Senior Counsel, Legal & Enterprise Risk

Environmental Science Associates (ESA) is a 100% employee-owned environmental consulting firm. We plan, design, permit, mitigate, and restore for projects across our communities, infrastructure systems, open spaces, and wildlands. We are 50 years strong in 21 offices across California, the Pacific Northwest, and the Southeastern United States.

Environmental Science Associates (ESA) is seeking an experienced Senior Counsel, Legal & Enterprise Risk to lead and continuously strengthen our firmwide approach to contractual, operational, employment, and enterprise risk. The ideal candidate shall have a combination of legal and contractual expertise, business judgment, emotional intelligence, and the ability to influence leaders across a complex professional services organization.

This is a highly visible, collaborative position working directly with the Chief Operating Officer and senior leadership, while partnering extensively with Human Resources, Finance, project and regional leadership, and other corporate functions. You will lead ESA's proactive risk management program while serving as a trusted resource on complex contracts, employment-related risks, project delivery, business transactions, and emerging organizational issues. The right person will be able to move comfortably between detailed contract negotiations, sensitive employee matters, project risk, and executive-level discussions. Just as importantly, you will help leaders understand not simply what the risk is, but what ESA can reasonably do about it. The ideal candidate shall be based in either Los Angeles, CA, and/or San Francisco, CA, and be able to work a hybrid schedule.

What You'll Do

Lead Enterprise Risk Management. Lead the ongoing development and continuous improvement of ESA's firmwide risk-management program. Identify emerging contractual, employment, operational, financial, and organizational risks; develop practical mitigation strategies; support Risk Committee processes; and provide leadership with meaningful reporting and visibility into the firm's risk profile.

Provide Employment Law and Employee Relations Guidance. Partner closely with Human Resources and organizational leadership on employment-law risk and complex employee matters. Provide practical guidance on federal, state, and local employment requirements, with particular depth in California employment law, including hiring, compensation, wage and hour, leaves and accommodations, performance management, workplace conduct, investigations, separations, restructuring, and other significant workforce matters. Coordinate employment-related claims and outside counsel as appropriate.

Lead Contract Review and Negotiation. Review, draft, and negotiate client, subconsultant, and other business agreements. Evaluate provisions involving indemnification, limitation of liability, insurance, intellectual property, warranties, confidentiality, payment terms, change management, dispute resolution, data/privacy, and managed or subscription services. Develop practical negotiating positions that balance risk mitigation with client relationships and ESA's business objectives.

Support Proposals and Business Development. Partner with Client Development, Marketing, pursuit teams, and technical leaders to identify risk early in the business-development lifecycle. Participate in strategic Go/No-Go evaluations, review RFP and commercial requirements, and help teams determine whether risks can be addressed through negotiation, scope, pricing, insurance, or other business strategies.

Partner with Project and Operational Leadership. Help Project Managers and leaders identify and manage contractual, financial, client, and delivery risk throughout the project lifecycle. Develop approaches for tracking higher-risk projects and contractual obligations, advise on complex negotiations, and provide practical training and resources that strengthen risk-management capability across the firm.

Advise Executive and Regional Leadership. Serve as a trusted advisor on significant contractual, employment, operational, and enterprise risks. Clearly communicate potential exposure, alternatives, and mitigation strategies to executive and regional leadership and, when appropriate, the Board of Directors. Exercise sound judgment and discretion when handling highly confidential business and employee matters.

Manage Outside Counsel and Insurance Partners. Determine when specialized outside counsel should be engaged and coordinate external legal resources across contracts, employment, litigation, corporate transactions, and other specialty matters. Partner with Finance and executive leadership on insurance coverage, claims, risk-transfer strategies, legal spend, and emerging trends.

Support Mergers, Acquisitions, and Strategic Growth. Support legal and risk due diligence for acquisitions and other strategic growth opportunities, including review of NDAs, letters of intent, material contracts, employment obligations, and potential liabilities. Partner with HR on workforce due diligence and employee transitions and coordinate with external M&A counsel and professional advisors as appropriate.

