Employment Litigation Attorney

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Job Description:

UPS is seeking an experienced Employment Litigation Attorney to join its global legal team in Atlanta, Georgia. This attorney will lead the strategy and management of complex employment litigation, administrative proceedings, and employment-related disputes involving UPS and its workforce.

The Employment Litigation Attorney will manage matters from initial assessment through final resolution, including administrative agency proceedings, discovery, depositions, motion practice, mediation, arbitration, trial preparation, settlement, and appeal. This attorney will independently develop litigation strategy, direct experienced outside counsel, evaluate legal and financial exposure, and advise Human Resources, Labor Relations, Employee Relations, Compliance, and business leaders on significant employment-related risks.

In addition to managing a substantial litigation portfolio, the attorney will lead and develop legal support professionals, establish priorities, allocate work, and ensure consistent, high-quality support across employment litigation matters. The position requires an accomplished employment litigator with the judgment, litigation depth, leadership capabilities, and business orientation necessary to operate effectively in a complex corporate environment.

Key Responsibilities

Employment Litigation Strategy and Case Management

• Lead a portfolio of employment litigation and contested employment matters in federal and state courts, arbitration proceedings, and administrative forums.
• Manage matters involving allegations of discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, failure to accommodate, leave violations, wage-and-hour violations, and other workplace claims.
• Handle disputes involving restrictive covenants, confidentiality obligations, trade secrets, employee mobility, and other post-employment obligations.
• Develop and execute litigation strategies aligned with UPS's legal positions, business objectives, workforce practices, and risk tolerance.
• Conduct early case assessments addressing the merits, potential exposure, available defenses, discovery requirements, business impact, reputational considerations, and resolution options.
• Determine the appropriate litigation posture, including early settlement, mediation, arbitration, dispositive motion practice, trial, or appeal.
• Establish case objectives, litigation plans, budgets, timelines, reporting requirements, and escalation points.
• Ensure consistent and defensible employment-law positions across jurisdictions.

Administrative Charges and Government Proceedings

• Direct responses to charges, complaints, investigations, and enforcement matters before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, departments of labor, and comparable state and local agencies.
• Review and approve position statements, responses to requests for information, agency submissions, and supporting documentation.
• Develop consistent legal positions while accounting for differences in federal, state, and local employment laws.
• Represent or support UPS during administrative conferences, mediations, fact-finding proceedings, hearings, and settlement discussions.
• Evaluate agency findings and recommend appropriate litigation, settlement, appeal, or corrective-action strategies.
• Coordinate with Human Resources, Labor Relations, Employee Relations, Payroll, Benefits, and other stakeholders to gather information and prepare defensible responses.

Discovery, Depositions, and Motion Practice

• Direct all phases of discovery, including litigation holds, preservation obligations, electronically stored information, document collection, privilege review, written discovery, document production, and discovery disputes.
• Identify relevant custodians, decision-makers, comparators, personnel records, policies, employment data, workplace communications, and other evidence.
• Coordinate with internal stakeholders throughout the discovery process.
• Develop deposition strategies and prepare managers, Human Resources professionals, corporate representatives, fact witnesses, and subject-matter experts for testimony.
• Evaluate deposition testimony for its impact on liability, damages, witness credibility, settlement posture, and case strategy.
• Direct the preparation and review of pleadings, briefs, discovery responses, dispositive motions, expert reports, mediation statements, settlement agreements, and other litigation materials.
• Analyze evidentiary issues involving employment decisions, workplace policies and practices, personnel records, statistical information, and electronically stored data.

Mediation, Trial, and Resolution

• Lead mediation and settlement strategy for employment disputes.
• Evaluate potential damages, attorneys' fees, legal precedent, operational impact, employee-relations considerations, and reputational risk.
• Negotiate settlements and advise senior leaders regarding settlement authority, resolution terms, and associated business implications.
• Develop trial strategy, case themes, witness plans, exhibit strategy, and evidentiary presentations in partnership with outside counsel.
• Prepare managers, Human Resources partners, executives, and other employees for depositions, mediations, arbitrations, hearings, and trials.
• Participate in hearings, oral arguments, arbitrations, trials, and appellate proceedings, as appropriate.
• Ensure settlement agreements include appropriate releases, confidentiality provisions, cooperation obligations, and other protections.

Outside Counsel Leadership

• Select, retain, direct, and evaluate outside employment counsel based on legal expertise, jurisdictional experience, strategic effectiveness, responsiveness, and cost.
• Establish clear expectations for litigation strategy, staffing, discovery, reporting, work product, budgets, and expected outcomes.
• Critically evaluate and challenge outside counsel's legal theories, discovery plans, staffing models, settlement recommendations, and projected fees.
• Ensure outside counsel remains aligned with UPS's enterprise litigation strategy, business objectives, and billing requirements.
• Review outside counsel performance and recommend changes in strategy, staffing, or representation when necessary.
• Monitor legal spend and ensure adherence to approved budgets and UPS billing guidelines.

