Senior Counsel - Litigation and Claims

POSITION

Senior Counsel - Litigation and Claims

General Counsel

Salary, Benefits

On-site

The Senior Counsel – Litigation and Claims is a key member of the Legal Team  Senior Counsel will provide direct support and leadership for the Legal Team and will play a key role in providing advice, counseling, and litigation and claims management to the Company, primarily on personal injury/premises liability-related matters. Senior Counsel will provide legal support and advice to the Company on resident and employee injury and safety issues, claims matters, risk mitigation measures, collections and small claims issues/disputes, and other miscellaneous legal issues as requested or needed, with a primary litigation focus on managing threatened or pending general liability (personal injury/premises) lawsuits and other disputes.

This individual will be responsible for collaborating with outside counsel, insurance carriers, vendor partners, and employees at all levels within the Company to provide legal advice and guidance.

• Effectively and efficiently manage pending and threatened general liability lawsuits, as well as pending and threatened commercial and other miscellaneous disputes, all of which include but are not limited to: partnering with appropriate corporate and onsite teams; coordinating discovery; retaining and negotiating cost-effective fee arrangements with outside counsel, where applicable; providing strategic direction to and close supervision of outside counsel; developing cost-effective dispute resolution strategies;
  
  collaborating with TPAs and insurance adjusters, as needed; and updating matter management system tools.
• Attend mediations, depositions, court hearings, and trials, as needed.
• Maintain internal case management systems and partner with the Company’s insurance broker and Portfolio Safety and Risk Team to perform litigation and claims analytics to help manage dockets and identify and communicate key trends and risks to inform decision-making.
• Support all areas of the Company by providing timely, ongoing, on-demand legal counsel and guidance related to a broad array of resident and employee injury/safety issues, risk mitigation measures, commercial disputes, and other miscellaneous legal issues that may arise.
• Partner with the Portfolio Safety and Risk Team to direct investigations of incidents that could give rise to liability for the Company.
• Perform legal and factual research and risk analysis and provide risk-related advice for various Company practices or programs.
• Advise on legal issues and strategies for resolving claims, working closely with the Company’s insurance broker and Portfolio Safety and Risk Team to identify potential legal risks and communicate those risks to internal partners.
• Effectively communicate complex legal concepts to executive leadership and other internal partners.
• Regularly engage with corporate and onsite teams to understand Company operations, policies and procedures, and initiatives, work collaboratively, and build credibility with those teams.
• Identify areas of risk associated with significant litigation, assess possible brand exposure, and develop mitigation strategies to provide to executive leadership and other teams and risk-related committees within the Company.
• Participate in appropriate legal and industry groups to identify best practices in personal injury/premises liability mitigation and litigation management.
• Create and refine training materials, checklists, and workflows regarding the areas of responsibility described above.
• Assist in the evaluation and development of policies, process improvements, and quality control mechanisms in connection with the Legal Team’s responsibilities for the Company.

• Education: Juris Doctor degree required.
• Experience: Minimum of 5 - 7 years of litigation experience (including experience in personal injury defense and/or claims evaluation) in an established law firm or corporate department. Prior in-house legal experience or comparable litigation management oversight experience preferred.
• Certificates & Licenses: Certificate of admission to the practice…