Legal Counsel

Modivcare; Denver (CO); On-site; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

Modivcare seeks an experienced employment legal leader to own and run the day-to-day employment docket, partnering with HR and business leaders to deliver practical, risk-aware guidance across multistate matters.

You will design processes, templates, and tech to improve efficiency, manage outside counsel, and support governance, investigations, and compensation matters with a focus on cost reduction and high-quality legal service.

Qualifications

• JD from an accredited law school and active bar in at least one U.S. state.
• 7+ years employment law experience, including firm training and in-house practice.
• Ownership mindset with a track record of running a function and driving cost improvements.
• Trusted partner to HR and business leaders, providing practical risk-based advice.
• Ability to handle sensitive matters with integrity and discretion.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in ambiguous, fast-changing environments.
• Experience with multistate wage/hour and leave compliance preferred.
• Hands-on legal operations or tech implementation experience, including AI tools.
• Exposure to transformations, growth, restructurings, or M&A workforce integration.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary legal advisor to HR and business leaders on employment matters.
• Manage the employment matter portfolio end to end, including agency charges and settlements.
• Draft, standardize, and maintain employment agreements, offer letters, and policies across jurisdictions.
• Advise on executive employment and compensation in coordination with GC.
• Own the employment calendar, intake, triage, and metric reporting.
• Design templates, playbooks, and self-service tools to resolve routine matters.
• Select, deploy, and maintain legal tech for the function and AI-enabled tools.
• Manage outside counsel spend with cost reduction while preserving quality.
• Support governance, board matters, and risk/insurance coordination.
• Support internal investigations and whistleblower processes.

Skills

Ownership mindset

Cost reduction

Risk assessment

Executive advising

Multistate practice

Legal operations

Stakeholder management

Communication skills

Education

Juris Doctor (J.D.)

Tools

AI tools

Document automation

Legal tech tools

Job description

This role owns the day-to-day employment legal function and reports to the Deputy General Counsel. This role requires a practical, business-oriented attorney who can independently manage the full employment docket while building the processes, governance, tracking, and technology that allow the function to deliver better legal service at a lower cost.

This role...

• Serves as the primary legal advisor to Human Resources and business leaders on the full range of employment and labor matters, including employee relations, investigations, accommodations, leave, wage and hour, discipline and terminations, reductions in force, and restrictive covenants.
• Manages the employment matter portfolio end to end, including agency charges, demand letters, pre-litigation disputes, and settlement strategy, and direct outside counsel on litigated matters.
• Drafts, standardizes, and maintains employment agreements, offer letters, separation agreements, and workplace policies and handbooks across jurisdictions.
• Advises on executive employment and compensation arrangements in coordination with the Deputy General Counsel.

Function Operations & Process Improvement

• Builds and runs the operating infrastructure for the employment function, including intake, triage, matter tracking, metrics, and regular reporting to the Deputy General Counsel.
• Designs and implements templates, playbooks, and self-service tools that enable Human Resources to resolve routine matters without legal involvement.
• Selects, deploys, and maintains legal technology for the function, including matter management, document automation, and AI-assisted tools.
• Manages outside counsel and alternative legal service provider spend for employment matters, delivering measurable cost reduction while preserving quality.

Employment Governance & Compliance

• Owns the employment compliance calendar and audit program, including postings, notices, filings, pay transparency, I-9, and EEO reporting obligations.
• Monitors and implements changes in federal, state, and local employment law, with particular focus on multistate compliance.
• Supports the remediation of legacy HR legal documentation and compliance gaps in partnership with the Deputy General Counsel.
• Partners with Risk and Finance on the corporate insurance program, including EPLI, D&O, fiduciary, and cyber coverage, and support renewals, coverage analysis, notice, and claims management.
• Contributes to enterprise risk assessments and reporting, with emphasis on workforce, workplace safety, and conduct-related risk.
• Supports internal investigations and whistleblower and hotline processes.

Corporate Governance & Board Support

• Supports the Deputy General Counsel on Board of Managers and committee matters, including preparation of materials, resolutions, minutes, and written consents, with particular focus on compensation committee and workforce-related items.
• Assists with entity management and subsidiary governance maintenance.
• Provides legal support on corporate matters and enterprise-wide initiatives as assigned by the Deputy General Counsel.
• Supports workforce aspects of organizational changes, restructurings, and transactions, including diligence and integration planning.

We are interested in speaking to individuals with the following...

• Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from an accredited law school and active membership in at least one U.S. state bar required.
• Seven (7) plus years employment law experience, including law firm training and meaningful in-house experience.
• Ownership mindset, with a track record of running a function day to day and driving measurable improvements in performance and cost.
• Trusted partner to Human Resources and business leaders, giving practical, risk-calibrated advice rather than theoretical answers.
• Ability to operate with integrity, sound judgment, and discretion in sensitive employee and executive matters.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and operate effectively in ambiguous and rapidly changing environments.
• Comfortable serving as an advisor, operator, and executor across adjacent legal disciplines, with the willingness to learn and advise on emerging and niche matters of law.
• Multistate employer experience, including complex wage and hour and leave compliance preferred.
• Experience operating in organizations undergoing significant transformation, growth, or restructuring preferred.
• Hands-on legal operations or legal technology implementation experience, including AI-enabled tools preferred.
• Experience with reductions in force and WARN compliance, workforce integration in M&A, or executive compensation preferred.
• Exposure to public company or private equity-backed company governance preferred.
• Demonstrated expertise in:
• Independently managing a broad employment and labor docket, with sound judgment on when to escape.
• Building or improving legal processes, tracking systems, or tools, with measurable results in efficiency or cost.
• Drafting and standardizing employment documentation, policies, and handbooks at scale.
• Working knowledge of:
• Corporate insurance programs, including EPLI and D&O.
• Corporate governance and Board support.
• Strong attention to detail.
• Exceptional judgment, business acumen, and communication skills.

This role is bonus eligible based on individual and company performance.

The physical demands described are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of the position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job.

Primarily seated work; extensive computer and telephone use; occasional standing, walking, reaching, bending, and lifting up to 10 lbs.