Director, Legal Counsel - Litigation & Employment

• Serve as Belk’s internal advisor on employment, litigation, and general civil litigation matters
• Handle employment, litigation, and civil litigation matters before litigation, including drafting and responding to demand letters and negotiating pre-litigation settlements
• Identify and engage appropriate outside counsel for litigated matters
• Manage outside counsel’s legal work and billing
• Research factual background and identify relevant documents
• Assist with drafting and editing pleadings and correspondence
• Coordinate external counsel requests for deposition, trial, or arbitration preparation
• Lead internal counsel support for employment and business litigation, arbitration, dispute prevention, and dispute resolution
• Manage all phases of employment and business-related litigation, arbitration, and agency matters from inception through resolution
• Coordinate with outside counsel and government agencies, including EEOC, DOL, and state agencies
• Provide legal counsel and guidance on employment and civil business litigation matters
• Advise on risk management, personnel policies, and employment compliance
• Analyze complex legal and employment issues and provide advice on applicable legal standards
• Draft, review, and edit motions, briefs, pleadings, litigation holds, discovery responses, settlement agreements, and protective orders
• Oversee responses to subpoenas and third-party information requests
• Monitor employment-law trends and recommend preventive measures and policy updates
• Ensure compliance with federal, state, and local labor and employment laws
• Advise HR and business leaders on employee lifecycle matters
• Counsel on employee relations, investigations, workplace complaints, harassment, discrimination, retaliation, wage and hour issues, leaves, accommodations, and statutory compliance
• Review and draft employment policies, handbooks, procedures, templates, communications, offer letters, separation agreements, restrictive covenants, and training materials
• Partner with HR leadership on compliant employment strategies, workplace risks, workforce planning, policy initiatives, associate relations, and organizational changes
• Serve as an active member of the HR leadership team
• Conduct employment-law and compliance training for HR, management, and associates
• Support the Head of Legal and other legal team members
• Manage and support the growth and development of junior lawyers and paralegals
• Build cross-functional partnerships and promote escalation of material legal and business risks to Legal
• Research retail-industry trends, risks, and issues
• Maintain legal-department records and files
• Maintain confidentiality and ethical standards

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree
• Juris Doctorate degree from an accredited law school
• Must be licensed and able to practice law in North Carolina, with license in good standing
• Must comply with annual CLE requirements for maintaining license to practice law
• Minimum of 5+ years handling a wide variety of employment and business litigation matters, including single-plaintiff matters and complex litigation
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Ability to collaborate with internal and external partners to drive business results
• Strong work ethic and prudent judgment
• Ability to manage risk and internal compliance and control policy enforcement
• Extensive negotiation skills with respect to legal issues
• Creative and strategic mindset
• Pragmatic business approach to legal and business issues
• Ability to communicate litigation risks and status of ongoing disputes to stakeholders
• Ability to address complex disputes from strategy to execution
• Learning agility and adaptability
• Excellent organizational and negotiation skills
• Ability to establish and maintain strong relationships, credibility, and trust with internal business partners, colleagues, vendors, and outside legal counsel
• Ability to work effectively with and manage outside legal counsel and outside service providers
• Proficient in Microsoft Office products and standard legal and business technology
• Ability to work within and lead cross-functional teams
• Ability to maintain confidentiality and impeccable ethical standards

Core Competencies

Demonstrates expertise in employment and business litigation, including risk management, compliance, and negotiation. Proficient in drafting legal documents and providing strategic legal counsel while maintaining strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders.

Highest-signal resume keywords

• Juris Doctorate Degree
• Licensed To Practice Law In North Carolina
• 5+ Years Employment And Business Litigation Experience
• Extensive Negotiation Skills
• Excellent Written And Oral Communication Skills

ATS Optimization Keywords

Hard Skills

• Employment Litigation
• Civil Litigation
• Drafting Legal Documents
• Risk Management
• Compliance
• Negotiation
• Legal Research
• Dispute Resolution
• Policy Development
• Litigation Strategy

Soft Skills

• Collaboration
• Strong Work Ethic
• Prudent Judgment
• Learning Agility
• Relationship Building

Certifications & Qualifications

• Licensed Attorney
• Annual CLE Compliance

Industry Keywords

• EEOC
• DOL
• Employment Law
• Workplace Compliance
• Employee Relations
• Litigation Holds
• Subpoena Responses
• Workplace Complaints
• Harassment
• Discrimination

Tools & Technologies

• Microsoft Office
• Legal Technology