Associate (NY/NJ Employment & Labor Law)

Location: One World Trade Center, NY
285 Fulton Street, New York, NY 10007
Employment Type: Full-Time, in-person
(three-month probationary period may apply;
contract-based arrangements may be considered)
Application Deadline: Rolling basis
※ Please apply by emailing directly to us (see below). Thank you.

About SJKP, LLP

SJKP, LLP is a New York-based practice dedicated to providing high-quality legal services across corporate law, commercial litigation, cross-border, real estate and immigration matters. Our attorneys bring extensive experience from both domestic and international legal markets, enabling us to deliver practical and strategic solutions tailored to the needs of our diverse clientele.

With a client base spanning individuals, start-ups, and multinational companies, SJKP takes pride in offering personalized legal representation with global reach. Our team is equipped to assist clients in navigating cross-border transactions, complex disputes, and regulatory compliance, ensuring that legal challenges are met with precision and foresight.

Building on our foundation in New York, SJKP is committed to expanding its network of international partnerships and enhancing its capacity to serve clients operating in both the United States and abroad.

To learn more about our firm, please visit our website at www.sjkplawfirm.com

Job Overview

We are seeking an experienced Employment & Labor Litigation Attorney to handle high-risk employment matters arising under New York State, New York City, and federal employment laws. This role requires hands-on experience with terminations, wage compliance, discrimination and accommodation claims, retaliation allegations, misclassification disputes and pre-litigation settlement negotiations.

The attorney will play a critical role in protecting the firm and its clients from regulatory exposure, in responding to demand letters, drafting compliant termination documentation, managing litigation risks and advising firm leadership on employment decisions.

We invite applications from attorneys with demonstrated experience or strong interest in one or both of these areas. Successful candidates will work closely with our U.S. and Korea based legal teams and play an important role in serving a diverse range of clients including individuals, families and businesses.

If you are seeking exceptional growth opportunities with SJKP, please apply by sending your resume, cover letter, expected salary, visa status or work authorization and earliest start date to hr@sjkplaw.com. Only shortlisted candidates who provided all required information will be contacted.

Key Responsibilities

• Drafting and reviewing termination notices, final pay and benefits disclosures, and compliance documents pursuant to New York Labor Law §195(6) and related statutes
• Advising on and responding to employment-related demand letters, including allegations of:

– Disability discrimination and failure to accommodate (ADA, NYCHRL, NYSHRL)
– Retaliation and protected activity
– Employee misclassification (employee vs. independent contractor)
– Wage payment and unlawful conditioning of pay

• Managing pre-litigation strategy and settlement negotiations, including risk assessment of potential EEOC, NYSDHR, and NYCCHR filings
• Drafting and reviewing response letters, settlement communications, and releases with a focus on minimizing punitive and reputational exposure
• Advising management on termination timing, documentation, and communications to avoid adverse inferences and retaliation claims
• Handling employment litigation in federal and state courts and before administrative agencies, including:

– EEOC
– NYSDHR
– NYC Commission on Human Rights

• Providing strategic counsel on probationary employment, at-will termination, accommodation processes and cooperative dialogue obligations
• Coordinating with outside counsel and internal stakeholders on sensitive employment matters involving senior-level employees

Required Qualifications

• Juris Doctor (J.D.) from an ABA-accredited law school
• Licensed to practice law in New York (New Jersey admission also strongly preferred)
• Minimum 3 to 5 years of focused employment & labor law experience, with a strong emphasis on disputes and litigation
• Deep working knowledge of NYLL, NYCHRL, NYSHRL, ADA, Title VII, ADEA, wage payment, final pay and misclassification rules
• Demonstrated experience handling termination-related disputes, discrimination claims and retaliation allegations
• Strong drafting skills for termination notices, compliance letters and litigation-sensitive correspondence

Preferred Skills and Experiences

• Substantial experience with NYCHRL disability and accommodation cases (including cooperative dialogue requirements)
• Prior experience responding to or litigating same-day termination, probationary termination or senior-hire termination disputes
• Experience at a U.S. law firm, in-house legal department or government agency (e.g., EEOC, DOL)
• Comfort advising executives and management on high-stakes employment decisions
• Litigation experience including motion practice, discovery, and settlement negotiations
• Ability to operate with discretion in reputationally sensitive matters

What We Offer

• Competitive salary and performance Incentives including early salary review, performance bonuses and discretionary incentives
• Opportunities for professional and career development
• Engagement in global legal projects to enhance international expertise

Salary information: Please indicate your desired salary in the application email.(Adjustments based on skills, experience and performance.)

How to Apply

Please send your resume, cover letter, expected salary, visa status/work authorization and earliest start date to hr@sjkplaw.com. For the email subject line, please include “NY Employment & Labor Attorney – [Your Name].” Only shortlisted candidates who provided all the requested information will be contacted.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: Up to $150,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Paid time off

Work Location: In person