How do I cope with always being the one who has to say no?

You know employment law well enough to keep everyone safe, and the reward for that expertise is being cast as the person who always says no. That wears on anyone. You see the risks others do not, so you are forever the brake, never the engine, and being the one who disappoints people all day is a quiet, steady weight. But reframe what your no actually is. It is not obstruction. It is protection. When you stop a bad decision, you are shielding the organization and its people from harm they cannot see coming. The problem is often not the no itself, but how it lands. If you can pair the no with a path, here is what we cannot do, and here is what we can, you stop being a wall and become a guide. Next time you have to refuse something, offer an alternative in the same breath. It changes how people receive you and how you feel about the role. And remember: the person who says the hard, correct no is not the villain of the story. They are the reason it does not end badly.