Attorney (CA Employment Law - Advice & Counsel) (4-7 Years)

Novus Law Firm, Inc. seeks a licensed California attorney with four to seven years of experience advising on California employment law matters and experience with or an enthusiastic willingness to learn labor law and higher education law in a small firm advice and counsel practice based in Sacramento.

Novus provides advice and counsel to institutions of higher education and California private sector employers. Our practice areas include California and federal employment advice, student affairs advice; faculty labor relations; higher education governance; and strategic partnerships and mergers in higher education. We do not provide litigation services.

Founded in 2020, we are committed to regular individual and firmwide process improvement with an eye toward innovation in the practice of law. We are proudly paperless, maintaining client files and library resources electronically. We expect that client needs are met while striving to maintain workload controls to ensure employees have weekends, holidays, and downtime.

The Ideal Candidate

• You are currently admitted to and in good standing with The State Bar of California.
• You can reliably commute to and be present in our Sacramento office. You are able to travel to client sites when needed.
• You have at least four years of experience practicing California employment law, preferably in an advice and counsel context, and have demonstrated, current knowledge of relevant subject matter. You are committed to maintaining up-to-date legislative and case law knowledge in this ever-changing practice area.
• You are keen to develop your labor law and higher education law knowledge and experience.
• You are interested in continually developing your advice and counsel skills in a small firm environment.
• You are attentive and invested in developing relationships with the firm’s long-standing clients and understand that their need for answers is often urgent.
• You are a proactive, resourceful problem-solver motivated to produce accurate, high-quality, timely, and practical legal advice and achieve favorable resolutions for our clients.
• You are an excellent communicator able to instill client confidence by being thoughtful and mindful in written and oral presentation.
• You are able to give appropriate deference to practical implications as well as maintain an awareness of political and public relations considerations when dispensing legal advice.
• You are collaborative, thoughtful, methodical, and enjoy the practice of law in a small firm advice and counsel setting.
• You effectively manage your time and projects, taking ownership of assignments to meet billable and non-billable deadlines.
• You value defined processes and procedures, even when they differ from past or usual practice, and enjoy working within designated systems as part of a team.
• You comfortably use current technology and readily adopt new, advanced technology, including digital-only resources and client files.

The Position

You will develop relationships with clients as you establish their legal needs and concerns, provide counsel, help them understand their legal options, and represent them in negotiations. You will conduct research, review and prepare legal documents, and perform other duties to ensure clients receive the best and most cost-effective legal solutions aligned with their strategic goals.

We recognize that you may not have experience in all of our practice areas. Initially, your work will focus on California and federal employment law. Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Advising clients on discrimination, harassment, and retaliation; California and FLSA wage and hour law, including meal and rest breaks; California and federal employment contract law, including offers, separations, and non-solicitation agreements; terminations and layoffs, including WARN and CAL-WARN; protected leaves, vacation rules, and disparate impact analyses; pay equity reviews; complicated leave issues; OFCCP affirmative action requirements.
• Drafting and analyzing employment documents, including contracts, policies, and handbooks.
• Negotiating employment law-related issues, including separation agreements, grievances, and agency claims.
• Reviewing and assessing contracts.
• Developing arguments and representing clients in administrative proceedings (DLSE/Labor Commissioner, CRD, OCR, EEOC, NLRB, BPPE, accreditors, etc.)
• Preparing and strategizing for collective bargaining and labor relations negotiations.
• Maintaining up-to-date competency and staying informed about current legislation and case law to develop expertise concerning legal issues relevant to Novus practice areas.
• Preparing client updates and conducting trainings and presentations.

The annual hourly billing requirement for this role is Novus provides a competitive salary based on experience. The salary range for this role is $125,000 to $180,000 per year, plus medical, dental, vision, and retirement benefits; FSA and dependent care account; student loan repayment benefit; and access to professional development funds as well as the opportunity to earn incentive compensation.

Our office is in a LEED certified building on Capitol Mall, just one block from Golden1 Center and nearby DOCO. Parking is provided.

This is a direct hire position – we are not working with recruiters to fill this role.