product ideas and review copy

Your experience:

• Experience: 6+ years of relevant experience, including a combination of both in-house and law firm practice at a major law firm.

  • 3+ of years as Employment Counsel; and

  • 3+ of years as Product Counsel; or

  • 3+ of years as Corporate Counsel

• Certification:

  • Deep knowledge of California and/or New York employment laws and applicable federal laws.

  • A member of at least one state bar, preferably California or New York.

• Judgment: You leverage sound and practical judgment, personal integrity, and discretion regarding confidential matters.

• Acting with urgency: You stay on top of your focus area and are able to quickly dive into matters, assessing risk and providing guidance when needed.

• Communication: You have excellent written and oral communication skills, and are able to communicate clearly, distilling complex topics in a way that all levels can understand.

• Ownership: Self-starting, proactive, driven, adaptable person who can, with poise and patience, prioritize and manage multiple projects and recalibrate advice in view of shifting priorities, legal developments and risk tolerance.

• Adaptability: You are able to seamlessly adapt and flex as needed and thrive on balancing risk mitigation with a drive for execution in support of business needs.

• Product Support:

  • Experience advising on truth-in-advertising, UDAP, UDAAP and other consumer protection laws.

  • Experience drafting and negotiating commercial agreements, master service agreements, licensing agreements, and non-disclosure agreements.

  • Knowledge of privacy laws, including but not limited to CCPA, GDPR, and GLBA.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with Ironclad, Blee, or LawVu is a plus.

• Experience in a financial services regulatory area is a plus (e.g., insurance, mortgage, consumer lending, banking, or investing).

Where:

• This role will be remote (based in the U.S.).

• We believe great work can be done anywhere. No matter where you are based, NerdWallet offers benefits and perks to support the physical, financial, and emotional well being of you and your family.

What we offer:

Work Hard, Stay Balanced (Life's a series of balancing acts, eh?)

• Industry-leading medical, dental, and vision health care plans for employees and their dependents

• Rejuvenation Policy – Flexible Vacation Time Off + 11 holidays + holiday company shutdown

• New Parent Leave for employees with a newborn child or a child placed with them for adoption or foster care

• Mental health support

• Paid sabbatical after 5 years for Nerds to recharge, gain knowledge, and pursue their interests

• Health and Dependent Care FSA and HSA Plan with monthly NerdWallet contribution

• Monthly Wellness Stipend, Cell Phone Stipend, and Wifi Stipend (Only remote Nerds are eligible for the Wifi Stipend)

• Work from home equipment stipend and co-working space subsidy (Only remote Nerds are eligible for these stipends)

Have Some Fun! (Nerds are fun, too)

• Nerd-led group initiatives – Employee Resource Groups for Parents, Diversity, and Inclusion, Women, LGBTQIA, and other communities

• Hackathons and team events across all teams and departments

• Company-wide events like NerdLove (employee appreciation) and our annual Charity Auction

• Our Nerds love to make an impact by paying it forward – Take 8 hours of volunteer time off per quarter and donate to your favorite causes with a company match

Plan for your future (And when you retire on your island, remember the little people)

• 401K with 4% company match

• Be the first to test and benefit from our new financial products and tools

• Financial wellness, guidance, and unlimited access to a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) through Northstar

• Disability and Life Insurance with employer-paid premiums

If you are based in California, we encourage you to read this important information for California residents linked here.

NerdWallet is committed to pursuing and hiring a diverse workforce and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We prohibit discrimination and harassment on the basis of any characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law, so all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment.

NerdWallet will consider qualified applicants with a criminal history pursuant to the California Fair Chance Act and the San Francisco Fair Chance Act, which requires this notice, as well as the Los Angeles Fair Chance Act, which requires this notice.

NerdWallet participates in the Department of Homeland Security U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services E-Verify program for all US locations. For more information, please see:

• E-Verify Participation Poster (English+Spanish/Español)

• Right to Work Poster (English) /(Spanish/Español)

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