Legal Counsel

Title: LEGAL COUNSEL

Location: HOUSTON, TX

Ready to shape employment strategy and drive compliance across a global business?

Join NES Fircroft as a Legal Counsel (employment law focus) , where you’ll play a critical role in advising on employment risks, leading HR investigations, and ensuring compliance across the United States. This is an exciting opportunity for a commercially minded legal professional who thrives in a fast-paced environment and enjoys influencing business decisions at every level.

What You’ll Be Doing:

• Employment Law Expert: Serve as a subject matter expert across U.S. employment law, including FLSA, classification, termination, leave, and workplace policies.
• Workforce Strategist: Advise on contingent workforce models including staffing, employer of record (EOR), and staff leasing arrangements.
• Risk Advisor: Support stakeholders with employment-related risk assessments, providing clear, pragmatic and commercially focused guidance.
• Investigation Lead: Provide legal oversight on internal HR investigations, including misconduct, harassment, discrimination, and retaliation cases.
• Decision Support Partner: Guide HR and management on investigation strategy, documentation, and outcomes, including disciplinary actions and terminations.
• Litigation Supporter: Assist with employment litigation matters, including wage and hour claims, misclassification cases, subpoenas, and discovery.
• Regulatory Watcher: Monitor and interpret employment law developments, ensuring the business stays compliant with evolving legislation.
• Training Champion: Deliver onboarding and annual training on employment law, compliance, and emerging risks such as AI.
• Process Owner: Help establish and maintain best practice processes across the legal and HR functions.
• Global Collaborator: Partner with stakeholders across regions, including occasional international engagement and travel.
• Commercial Thinker: Provide practical, business-oriented legal advice that balances risk with opportunity.

What We’re Looking For:

• Qualified Legal Expert: JD qualified with active bar admission and 8+ years’ experience in U.S. employment law.
• Compliance Knowledge: Strong understanding of employment legislation and workforce compliance (contingent workforce experience a plus).
• Commercial Mindset: Able to assess, quantify, and communicate legal risk in a fluid and evolving market.
• Analytical Thinker: Excellent attention to detail with strong problem-solving capabilities.
• Influential Communicator: Confident engaging and advising stakeholders at all levels across the business.
• Pragmatic Problem Solver: Balances legal integrity with business needs to deliver effective outcomes.
• Organised & Resilient: Comfortable managing multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Team Player: Collaborative approach with the ability to build strong internal relationships.
• Strong Drafting Skills: Exceptional written communication and legal drafting ability.
• Adaptable Professional: Flexible and able to respond to periods of high workload and changing priorities.

Why NES Fircroft?

• Global Reach: Join a business operating in 70+ countries.
• Career Progression: Opportunities to advance and develop your leadership skills
• Competitive Package: Attractive base salary and bonus structure.
• Health and Wellness: 100% employee medical benefits covered. Option to add dental and vision coverage & free onsite gym
• Work Life Balance: 10 paid bank holidays, paid festive shut down (the week of Christmas to the New Year off) and 22 days of PTO (increasing with tenure)
• Work Hard Play Hard: Early release every Friday
• Small but Mighty: Free onsite parking

Who Are We?

NES Fircroft isn’t just a staffing agency — we’re a global powerhouse in engineering recruitment, shaping the workforce of tomorrow across Energy, Power, Chemicals, Life Sciences, and more. We innovate, grow, and have fun doing it.

Accessibility & Inclusion

We’re committed to an inclusive workplace and welcome applicants with disabilities and those who are neurodiverse. If you require adjustments during the recruitment process, please let us know — we’re here to support you.

Don’t Meet Every Requirement?

If you’re excited about this role but don’t tick all the boxes, we still encourage you to apply. You may be the perfect fit.

NES Fircroft – Empowering with energy!