Description:
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Responsibilities:
The Vice President, Insurance Defense Counsel will lead and oversee a nationwide portfolio of complex insurance defense and commercial liability matters arising from the Company's transportation operations. This legal role serves as a strategic partner to senior leadership, Risk, Operations, and Finance, driving litigation strategy, insurer coordination, and enterprise risk mitigation across a highly regulated, operationally complex environment.
This role requires a seasoned litigation strategist with deep insurance defense experience, demonstrated success managing high-exposure matters, and the executive presence to influence business decision-making at the enterprise level.
Responsibilities:
Litigation Management
- Manage a national docket of insurance defense matters, including bodily injury, property damage, catastrophic loss, and related commercial liability claims.
- Develop and execute case strategy from pre-suit investigation through trial and appeal.
- Evaluate liability exposure, damages modeling, settlement posture, and trial risk; provide clear, business-oriented recommendations to executive leadership and insurers.
- Lead participation in mediations, high-stakes settlement negotiations, and trial oversight as appropriate.
- Drive consistency, accountability, and performance standards across a national litigation portfolio.
- Serve as the senior legal liaison to insurance carriers, brokers, and third-party administrators.
- Analyze and advise on coverage issues, reservations of rights, indemnity obligations, and allocation disputes.
- Partner with Risk Management and Finance on self-insured retention strategy, deductible management, and claims trend analysis.
- Collaborate cross-functionally to reduce claims frequency and severity through operational risk mitigation initiatives.
- Provide practical, business-focused legal guidance to Operations, Safety, and executive leadership regarding litigation exposure and claims prevention.
- Support significant incident response and internal investigations.
- Develop and deliver litigation and claims training to field and corporate leadership.
- Identify systemic risk trends and recommend proactive policy or operational adjustments.
Qualifications:
Talent Requirements
Required:
- Juris Doctor (JD) from an accredited law school.
- Active license and good standing in at least one U.S. jurisdiction.
- 10+ years of insurance defense and complex commercial litigation experience.
- Experience in both law firm practice and in-house counsel roles.
- Demonstrated success managing high-exposure or catastrophic liability matters.
- Significant experience directing outside counsel and coordinating with insurance carriers.
- Strong command of civil procedure, discovery strategy, trial practice, and ADR.
Preferred:
- Experience in transportation, transit, trucking, logistics, or similar operational industries.
- Experience with self-insured retention programs or large deductible insurance structures.
- Catastrophic injury or wrongful death litigation experience.
- Trial or first-chair experience.
Key Competencies:
- Executive-level judgment and strategic risk assessment.
- Sophisticated negotiation and settlement leadership.
- Ability to balance litigation posture with commercial objectives.
- Strong financial acumen and litigation budget management.
- Clear, persuasive written and verbal communication.
- Executive presence with the ability to advise C-suite stakeholders.
- Highly organized with the ability to manage a large, complex docket.
