What are the responsibilities and job description for the Associate General Counsel II – Employment Advice and Counseling position at Edward Jones?
This job posting is anticipated to remain open for 30 days, from 30-Jun-2026. The posting may close early due to the volume of applicants.
Join a financial services firm where your contributions are valued. Edward Jones is a Fortune 500¹ company where people come first. With over 9 million clients and 20,000 financial advisors across the U.S. and Canada, we’re proud to be privately-owned, placing the focus on our clients rather than shareholder returns.
Behind everything we do is our purpose: We partner for positive impact to improve the lives of our clients and colleagues, and together, better our communities and society. We are an innovative, flexible, and inclusive organization that attracts, develops, and inspires performance excellence and a sense of belonging.
People are at the center of our partnership. Edward Jones associates are seen, heard, respected, and supported. This is what we believe makes us the best place to start or build your career.
View our Purpose, Inclusion and Citizenship Report.
¹Fortune 500, published June 2024, data as of December 2023. Compensation provided for using, not obtaining, the rating.
Behind everything we do is our purpose: We partner for positive impact to improve the lives of our clients and colleagues, and together, better our communities and society. We are an innovative, flexible, and inclusive organization that attracts, develops, and inspires performance excellence and a sense of belonging.
People are at the center of our partnership. Edward Jones associates are seen, heard, respected, and supported. This is what we believe makes us the best place to start or build your career.
View our Purpose, Inclusion and Citizenship Report.
¹Fortune 500, published June 2024, data as of December 2023. Compensation provided for using, not obtaining, the rating.
This is not a general employment counsel role. About half of your time will be spent hands-on with employment class and collective actions. The other half is focused on proactive wage-and-hour counseling, helping the business make decisions that prevent those cases in the first place.
If you’ve personally run class or collective actions at a national law firm and are looking to step out of constant billable pressure while staying close to complex, meaningful work, this role connects that experience directly to business decisions. While this role focuses on class-action and wage and hour support, you will also do some general employment law counseling as needed.
This role requires real ownership: leading cases, shaping strategy, and making judgment calls, not just executing someone else’s plan.
It’s likely not the right fit if your experience is primarily supporting vs. leading cases, in-house only, single-state or limited in scope
What you’ll do:
1) Stay close to the litigation
2) Use that experience to prevent the next case
3) Translate complexity into decisions
What success looks like: You quickly earn trust and deliver clear, actionable guidance the business can use, balancing litigation strategy with practical business decisions.
When its working, leaders bring you in early, outside counsel relies on you as a strategy partner, and your guidance leads to real changes in policies and practices, not just documentation.
If you’ve personally run class or collective actions at a national law firm and are looking to step out of constant billable pressure while staying close to complex, meaningful work, this role connects that experience directly to business decisions. While this role focuses on class-action and wage and hour support, you will also do some general employment law counseling as needed.
This role requires real ownership: leading cases, shaping strategy, and making judgment calls, not just executing someone else’s plan.
It’s likely not the right fit if your experience is primarily supporting vs. leading cases, in-house only, single-state or limited in scope
What you’ll do:
1) Stay close to the litigation
- Partner directly with outside counsel on employment class and collective actions (wage & hour, discrimination, ERISA)
- Contribute to case strategy, discovery, and motion practice
- Advise the business on risk, exposure, and potential outcomes
- Pressure-test legal recommendations using practical business judgment
2) Use that experience to prevent the next case
- Advise HR, Finance, and business leaders on wage-and-hour compliance
- Lead work on classification, compensation and incentive plans, and multi-state pay practices
- Identify issues early and recommend practical changes, not just legal analysis
- Help design policies and programs that hold up across jurisdictions
3) Translate complexity into decisions
- Turn evolving laws, especially multi-state and California/PAGA, into clear, usable guidance
- Partner with the business to implement changes, not just recommend them
- Conduct root-cause reviews when issues escalate into litigation
What success looks like: You quickly earn trust and deliver clear, actionable guidance the business can use, balancing litigation strategy with practical business decisions.
When its working, leaders bring you in early, outside counsel relies on you as a strategy partner, and your guidance leads to real changes in policies and practices, not just documentation.
- At least 5 years of direct, hands-on experience leading employment class or collective actions. You have served as the primary attorney responsible for day-to-day case management and strategy, including meaningful involvement in discovery and motion practice
- J.D. and active license to practice law. Missouri license, or ability to obtain within six months (including pursuant to Missouri Rule 8.105 if necessary).
- National law firm experience is required. This experience must include running class or collective actions directly, not solely supervising outside counsel or supporting from a distance
- Demonstrated ability to own complex litigation matters end-to-end. You can assess risk, make strategy decisions, and guide outcomes
- Practical wage and hour counseling experience. You’ve advised on real-world issues such as classification, compensation, or multi-state compliance, with outcomes or changes resulting from your guidance
- Experience working across multiple jurisdictions. You are comfortable navigating competing state requirements and applying them in practice
- Experience with California law and PAGA claims
- Experience related to the securities industry
**Candidates that live within a commutable distance from our Tempe, AZ and St. Louis, MO home office locations are expected to work in the office four days per week effective June 1, 2026. Before June 1, 2026, candidates that live within a commutable distance from our Tempe, AZ and St. Louis, MO home office locations are expected to work in the office three days per week, with preference for Tuesday through Thursday.**
At Edward Jones, we are building a place where everyone feels like they belong. We're proud of our associates' contributions to the firm and the recognitions we have received.
Check out our U.S. awards and accolades: Insights & Information Blog Postings about Edward Jones
Check out our Canadian awards and accolades: Insights & Information Blog Postings about Edward Jones
Check out our U.S. awards and accolades: Insights & Information Blog Postings about Edward Jones
Check out our Canadian awards and accolades: Insights & Information Blog Postings about Edward Jones
Edward Jones does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, religion, national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, pregnancy, veteran status, genetic information or any other basis prohibited by applicable law.
Edward Jones' compensation and benefits package includes medical and prescription drug, dental, vision, voluntary benefits (such as accident, hospital indemnity, and critical illness), short- and long-term disability, basic life, and basic AD&D coverage. Short- and long-term disability, basic life, and basic AD&D coverage are provided at no cost to associates. Edward Jones offers a 401k retirement plan, and tax-advantaged accounts: health savings account, and flexible spending account. Edward Jones observes ten paid holidays and provides 15 days of vacation for new associates beginning on January 1 of each year, as well as sick time, personal days, and a paid day for volunteerism. Associates may be eligible for bonuses and profit sharing. All associates are eligible for the firm's Employee Assistance Program. For more information on the Benefits available to Edward Jones associates, please visit our benefits page.
Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance and the California Fair Chance Act. Edward Jones is prohibited from hiring individuals with certain specified criminal history as set forth in Section 3(a)(39) and 15(b)(4) and Rule 17a-3(a)(12) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, and conducts background reviews consistent with FINRA Rule 3110(e). A copy of a notice regarding the provisions of the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance is available at: dcba.lacounty.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/FCOE-Official-Notice-Eng-Final-8.30.2024.pdf.