Employment Attorney

Vela Wood Staley Young; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Reasonable hours

Bonus structure

Direct client interaction

CLE & licensing

Unlimited vacation

Health insurance

401(k)

Parental leave

Work abroad opportunities

People-first culture

Job summary

Vela Wood seeks an experienced Employment Attorney for its Austin office. You will provide strategic counsel on complex employment matters, draft and negotiate agreements, and guide multi-state compliance and policy development for startups, venture-backed and PE-backed clients.

You will manage client relationships, lead investigations, contribute to business development, and mentor junior lawyers. The role requires a JD, TX bar, and at least 7 years practicing employment law in a firm or

Qualifications

• JD degree and TX Bar membership required.
• Minimum 7 years of employment law experience.
• Strong drafting, negotiation, and advisory skills.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively within a dynamic legal team.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic employment law counsel on complex matters.
• Draft and negotiate employment agreements, covenants, and severance documents.
• Advise on multi-state compliance and policy development.
• Manage client relationships and lead investigations and compliance matters.
• Lead M&A employment diligence and deal structuring.

Skills

Employment law

Contract drafting

Negotiation

Client management

Education

JD degree

TX Bar admission

Job description

About VW

Our mission is clear: to be the best company in Texas - by building genuine client relationships, embracing cutting-edge innovation, and creating life-enriching careers for our people. We're doing that by reimagining what professional services can look like, with proprietary technology, a people-first culture, and a fundamentally different approach to the practice of law. At Vela Wood, we measure success by lives improved, not just revenue generated.

About the Role

We are seeking a talented and experienced Employment Attorney to join our expanding team in our Austin office. As a key member of our company, you will play a crucial role in providing strategic legal counsel to our clients on a wide range of employment-related matters.

Responsibilities

• Legal Counseling: Serve as primary or supporting counsel on complex employment matters, including hiring and onboarding practices, employee relations issues, terminations and separations, wage and hour compliance, leave management, and workplace policy design, with minimal partner oversight.
• Agreements and Restrictive Covenants: Draft, review, and negotiate employment agreements, separation and severance agreements, restrictive covenants (non-competes, non-solicits, confidentiality provisions), and equity compensation documents, ensuring enforceability across multiple state jurisdictions.
• Compliance and Policy Development: Advise clients on multi-state workforce compliance obligations and develop employment policies, handbooks, and procedures that satisfy jurisdiction-specific requirements while supporting business objectives.
• Client Relationship Management: Manage a client portfolio directly, including startups, venture-backed companies, mid-market companies, PE-backed platforms, and executive-level individual clients, delivering proactive and commercially practical legal advice.
• M&A Employment Diligence: Conduct employment law diligence for acquisitions and financings, including review of target company employment agreements, restrictive covenants, worker classification, wage and hour exposure, and benefits and equity compensation obligations, and advise on deal structuring to mitigate identified risk.
• Enforcement and Disputes: Handle restrictive covenant enforcement actions, including cease and desist correspondence, injunctive relief strategy, and coordination with litigation counsel when matters proceed to court.
• Investigations: Conduct or oversee internal workplace investigations (harassment, discrimination, whistleblower complaints) and advise on remediation.
• Agency Matters: Manage responses to EEOC, DOL, state agency charges, and related administrative proceedings.
• Firm Contribution: Mentor associates on employment matters, contribute to internal knowledge-sharing on legal developments, and support cross-practice matters requiring employment law input.
• Business Development: Contribute to client origination and cross-selling within the company's existing base.

Requirements

• Juris Doctor (JD) degree and active Bar membership in TX.
• Minimum 7 years of experience practicing employment law in a law firm or corporate setting.
• Strong knowledge of federal and state employment laws, regulations, and best practices.
• Excellent drafting and negotiation skills with a keen attention to detail.
• Effective communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build rapport with clients and colleagues.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively within a dynamic legal team.

What We’ll Provide You

• Reasonable hours, real compensation. We believe attorneys should have the flexibility to build successful careers while maintaining meaningful lives outside of work. Our model combines a sustainable billable expectation with significant upside for attorneys who choose to exceed it, creating an environment where balance and performance can coexist.
• Aggressive bonus structure and abundant opportunities to springboard your career!
• Direct client interaction.
• Support for business development activities.
• Firm covered CLE and licensing fees.
• Unlimited vacation days as long as billable hour goals are met.
• Excellent company-paid medical/dental/vision insurance
• Matching 401(k) retirement plan
• Firm-paid short-term and long-term disability insurance, as well as life insurance
• Paid Holidays
• Paid Parental Leave benefits
• Work abroad opportunities – including company-subsidized work trips (Past trips were to Canada, Portugal, Spain, Mexico, and Denmark!)
• A people-first culture that values trust, transparency, and collaboration over bureaucracy.

Vela Wood is an Equal Opportunity Employer and considers applicants for all positions without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other characteristic protected by law.