NEW IN – Employment Litigation Associate | 4–5 Years | Plaintiff + Defense | High-Stakes Matters | No Billable Requirement | Newport Beach

NEW IN – Employment Litigation Associate | 4–5 Years | Plaintiff + Defense | High-Stakes Matters | No Billable Requirement | Newport Beach

I'm currently working with a nationally active litigation practice looking to add an Employment Litigation Associate to its Newport Beach team. This is a strong opportunity for an attorney who wants to handle high-stakes employment disputes on both sides of the V, gain genuine responsibility on lean teams and build a broader practice spanning litigation, strategic counseling and complex executive-level matters.

Why This Opportunity Stands Out

• Both Sides of the V – Handle employment matters for both plaintiffs and defendants, giving you exposure to the full spectrum of employment disputes rather than being locked into one side of the practice.
• High-Stakes, High-Visibility Matters – Work on complex and sensitive disputes involving significant financial, professional and reputational exposure, including matters that may require careful strategic handling beyond routine employment litigation.
• Executive & Professional-Level Disputes – Gain exposure to sophisticated matters involving senior executives and professionals, including compensation, equity, separation agreements and restrictive covenants.
• Litigation + Counseling – Build a genuinely broader Employment practice across litigation, compliance, investigations, risk mitigation, discipline, termination decisions and strategic personnel issues.
• No Firm-Wide Billable Requirement – Develop your practice without being tied to a set annual firm-wide billable-hour target.
• Lean Teams, Real Responsibility – Work closely with experienced partners and take ownership of key workstreams, case strategy and substantive litigation responsibilities as your experience develops.
• Beyond the Standard Employment Docket – Gain exposure to employment disputes intersecting with business, executive, trade secret and unfair competition issues, creating a more varied practice than a traditional single-track Employment Litigation role.
• Direct Client & Strategic Exposure – Communicate directly with clients and play an active role in litigation strategy, pre-litigation advice and key decisions throughout the lifecycle of a matter.

The Role

• Manage employment litigation matters and key case components with increasing independence.
• Handle single-plaintiff employment disputes, including discrimination, retaliation, harassment, wrongful termination and leave-related claims.
• Work on wage-and-hour litigation, including class and representative actions.
• Support matters involving executive compensation, equity, separation agreements and restrictive covenants.
• Gain exposure to employment-related trade secret and unfair competition disputes.
• Draft pleadings, dispositive motions, discovery and substantive briefs.
• Conduct and defend depositions and support preparation for hearings, mediations and settlement conferences.
• Provide strategic litigation and pre-litigation advice to employers and employees.
• Conduct workplace investigations and support internal employment assessments where appropriate.
• Communicate directly with clients, opposing counsel and agency representatives.
• Take ownership of key workstreams and contribute to overall case strategy.

About You

• 4–5 years of litigation experience in state and/or federal court.
• Employment Litigation experience is required.
• Experience with dispositive motions and discovery management.
• Strong legal research, writing and analytical skills.
• Working knowledge of California employment statutes and civil procedure.
• Active California Bar admission in good standing.
• Strong credentials and attendance at a good law school.
• Comfortable handling complex employment disputes and counseling matters.
• Interest in building a long-term career and developing a practice.
• Experience with legal AI tools such as CoCounsel, Claude or Harvey is a plus.

Location

• Newport Beach, California

Package

• Up to $175,000 base salary, depending on experience and qualifications.
• No firm-wide billable-hour requirement.
• Potential long-term progression toward partnership.

If you're an Employment litigator looking for both plaintiff and defense experience, high-stakes matters, genuine responsibility and the opportunity to build both your litigation and counseling practice, I'd love to speak with you.

Please apply below or forward your résumé to jason.giger@wearerevolution.co for a confidential, no-obligation discussion.