Team Leadership

• Lead and develop legal support professionals supporting the employment litigation portfolio.
• Establish priorities, allocate work, and ensure timely, high-quality case support.
• Provide coaching, feedback, and professional-development opportunities.
• Promote consistent processes, accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement across the team.

Litigation Risk Counseling and Claim Prevention

• Provide practical, business-oriented legal advice regarding pending, threatened, or anticipated employment claims.
• Advise Human Resources, Labor Relations, Employee Relations, Compliance, and operational leaders on employment decisions that present heightened litigation risk.
• Evaluate policies, documentation, employment practices, and decision-making processes that may affect litigation exposure.
• Identify recurring claim patterns and recommend changes to policies, training, documentation, or employment practices.
• Partner with employment counseling attorneys and Human Resources leaders to ensure litigation outcomes inform preventive practices.
• Monitor developments in employment case law, agency enforcement priorities, court procedures, and litigation trends affecting UPS.

Litigation Reporting and Financial Management

• Maintain accurate reporting on employment litigation, administrative charges, legal exposure, significant developments, and upcoming deadlines.
• Prepare concise, executive-level updates regarding litigation risk, strategy, financial implications, and decisions requiring leadership attention.
• Develop and manage matter-specific budgets, reserves, forecasts, and legal-spend expectations.
• Review outside counsel invoices for accuracy, value, appropriate staffing, and compliance with UPS billing guidelines.
• Prepare reports, metrics, and forecasts relating to employment-litigation trends, case outcomes, and legal expenses.
• Analyze litigation data to identify claim patterns, geographic trends, recurring risk areas, cost drivers, and resolution outcomes.
• Use litigation trends and lessons learned to support proactive risk-reduction strategies and improve team operations.

Required Qualifications

• Juris Doctor degree from an accredited law school.
• Active and in-good-standing license to practice law in at least one U.S. jurisdiction.
• At least 7 years of progressively responsible legal experience, with substantial experience handling employment litigation.
• Significant experience managing employment litigation in federal and state courts.
• Experience handling claims involving discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, accommodations, leave, wage-and-hour requirements, employee classification, compensation, or other employment laws.
• Experience responding to administrative charges and investigations before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or comparable state and local agencies.
• Demonstrated experience with discovery, depositions, dispositive motions, mediation, settlement negotiations, arbitration, and trial preparation.
• Demonstrated ability to independently assess legal exposure, establish case strategy, and direct matters through resolution.
• Experience selecting, directing, and evaluating experienced outside employment counsel.
• Experience managing litigation budgets, outside counsel expenses, and matter forecasts.
• Demonstrated ability to lead, supervise, coach, and develop legal or professional support personnel.
• Strong knowledge of federal employment laws and experience navigating varying state and local employment requirements.
• Strong legal research, analysis, writing, negotiation, advocacy, and strategic problem-solving skills.
• Ability to evaluate complex facts, identify legal and evidentiary issues, and make practical, well-supported recommendations.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain complex legal issues to senior executives, Human Resources professionals, operational leaders, and non-legal audiences.
• Ability to manage multiple high-priority matters and team responsibilities in a fast-paced, high-volume environment.
• High integrity, sound judgment, professional presence, and a collaborative leadership style.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience at the senior associate, counsel, or partner level within a nationally or regionally recognized employment-litigation practice.
• Experience handling multi-plaintiff litigation or high-exposure single-plaintiff cases.
• Experience litigating matters under Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, or comparable state and local laws.
• First-chair or second-chair employment-litigation experience.
• Experience taking and defending depositions, arguing dispositive motions, leading mediations, examining witnesses, and preparing employment matters for trial.
• Experience with wage-and-hour claims, employee-classification disputes, compensation matters, or pay-equity litigation.
• Experience handling restrictive covenant, confidentiality, employee mobility, or trade-secret disputes.
• Experience conducting or advising on privileged workplace investigations involving allegations that may lead to litigation.
• Experience managing attorneys, paralegals, legal administration professionals, or other legal support personnel.
• Experience supporting a large, geographically dispersed, or highly regulated workforce.
• Familiarity with e-discovery platforms, litigation holds, personnel-data preservation, legal matter-management systems, and information governance.
• Experience using litigation data and claim trends to improve employment practices and team operations.

Location Requirement

This position is based in Atlanta, Georgia. Candidates must currently reside in the Atlanta area or be willing to self-relocate to Atlanta.

Employee Type:
Permanent

UPS is committed to providing a workplace free of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation.

Other Criteria:

UPS is an equal opportunity employer. UPS does not discriminate on the basis of race/color/religion/sex/national origin/veteran/disability/age/sexual orientation/gender identity or any other characteristic protected by law.

Basic Qualifications:

Must be a U.S. Citizen or National of the U.S., an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence, or an alien authorized to work in the U.S. for this employer.