Senior Counsel, Legal & Enterprise Risk

Environmental Science Associates (ESA) is a 100% employee-owned environmental consulting firm. We plan design permit mitigate and restore for projects across our communities infrastructure systems open spaces and wildlands. We are 50 years strong in 21 offices across California the Pacific Northwest and the Southeastern United States.

Environmental Science Associates (ESA) is seeking an experiencedSenior Counsel Legal & Enterprise Risk to lead and continuously strengthen our firmwide approach to contractual operational employment and enterprise risk. The ideal candidate shall have a combination of legal and contractual expertise business judgment emotional intelligence and the ability to influence leaders across a complex professional services organization.

This is a highly visible collaborative position working directly with the Chief Operating Officer and senior leadership while partnering extensively with Human Resources Finance project and regional leadership and other corporate will lead ESAs proactive risk management program while serving as a trusted resource on complex contracts employment-related risks project delivery business transactions and emerging organizational right person will be able to move comfortably between detailed contract negotiations sensitive employee matters project risk and executive-level discussions. Just as importantly you will help leaders understand not simply what the risk is but what ESA can reasonably do about it. The ideal candidate shall be based in either Los Angeles CA and/or San Francisco CA and be able to work a hybrid schedule.

What Youll Do

Lead Enterprise Risk Management. Lead the ongoing development and continuous improvement of ESAs firmwide risk-management program. Identify emerging contractual employment operational financial and organizational risks; develop practical mitigation strategies; support Risk Committee processes; and provide leadership with meaningful reporting and visibility into the firms risk profile.

Provide Employment Law and Employee Relations Guidance. Partner closely with Human Resources and organizational leadership on employment-law risk and complex employee matters. Provide practical guidance on federal state and local employment requirements with particular depth in California employment law including hiring compensation wage and hour leaves and accommodations performance management workplace conduct investigations separations restructuring and other significant workforce matters. Coordinate employment-related claims and outside counsel as appropriate.

Lead Contract Review and Negotiation. Review draft and negotiate client subconsultant and other business agreements. Evaluate provisions involving indemnification limitation of liability insurance intellectual property warranties confidentiality payment terms change management dispute resolution data/privacy and managed or subscription services. Develop practical negotiating positions that balance risk mitigation with client relationships and ESAs business objectives.

Support Proposals and Business Development. Partner with Client Development Marketing pursuit teams and technical leaders to identify risk early in the business-development lifecycle. Participate in strategic Go/No-Go evaluations review RFP and commercial requirements and help teams determine whether risks can be addressed through negotiation scope pricing insurance or other business strategies.

Partner with Project and Operational Leadership. Help Project Managers and leaders identify and manage contractual financial client and delivery risk throughout the project lifecycle. Develop approaches for tracking higher-risk projects and contractual obligations advise on complex negotiations and provide practical training and resources that strengthen risk-management capability across the firm.

Advise Executive and Regional Leadership. Serve as a trusted advisor on significant contractual employment operational and enterprise risks. Clearly communicate potential exposure alternatives and mitigation strategies to executive and regional leadership and when appropriate the Board of Directors. Exercise sound judgment and discretion when handling highly confidential business and employee matters.

Manage Outside Counsel and Insurance Partners. Determine when specialized outside counsel should be engaged and coordinate external legal resources across contracts employment litigation corporate transactions and other specialty matters. Partner with Finance and executive leadership on insurance coverage claims risk-transfer strategies legal spend and emerging trends.

Support Mergers Acquisitions and Strategic Growth. Support legal and risk due diligence for acquisitions and other strategic growth opportunities including review of NDAs letters of intent material contracts employment obligations and potential liabilities. Partner with HR on workforce due diligence and employee transitions and coordinate with external M&A counsel and professional advisors as appropriate.

What You Will Bring

You are an approachable and credible advisor who can deliver difficult guidance clearly and constructively. You understand that excellent risk management does not mean eliminating every riskit means helping leadersunderstand risk make informed decisions and take appropriate action.You are comfortable challenging assumptions when necessary while listening collaborating and finding workable solutions. You can move from reviewing a sophisticated client agreement to consulting with HR on a sensitive employee matter advising an executive on enterprise risk or helping a Project Manager understand how a contract provision could affect project are financially astute pragmatic curious and comfortable operating in an organization where relationships matter. Above all you recognize that at a 100% employee-owned company protecting the organization means protecting the long-term interests of every employee-owner.

You will ideally bring:

• 10 years of progressively responsible experience in contracts legal operations enterprise risk employment law or related corporate legal/risk functions.
• Significant experience interpreting drafting and negotiating sophisticated commercial contracts.
• Strong working knowledge of U.S. employment law including experience advising organizations with employees across multiple states.
• Meaningful knowledge of California employment law and regulatory requirements strongly preferred.
• Experience advising HR and organizational leadership on complex employee-relations and employment-risk matters.
• Demonstrated ability to identify risk and develop practical mitigation strategies without unnecessarily impeding business objectives.
• Experience managing or coordinating outside legal counsel.
• Strong understanding of professional-services contracting and risk; AEC industry experience is strongly preferred.
• Experience partnering with executives and senior operational leaders.
• Experience developing and implementing risk-management programs policies training and controls.
• Excellent negotiation communication analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Strong discretion and judgment when handling sensitive and confidential matters.

Preferred Background

• Juris Doctor (JD) strongly preferred particularly for candidates expected to provide substantial employment-law expertise.
• Active bar membership in at least one U.S. jurisdiction is desirable.
• Experience as in-house counsel employment counsel contracts/risk leader or in a combined legal and risk-management role.
• Experience within an AEC engineering environmental consulting architecture construction or other professional-services organization.
• Experience with employment matters involving California Washington Oregon and other jurisdictions where ESA operates.
• Experience supporting mergers acquisitions workforce integrations or organizational restructuring.
• Familiarity with professional liability and other insurance programs relevant to professional-services firms.

What Success Looks Like

Within your first year you will build strong partnerships across Operations HR Finance regional leadership and executive management while strengthening ESAs approach to contractual employment project and enterprise risk.

Success will include improving the consistency and efficiency of contract review and escalation; establishing clear protocols for higher-risk employment matters; increasing visibility into significant projects contracts claims and organizational risks; strengthening coordination with outside counsel; and delivering practical training for Project Managers and leaders.

Most importantly you will help ESA move toward a more proactive approach to riskidentifying recurring sources of exposure and implementing preventative solutions while balancing legal protection employee considerations client relationships financial performance and ESAs business objectives.

Who We Are

We are a 100% employee-owned environmental consulting firm who values diversity and inclusion and celebrate the differences that make each of us unique. Our culture is built on mutual respect recognizing that our variety of backgrounds experiences and perspectives leads to better solutions which fosters our continued success for our employee-owners and clients.

In accordance with ESAs duty and responsibility to provide and maintain a safe workplace that is free of known hazards and to minimize the exposure to potential hazards any employee who works from an ESA office or conducts any other in-person ESA work-related activity is required to submit their proof of vaccination status or have received an approved exemption and accommodation in states which this applies.

Please note: We do NOT accept unsolicited resumes from agencies

If you are an applicant with a disability that requires a reasonable accommodation to complete any part of the application process or are limited in the abilityor unable to usethe online application system and need an alternative method for applying you may contact our Human Resources Department via email:for assistance.

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• Full name
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ESA is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to a diverse and inclusive work environment. (EOEM/V/F/D)