Litigation & Employment Counsel

Instawork is a leading tech company building the most trusted labor marketplace for businesses and professionals. We're looking for a self-motivated, intellectually curious, and pragmatic Litigation & Employment Counsel to join our lean, high-impact Legal team. You should be comfortable using AI tools to drive efficiency in your legal work and eager to help build scalable processes as the company grows.

What You'll Do:

• Handle a wide variety of litigation and pre-litigation matters in state and federal courts and administrative forums, especially matters involving worker classification and employment-related claims
• Work closely with Instawork's Trust and Safety team, insurance brokers, and insurance carriers; conduct and supervise investigations related to employment matters, on-platform incidents, or policy violations
• Create and implement scalable processes for the legal team, including identifying opportunities for automation and process innovation
• Leverage AI and other technology tools to increase efficiency, improve work product, and support the team's continuous improvement goals
• Manage all aspects of the relationship with relevant outside counsel, including staffing, strategy, budgets, discovery, and work product
• Partner with Human Resources and business partners to evaluate legal risks and provide subject matter expertise on a broad range of employment issues, including wage and hour, recruiting and hiring, training, employee performance management, leaves of absence, disability accommodations, and HR best practices
• Develop and deliver training for HR and business teams on employment law topics, company policies, and risk mitigation.
• Help prepare for and mitigate exposure that may create litigation risk in the future
• Other projects based on the needs of a quickly growing company

Who you are:

• JD and California bar admission in good standing (or barred in NY or IL and qualified for and willing to maintain Registered In-House Counsel status with California State Bar)
• 5+ years of legal experience in a law firm and/or in-house
• Experience in the technology, gig economy, or marketplace industry strongly preferred
• Mature judgment and decision-making skills
• Ability to distill complex legal risks and competing priorities into clear, actionable guidance for business partners
• Comfort navigating ambiguity and reprioritizing quickly in a fast-paced environment
• Team mentality and recognition that no task is too small
• Proven ability to manage a high volume of matters with overlapping deadlines while maintaining quality and composure
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Sense of perspective…..and humor

Nice to Have

• Prior in-house counsel experience
• Experience with workers' compensation and insurance coverage matters
• Proficiency with AI-assisted legal research, drafting, or workflow tools
• Continuous learning mindset: you bring strong skills and experience to the table and are open to new approaches, tools, and ways of working

For CA-based applicants:

• The base salary for this position is $160,000 - $200,000
• This position is eligible for equity in the form of stock options
• This position is eligible for Instawork benefits, including:
• A variety of medical, dental, and vision plans with coverage beginning on the date of hire
• Flexible paid time off
• At least 8 paid company holidays annually
• Home office stipend
• Phone stipend
• Commuter stipend
• Supplemental pay on qualified leaves
• Employee health savings accounts (HSA) contribution
• Flexible spending plans
• 401K plan
• Perkspot - discount program through Lumity

Our company values include: 

• Bias for Action: We focus on the future, driving the Company forward and continuing to grow even when it means making decisions with incomplete information. 
• Act Like an Owner: Each of us matters, and our ability to improve any part of the company is only limited by our courage and conviction, not our job title.
• Always Be Learning: We’re changing an industry, so we execute on the fundamentals and act creatively to drive growth. 
• Empathy, Trust, & Candor: We put ourselves in the shoes of the businesses and workers who use our platform each day, so we build trust with honesty and understanding.