Assistant General Counsel & Assistant Secretary, Litigation

Northwestern Mutual; Milwaukee (WI); On-site; USD 176,000 - 264,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible work schedules

Concierge service

Comprehensive benefits

Employee resource groups

Job summary

Northwestern Mutual is seeking an experienced in-house counsel to lead a portfolio of complex civil disputes from intake through resolution. You will set strategy with internal clients and outside counsel and help drive scalable litigation risk management across the enterprise.

You will coordinate discovery, prepare executives for depositions, and oversee all pleadings—ensuring alignment with company objectives and risk tolerance while managing outside counsel budgets.

Qualifications

• 6+ years of experience practicing complex civil litigation with significant responsibility for strategy, discovery, and resolution.
• J.D. with admission to at least one U.S. jurisdiction; Wisconsin license or commitment within first year.

Responsibilities

• Serve as in-house counsel on a portfolio of complex disputes, partnering with business clients to understand facts, objectives, and risk posture.
• Develop and execute litigation strategy with outside counsel, including case assessments, discovery, motions, and trial preparation.
• Lead and oversee all phases of discovery (including eDiscovery) with custodians, IT, and outside counsel; ensure timely production.
• Prepare executives and employees for depositions, hearings, mediations, and trial testimony; coordinate messaging with outside counsel.
• Oversee pleadings and briefs to ensure accuracy and alignment with strategy.
• Evaluate settlement options; lead negotiations and document outcomes for improvement.
• Partner with Law Department and business leaders to assess and mitigate exposure; manage outside counsel budgets.

Skills

Civil litigation

Case strategy

Discovery management

Outside counsel

Deposition prep

Executive communication

Education

Juris Doctor (J.D.)

Bar admission in Wisconsin

Job description

About the Job:

The Litigation Team within Northwestern Mutual's Law Department represents the Company in all litigation filed against or by the Company. As a member of the Team, you will lead matters from intake through resolution, set strategy in partnership with internal business leaders and outside counsel, and help drive consistent, scalable approaches to litigation risk management across the enterprise.

Legal Organization Overview

The Northwestern Mutual Law Department includes approximately 130 legal professionals, including more than 80 attorneys who represent a broad range of legal practices and educational backgrounds. The Department is also supported by highly skilled paralegals and research and administrative professionals who play an integral role in our operations. We are proud of our collegial, collaborative culture and our commitment to valuing one another as people and professionals.

The Northwestern Mutual Law Department provides legal services across most disciplines primarily in-house, engaging outside counsel on a limited, strategic basis. The Department is organized into nine practice teams: Litigation; Distribution; Digital and Enterprise Operations; Insurance Products and Operations; Investment Products and Advisory Services; Corporate; Enterprise Governance; Private Securities Investments; and Real Estate Investments. Our attorneys partner closely with business leaders to understand objectives, anticipate risk, and deliver practical, timely guidance that supports the Company's strategy.

What You Will Do:

• Serve as in-house counsel on a portfolio of complex disputes, partnering with business clients to understand the facts, objectives, and risk posture.


• Develop and execute litigation strategy with outside counsel, including case assessments, early-disposition opportunities, motion practice, discovery strategy, expert strategy, and trial/arbitration preparation.


• Lead and oversee all phases of discovery (including eDiscovery), coordinating with internal custodians, IT, and outside counsel; and ensure timely, accurate production.


• Prepare and counsel executives and employees for depositions, hearings, mediations, and trial testimony and coordinate logistics and messaging with outside counsel and internal communications as needed.


• Oversee, review, and edit pleadings, dispositive motions, briefs, and other court filings to ensure accuracy, consistency with strategy, and alignment with company objectives and risk tolerance.


• Evaluate settlement options and recommend resolution strategies; lead/support negotiations and mediations; advise on settlement authority and terms; and document outcomes and learnings for continuous improvement.


• Partner with Law Department colleagues, business leaders, and senior management to assess and mitigate litigation exposure, drive best practices, and manage outside counsel performance and budgets.

What You'll Bring to the Role:

• At least 6 years of experience practicing complex civil litigation (law firm, in-house, or a combination), including significant responsibility for case strategy, discovery, motion practice, and resolution.


• Juris Doctor (J.D.) with an exemplary academic record and admission in good standing to at least one U.S. jurisdiction; license to practice law in the State of Wisconsin or a commitment to become licensed within the first year of employment is required.


• Strong business acumen and exceptional written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to translate complex legal issues into clear, practical guidance for business leaders and senior management.


• Mindset of a strategic partner to the business-understands business objectives and stakeholder needs, connects the dots across the enterprise, and serves as a problem-solver who delivers insightful, practical, and strategic advice that drives viable, tangible solutions and desired outcomes.


• Demonstrated flexibility and ability to adapt to change, operate independently, and prioritize and re-prioritize in a dynamic environment while driving matters to completion with limited oversight.


• Strength to solve complex challenges using sound judgment and practical business sense, balancing legal risk, business objectives, cost, and reputational considerations; comfort managing outside counsel budgets, performance, and metrics.


• Demonstrated ability to provide real-time, solution-oriented, succinct legal advice to professionals at all levels throughout a large enterprise, including on sensitive or high-exposure matters.

Skills You Will Have:

• Accountability: Holds self and their direct reports accountable for measurable, high-quality, timely, and cost-effective results, delivery, and execution. Determines objectives, sets priorities, delegates work to direct reports, and accepts responsibility for mistakes.


• Attention to Detail: Focuses on specific details to spot and correct errors in advance of them being found and surpass quality expectations. Performs work with thorough proofreading for presentation, content, accuracy, and overall quality.


• Decision Making: Makes timely, data-driven decisions by understanding the probability of success, identifying risks, gathering business requirements, and developing value statements.


• Policy & Procedure: Analyzes current policies and procedures, identifies gaps or areas for improvement, and develops and implements new policies and procedures to address those gaps. Ensures compliance with regulatory requirements and industry standards, as well as effectively communicates policies and procedures to employees and stakeholders. Understands the various components of a workflow, identifies bottlenecks, and implements improvements to increase productivity, reduce costs, and streamline operations.


• Risk Assessment & Identification: Leverages industry knowledge to determine and seek hazards that could potentially prevent the program, enterprise, or investment from achieving their objectives; designs systematic processes of identifying severity of hazards and evaluating the scale and impacts of any associated risk on the business.

Compensation Range:

Pay Range - Start:

$176,000.00

Pay Range - End:

$264,000.00

Geographic Specific Pay Structure:

Structure 110:

Structure 115:

Northwestern Mutual is an equal opportunity employer that welcomes talented individuals of all backgrounds. We are committed to creating and maintaining an environment in which each employee can contribute creative ideas, seek challenges, assume leadership and continue to focus on meeting and exceeding business and personal objectives.

Risk Assessment & Identification (NM) - Expert, Accountability (NM) - Expert, Policy & Procedure (NM) - Expert, Project Management (NM) - Expert, Decision Making (NM) - Expert, Continuous Improvement (NM) - Expert, Business Influence (NM) - Expert, Cross Functional Partnering & Planning (NM) - Expert, Attention to Detail (NM) - Expert

• Flexible work schedules


• Concierge service


• Comprehensive benefits


• Employee resource groups