Description:

Most employment cases that should resolve can resolve before a complaint is filed. That only happens when someone on the employee's side builds the demand right, sets the pace, and holds the number. At Wanta Thome, pre-litigation is where many of our clients get paid, and it is where the firm's reputation with employers and defense counsel is made. The firm is growing, and we are adding an early-career attorney to work directly with our lead pre-litigation attorney, who will delegate work across the docket and train you in how we build and resolve cases.

Our clients are employees who were fired, discriminated against, retaliated against, or shorted on pay. We represent them on contingency in Minnesota and Illinois. The client is in the worst year of their working life, and the result we tell them a case is worth is the result we are expected to get.

What you will own

The lead pre-litigation attorney owns the docket and delegates work to you across it. You own every task you are given, from assignment to done.

Delegated work returned on the date you committed to, right the first time. Turnaround and rework are on your Scorecard and you will see them every week.
Negotiation support: valuation memos, response letters, and negotiation plans for the lead attorney, and the calls and negotiations the lead attorney hands you as your skill grows.
Clients on your delegated matters who hear from you within one business day, including when there is no news, and who hear bad news early and by phone.
A growing share of the work. Over your first year, the lead attorney delegates more matters, more negotiations, and more judgment calls as your work earns it.

What you need to bring

Admission to practice in Minnesota or Illinois, or in another U.S. jurisdiction with admission in Minnesota or Illinois within 12 months of your start date. If you sat for the July 2026 bar exam, apply now; your start date follows your swearing-in.
Evidence that you can persuade people and move them off a position. Law school clinics, moot court, mediation work, sales, recruiting, or a prior career all count.
Evidence that you can carry volume and hit deadlines without being chased.
An eagerness to accept frequent, direct coaching and promptly incorporate feedback into future interactions.

Plaintiff-side employment interest or experience is a plus. Negotiation experience in any setting is a plus.

What the work looks like here

You take every client as they come. The case is the facts; the client's background and personality do not change your effort.

You set the agenda. Defense counsel will try to slow the file with letters, delay, and a first offer designed to test your patience. You will learn to run each case on our timeline and our theory.

Every case moves every week. "I'm going to" said twice in a row is a problem, and a perfect demand sent after the leverage is gone does not count as done. When the same friction shows up a second time, you fix the process.

When a case has a problem, you raise it the same day, with evidence and a proposed path. Once the team decides, you commit, including when you argued the other side.

You own the result, including the seams. When a number moves or a date slips, your first sentence starts with "I."

This seat is a poor fit if

You want to run your own cases from day one, or you prefer long observation before you do real work.
ou prefer to wait for the other side to set the pace.
You find weekly metrics and a visible Scorecard uncomfortable.
Direct, frequent feedback on your work feels like criticism.