What You Will Bring

You are an approachable and credible advisor who can deliver difficult guidance clearly and constructively. You understand that excellent risk management does not mean eliminating every risk—it means helping leaders understand risk, make informed decisions, and take appropriate action. You are comfortable challenging assumptions when necessary while listening, collaborating, and finding workable solutions. You can move from reviewing a sophisticated client agreement to consulting with HR on a sensitive employee matter, advising an executive on enterprise risk, or helping a Project Manager understand how a contract provision could affect project delivery. You are financially astute, pragmatic, curious, and comfortable operating in an organization where relationships matter. Above all, you recognize that at a 100% employee-owned company, protecting the organization means protecting the long-term interests of every employee-owner.

You will ideally bring:

• 10+ years of progressively responsible experience in contracts, legal operations, enterprise risk, employment law, or related corporate legal/risk functions.
• Significant experience interpreting, drafting, and negotiating sophisticated commercial contracts.
• Strong working knowledge of U.S. employment law, including experience advising organizations with employees across multiple states.
• Meaningful knowledge of California employment law and regulatory requirements strongly preferred.
• Experience advising HR and organizational leadership on complex employee-relations and employment-risk matters.
• Demonstrated ability to identify risk and develop practical mitigation strategies without unnecessarily impeding business objectives.
• Experience managing or coordinating outside legal counsel.
• Strong understanding of professional-services contracting and risk; AEC industry experience is strongly preferred.
• Experience partnering with executives and senior operational leaders.
• Experience developing and implementing risk-management programs, policies, training, and controls.
• Excellent negotiation, communication, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
• Strong discretion and judgment when handling sensitive and confidential matters.

Preferred Background

• Juris Doctor (JD) strongly preferred, particularly for candidates expected to provide substantial employment-law expertise.
• Active bar membership in at least one U.S. jurisdiction is desirable.
• Experience as in-house counsel, employment counsel, contracts/risk leader, or in a combined legal and risk-management role.
• Experience within an AEC, engineering, environmental consulting, architecture, construction, or other professional-services organization.
• Experience with employment matters involving California, Washington, Oregon, and other jurisdictions where ESA operates.
• Experience supporting mergers, acquisitions, workforce integrations, or organizational restructuring.
• Familiarity with professional liability and other insurance programs relevant to professional-services firms.

What Success Looks Like

Within your first year, you will build strong partnerships across Operations, HR, Finance, regional leadership, and executive management while strengthening ESA's approach to contractual, employment, project, and enterprise risk.

Success will include improving the consistency and efficiency of contract review and escalation; establishing clear protocols for higher-risk employment matters; increasing visibility into significant projects, contracts, claims, and organizational risks; strengthening coordination with outside counsel; and delivering practical training for Project Managers and leaders.

Most importantly, you will help ESA move toward a more proactive approach to risk—identifying recurring sources of exposure and implementing preventative solutions while balancing legal protection, employee considerations, client relationships, financial performance, and ESA's business objectives.

Who We Are 

We are a 100% employee-owned environmental consulting firm who values diversity and inclusion and celebrate the differences that make each of us unique. Our culture is built on mutual respect, recognizing that our variety of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives leads to better solutions, which fosters our continued success for our employee-owners and clients. 

In accordance with ESA’s duty and responsibility to provide and maintain a safe workplace that is free of known hazards and to minimize the exposure to potential hazards, any employee who works from an ESA office or conducts any other in-person ESA work-related activity is required to submit their proof of vaccination status or have received an approved exemption and accommodation in states which this applies. 

Please note: We do NOT accept unsolicited resumes from agencies

If you are an applicant with a disability that requires a reasonable accommodation to complete any part of the application process or are limited in the ability—or unable to use—the online application system and need an alternative method for applying, you may contact our Human Resources Department via email: humanresources@esassoc.com for assistance.

 Please include the following in your message so we can promptly address your request:

• Full name
• The best method to contact you (phone number and/or email address)
• Title of Job Position Applied
• Description of your accommodation request

ESA is an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to a diverse and inclusive work environment. (EOE M/V/F/D)