Assistant General Counsel, Employment (Senior Director)

Job description

Reports to Equinox’s VP Legal Operations & Compliance | Hudson Yards, Manhattan, NY | Hybrid — 4 days/week in office; 1 day remote Equinox isn't just a fitness company — it's shaping the future of wellness, longevity, hospitality, and media. As Assistant General Counsel, Employment, you'll be the legal backbone protecting and empowering the people who make that happen — a workforce as varied as our brands spanning health club personnel, corporate teams, and media talent across the country, and in the UK and Canada. We are seeking a business-minded, experienced, employment attorney to serve as a primary legal advisor on all workforce matters across a global portfolio that includes Equinox Health Clubs, SoulCycle, Equinox Hotels, and Equinox Media. You’ll help build and modernize how Equinox manages employment risk across a fast-growing, multi-brand portfolio. No two days look the same. Reporting to the VP Legal Operations & Compliance, you will primarily focus on ensuring that the company stays compliant with current and emerging state and federal employment laws. You will also be a trusted and strategic partner to the Chief Legal Officer on high-stakes mediation, arbitration, and litigation, and to People & Culture, Risk Management, Asset Protection and senior leadership on various employment-related matters. This is a high-visibility, high-impact leadership role for someone who thrives in a fast-moving, people-first environment. Who You'll Work With You'll join a team of 16 people supporting the CLO's office, and will work closely with People & Culture, Risk Management and Asset Protection. What You’ll Do Track and ensure compliance with evolving federal, state, and local employment law; translate developments into compliant policies, manuals, agreements, and SOPs. Identify and advise on legal risk across the employee lifecycle — hiring, performance, discipline, and terminations, and produce and report on employment risk metrics. Spot systemic risk trends and recommend proactive legal or policy changes on wage & hour, benefits, and leave-of-absence issues; partner with People & Culture to implement them. Partner with Employee Relations on allegations of harassment, hostile work environment, discrimination, and retaliation, as well as disability accommodations and leaves of absence. Draft agency (e.g., EEOC) position statements and respond to pre-mediation, pre-arbitration, and pre-litigation demand letters. Manage employment-related claims asserted under the company's ADR Program — and help shape how that program evolves. Lead an annual audit to ensure job descriptions, offer letters, employment agreements, restrictive covenant agreements, executive arrangements, and separation agreements stay legally current across all brands. Partner with People & Culture on building and delivering training for people managers (terminations, performance management, harassment prevention). Help leverage AI-assisted analysis, legal research, and drafting tools as part of a broader push toward more efficient legal operations. JD from an accredited law school; admitted to New York or at least one U.S. state bar. 10+ years of employment law experience, ideally including 3–5 years at an employment law firm and 2–3 years in-house at a large, multi-state employer. Deep knowledge of federal, state, and local employment law: wage & hour, discrimination, leave, accommodations, and workforce restructuring. Proven track record managing employment claims and EEOC/agency matters. Strong business instincts — you balance legal risk with operational reality and give actionable answers, not just issue-spotting. Exceptional written and verbal communication skills; you make complex legal concepts accessible to non-lawyers and can influence at every level. Strong interpersonal skills, with experience advising senior executives and P&C leadership. Highly organized and detail-oriented, comfortable managing a busy, varied docket with competing priorities. Comfort using AI-assisted legal research and drafting tools (e.g., Claude or similar) as part of a modern legal practice. Pay Transparency: $245K – $260K + bonus AS A MEMBER OF THE EQUINOX TEAM YOU WILL RECEIVE: We offer competitive salary, benefits, and industry leading commission opportunities for club employees Complimentary Club membership Perks and incentives with our products and services including Personal Training, Pilates, Spa and Shop This job description is intended to describe the general requirements for the position. It is not a complete statement of duties, responsibilities, or requirements. Other duties not listed here may be assigned as necessary to ensure the proper operations of the department. Equinox is an equal opportunity employer. For more information regarding our career opportunities, please visit one of our clubs or our website at All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines. Must have a legal right to work in the United States. OUR STORY Equinox Group is a high growth collective of the world's most influential, experiential, and differentiated lifestyle brands. We restlessly seek what is next for maximizing life - and boldly grow the lifestyle brands and experiences that define it. In addition to Equinox, our other brands, SoulCycle and Equinox Hotels are all recognized for inspiring and motivating members and employees to maximize life. Our portfolio of brands is recognized globally with locations within every major city across the United States in addition to London, Toronto, and Vancouver. OUR CODE We are passionate about high performance living and we practice what we preach – investing time in our own health and fitness. We believe that everyone has untapped potential within them and it takes a disruptive approach to unleash it. We dream big and don’t settle for the status quo. We sweat the details . We never accept less than 110% to help each other deliver the Equinox experience and enable our members to get great results. We are obsessed with what’s new, what’s now, what’s next . Never following, always leading, living ahead of the moment in fashion, culture and consumer behavior. We aren’t just a company; we’re a community vested in each other’s success. We value humility and a team approach at every level of the company. If you are a high performing individual who is passionate about winning and inspiring others then we are excited to discuss career opportunities with you.