Employment Counsel @ FinTech Company

Overview

Whistler Partners is working with a fast-growing fintech company in New York looking to add an Employment Counsel to its legal team. This is a high-impact opportunity for an experienced employment lawyer who wants to help shape the people, policies, and employment framework of a rapidly scaling business.

The company is looking for someone who can serve as the lead legal advisor on employment matters and provide practical guidance across the full employee lifecycle. The right attorney will work closely with legal, leadership, human resources, and business teams on policies, investigations, compliance, disputes, and broader workplace issues.

Why This Role?

This is not a narrow employment advisory position.

The Employment Counsel will have meaningful ownership over the company’s employment legal function and play a central role in building the policies, processes, and infrastructure needed to support ongoing growth.

The work will include day-to-day counseling, policy development, internal investigations, employment compliance, dispute management, and close collaboration with teams across the business. You will advise senior stakeholders on sensitive matters and help the company make thoughtful, commercially practical decisions in a fast-moving environment.

For an attorney coming from a start-up or technology company, or other sophisticated in-house environment, this is an opportunity to step into a highly visible role with real influence. The ideal candidate is comfortable operating independently, handling complex and sensitive matters, and building processes rather than simply maintaining them.

Key Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary legal advisor on employment-related matters.
• Advise leadership, human resources, and business teams on workplace issues and employee relations.
• Develop, review, and maintain employment policies, procedures, handbooks, and internal guidance.
• Draft and negotiate employment documentation.
• Counsel on federal, state, local, and international employment-law requirements.
• Lead and support internal investigations involving employee complaints and workplace concerns.
• Advise on hiring, performance management, accommodations, compensation, leaves, discipline, and terminations.
• Manage employment-related disputes, claims, litigation, and resolution strategy.
• Partner with human resources on the continued development of the company’s people function and employment infrastructure.
• Provide guidance on equal employment opportunity, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and other workplace regulations.
• Work closely with outside counsel when additional support is needed.
• Support broader legal and business matters as appropriate.

About You

• J.D. from an accredited law school and active U.S. bar membership.
• 5+ years of relevant legal experience.
• Significant employment-law experience at a sophisticated in-house legal department.
• Experience serving as lead counsel on employment matters.
• Strong background in internal investigations, employment policies, employee relations, and litigation counseling.
• Deep knowledge of federal, state, and local employment laws.
• Experience advising a financial services, fintech, technology, or other rapidly growing company preferred.
• Strong legal writing, research, judgment, and communication skills.
• Ability to handle sensitive matters with discretion and credibility.
• Comfortable working directly with senior leadership, human resources, and business stakeholders.
• Ability to manage multiple matters independently in a fast-moving environment.
• Experience supervising attorneys or managing outside counsel preferred.
• Practical, business-minded approach to legal counseling.

TL;DR

Fast-growing New York fintech company hiring an experienced Employment Counsel with 5+ years of experience. The attorney will lead employment counseling, policies, internal investigations, compliance, employee relations, and dispute management.

Strong fit for a senior employment lawyer who wants meaningful ownership, direct business exposure, and the opportunity to build the employment framework for a rapidly scaling company.

About Whistler Partners

Matchmakers, Not Headhunters

Whistler Partners is a boutique matchmaking firm focused on counseling the best and the brightest attorneys over the course of their careers. We believe that the right move comes from working closely with talent to curate their long-term career paths. When it comes to career advice, what matters is not the size of the agency but the strength of your individual recruiter.

We readily admit that we are elite and only work with the best – after all, a little elitism is okay when it comes to your career.

Employers love us because we are picky about whom we represent, and attorneys love us because we get them their dream jobs.