Senior Employment Counsel — HR & Compliance Strategy

Northern Trust; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 160,000 - 272,000; Full time

Job summary

Northern Trust seeks an experienced employment attorney to serve as a trusted legal advisor to Human Resources, Employee Relations, Compliance, Risk, and business leadership.

The role provides strategic and practical counsel on a broad range of employment law matters across the employee lifecycle, helping navigate complex workforce issues while balancing legal risk, regulatory requirements, and business objectives.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of employment law experience.
• Significant experience in employment litigation, employee relations counseling, internal investigations and compliance.
• Experience advising senior executives and HR leadership teams.

Responsibilities

• Provide employment law counseling across the lifecycle (hiring, compensation, performance, leaves, discipline).
• Lead internal investigations involving harassment, discrimination, retaliation, misconduct, ethics and compliance.
• Manage employment-related litigation and agency charges; oversee outside counsel and budgets.
• Monitor regulatory developments and draft/update employment policies and communications.
• Advise on strategic workforce initiatives including reorganizations, reductions in force, acquisitions, integrations.
• Develop and deliver employment law training for managers and HR professionals.

Skills

Employment litigation

Employee relations counseling

Internal investigations

Employment law compliance

Executive advisement

Regulatory awareness

Education

Juris Doctor (J.D.)

Job description

Northern Trust seeks an experienced employment attorney to serve as a trusted legal advisor to Human Resources, Employee Relations, Compliance, Risk, and business leadership.

The role provides strategic and practical counsel on a broad range of employment law matters across the employee lifecycle, helping navigate complex workforce issues while balancing legal risk, regulatory requirements, and business objectives.