Associate Litigation & Risk Attorney
Upwork ($UPWK) is the world’s work marketplace. We serve everyone from one-person startups to over 30% of the Fortune 100 with a powerful, trust-driven platform that enables companies and talent to work together in new ways that unlock their potential.
Last year, more than $3.3 billion of work was done through Upwork by skilled professionals who are gaining more control by finding work they are passionate about and innovating their careers.
Upwork is seeking a Litigation and Risk Counsel to join our award-winning Upwork Legal Team, which Law.com recently recognized as 2021’s “Most Innovative Legal Department”. In this position, you will handle all pre-litigation legal process and assist with assessing, mitigating and resolving litigation and user disputes. You will help scale Upwork’s compliance efforts by developing and implementing trainings and providing ongoing advice and counsel to the Product and Marketing teams as they develop new products and campaigns.
This is a remote-first role, providing the flexibility to live and work from any of our approved locations! We are a collaborative and high-performing team that loves to align our work with our values, work on state-of-the art legal issues and generate practical, innovative solutions.
Are you a motivated junior employment litigation counsel who is eager to align your work with your values? If so, this rare in-house opportunity is ideal for you.
Your Responsibilities:
- Assist Litigation lead with mitigating and resolving ongoing litigation, user disputes, and agency claims, and in managing outside counsel on pending litigation matters to help ensure cost-effective legal operations;
- Lead the handling of pre-litigation matters and information requests, including unemployment claims, subpoenas, bankruptcy filings, garnishments and liens;
- Provide legal advice and counseling to the Product and Marketing teams on upcoming rollouts, review marketing materials on legal and industry topics, and develop and execute team trainings to ensure continued compliance with relevant laws and regulations;
- Assist with process reviews, internal and external audits, internal investigations, consumer complaints, and policy creation and implementation on compliance issues;
- Assist with brand protection and intellectual property matters, including domain and trademark infringement actions, social media escalations, and other intellectual property rights enforcement matters; and
- Support tax-related updates, risk-related special projects, and tracking policy updates in matters impacting the tech industry.
What it takes to catch our eye:
- 2 to 4 years experience as a litigator and risk-mitigator.
- Experience counseling in-house clients or business partners on high-risk matters.
- Licensed to practice law, in good standing. Familiarity with federal and state (specifically California) regulations impacting the tech industry.
- Litigation experience at a top law firm. Preference for some in-house experience as well.
- Specialized knowledge in litigation and tech industry legal issues, including federal and state laws and regulations
- Nuanced legal analysis and advisory skills to develop a conclusion and explain the supporting rationale; ability to incorporate business needs into legal advice and develop creative solutions that prioritize both.
- Contributes to the development of tactical initiatives, processes, and projects, thinks beyond transactional tasks and develops an ability to identify how initiatives, processes, and projects aligns with various elements of the project and sub-specialty goals.
- Develops strong partnerships with cross-functional teams based on trust and exhibits an ability to become a trusted, sought-after partner.
The annual base salary for this position in California and Washington ranges from $145,000.00 - $196,000.00. The range displayed reflects the minimum and maximum salary for this position in California and Washington, and individual base pay will depend on your skills, qualifications, experience, and location. Additionally, this position is eligible for the annual bonus plan or sales incentive plan and eligibility to participate in our long term equity incentive program.
Come change how the world works.
At Upwork, you’ll shape talent solutions for how the world works today. We are a remote-first organization working together to create exciting remote work opportunities for a global community of professionals. While we have physical offices in San Francisco and Chicago, currently we also support hiring of corporate full-time employees in 15 states in the United States. Please speak with a member of our recruitment team to determine whether you are located in a state in which we are hiring corporate full-time employees.
Our vibrant culture is built on shared values and our mission to create economic opportunities so that people have better lives. We foster amazing teams, put our community first, and have a bias toward action. We encourage everyone to bring their whole selves to work and grow together through development opportunities, mentorship, and employee resource groups. And oh yeah, we've also got amazing benefits - including medical insurance for you and your family, unlimited PTO, 401(k) with matching, 12 weeks of paid parental leave, and a generous Employee Stock Purchase Plan. Check out our Life at Upwork page to learn more about our benefits and the employee experience.
Check out our Life at Upwork page to learn more about the employee experience.
Upwork is proudly committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse and inclusive workforce. As an Equal Opportunity Employer, we never discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical condition), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.
#li-remote
To learn more about how Upwork processes and protects your personal information as part of the application process, please review our Global Job Applicant Privacy Notice