Description:

What's the role:
Rate is building a winning team to reinvent the mortgage experience through innovation, technology, and a relentless focus on providing industry-leading mortgage products and superlative customer service. You will embrace and support these efforts by working to pursue claims and resolve disputes as appropriate through negotiation, arbitration, or litigation. This is not a traditional in-house litigation management role. The Company's litigation team regularly handles a wide variety of litigation matters with little or no outside counsel involvement. When outside counsel is engaged, you will work in close partnership with outside counsel both supervising their efforts and creating legal work-product. The ideal candidate will be ready to litigate on day one and will work independently, solve problems creatively, prioritize among multiple assignments and matters, exercise sound business judgment, and operate with a sense of urgency to get things done. Accordingly, you must be experienced and ready to quickly assume responsibility for litigation matters. You will work closely with leadership and support all levels of management. This role will be both an individual contributor and manager, supervising one or more members of the litigation team.

Job Responsibilities:

Represent the Company in hearings, administrative proceedings, arbitrations, litigation, and settlement negotiations.
Conduct legal research and draft memoranda, position statements, complaints, answers, briefs, motions and other litigation and arbitration filings.
Handle all aspects of discovery, including drafting and responding to discovery requests, collecting, and reviewing documents, and taking and defending depositions.
Draft and respond to cease and desist letters and demand letters.
Negotiate and resolve pre-litigation disputes.
Assess, manage, and mitigate risk, as needed.
Conduct internal investigations, as appropriate.
Manage outside counsel for required expertise and more complex litigation matters.
Flag and escalate appropriate matters to other subject matter experts at the company, including the regulatory compliance team.
Handle other legal matters as assigned by senior management.

Experience/Qualifications/Skills:

At least 8 years of hands-on litigation experience, including courtroom and arbitration experience.
Experience litigating one or more of the following is strongly preferred: restrictive covenant matters, employment matters, commercial contracts, customer disputes, unfair competition.
Prior financial services or real estate industry experience, especially with mortgage transactions and regulatory investigations, is a significant advantage.
Experience managing other attorneys and legal professionals.
Positive, team-first attitude.
Can-do “roll up your sleeves” mindset.
Willingness to learn the business and build strong relationships with internal stakeholders.
Understanding of business priorities and adapting strategy to meet those priorities.
Detail-oriented with excellent organizational and writing skills.
Self-motivated with a strong work ethic and an intense desire to win.
Clear, concise and persuasive oral and written communication skills.
Ability to work constructively, collaboratively and cross-functionally.
Proven track record of working efficiently and effectively with changing priorities.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
Resilient with a sense of humor.

Minimum Requirements: