Counsel, Offboarding & Litigation, APAC
APAC Counsel, Offboarding and Litigation Location: Remote – Based out of Philippines | Full-Time
About the Role
We are seeking an APAC Counsel, Offboarding and Litigation to take full ownership of Philippines-based offboarding, conciliation, and litigation matters, while providing ad hoc litigation and offboarding support across the wider APAC region. You will serve as the in-house specialist on labor law, statutory due process, and dispute resolution, ensuring every termination and contentious matter is handled with legal rigor, commercial sensibility, and audit-ready documentation. You will represent the company in APAC offboardings, proceedings, litigation, and administrative hearings, while simultaneously partnering with internal stakeholders and external counsel to strengthen offboarding frameworks. You will also work closely with the Product team to translate legal requirements and lessons learned from live cases into platform improvements that reduce risk and scale compliance. The ideal candidate brings deep Philippine employment litigation expertise, the ability to navigate complex multi-jurisdiction APAC matters, and a proactive, solution-oriented mindset suited to a fast-paced, client-facing global environment. Core Responsibilities Own Philippines offboarding, conciliation, and litigation end to end, including just and authorized cause terminations, redundancy, retrenchment, and abscondment cases. Lead administrative hearings, manage DOLE statutory filings, and represent the company in DOLE SEnA and NLRC proceedings. Own offboarding and litigation matters across APAC jurisdictions, including just cause terminations, redundancy, abscondment, and contentious exits, ensuring compliance with local labor laws and statutory due process. Conduct case intake, fact-finding, and compliance risk assessments across APAC employee relations matters. Guide internal teams and clients through statutory due process from notice to clearance. Lead or support administrative hearings, conciliation, mediation, and litigation proceedings across APAC, advising on disciplinary sanctions and resolution strategy. Review termination notices, position papers, and supporting evidence across APAC to ensure they are defensible and aligned with local labor laws and jurisprudence. Assess litigation exposure across APAC (reinstatement, backwages, damages, settlement value), develop hearing strategy, and provide commercially-framed updates to internal stakeholders. Serve as the primary point of contact for external counsel across APAC, validating scope, negotiating fees and timelines, and ensuring quality control on deliverables. Partner with HR Advisory, Customer Success, Sales, Payroll, Onboarding, and Legal teams to strengthen offboarding processes and improve client outcomes. Review product requirements for offboarding, disciplinary, and termination workflows, validate alignment with local laws, and flag statutory changes requiring system updates. Support ad hoc legal and cross-functional projects, including escalations, APAC-wide compliance initiatives, and process automation efforts.
What We're Looking For
Law degree (JD, LLB, or equivalent) and active admission to the Philippine Bar (certified Philippine counsel) in good standing. 6–10 years of post-qualification experience in Philippine employment law, with substantial first-chair experience handling DOLE SENA, NLRC, and administrative hearings. Demonstrated litigation track record, including drafting position papers, witness preparation, hearing advocacy, and assessing exposure on reinstatement, backwages, and damages. Deep working knowledge of the APAC labor regulations on termination, due process, and illegal dismissal. Working familiarity with employment law and offboarding processes in APAC jurisdictions, with the ability to come up to speed quickly on new markets. Proven experience managing employee lifecycle matters, including PIPs, disciplinary actions, workplace investigations, and just/authorized cause terminations. Strong experience instructing and managing external counsel, including scoping, fee negotiation, and quality review. Excellent stakeholder management skills, with the ability to collaborate cross-functionally with Product, Operations, HR, and commercial teams, and to engage clients confidently. Strong written and verbal English communication skills, with sound judgment, attention to detail, and the ability to translate legal complexity into clear commercial guidance. Ability to work independently in a fast-paced, client-facing global environment.