Legal Operations & Analytics Manager

ICW GROUP HOLDINGS; San Diego (CA); Presencial; USD 130.000 - 170.000; Jornada completa

Descripción de la vacante

ICW Group seeks a Legal Operations & Analytics Manager to strategically manage its outside counsel network across all lines of business. This role monitors defense spend and governs e-billing, while driving data-driven insights to optimize litigation spend and claim outcomes.

The position emphasizes improving operational efficiency through AI and legal technology, with governance of panel performance and cost-effective engagement strategies.

Responsabilidades

• Oversees outside counsel panel across Workers' Comp, General Liability, Auto Liability, Coverage and Bad Faith.
• Leads RFPs and onboarding/offboarding of firms; negotiates rates and alternative fee arrangements.
• Serves as primary relationship owner for panel firms while balancing cost discipline and litigation quality.
• Manages Workers' Compensation defense budget and expands budget visibility for GL, Auto, Coverage, and Bad Faith programs.
• Partners with Finance and Claims for quarterly and annual spend forecasting across lines of business.
• Designs and refines the Defense Attorney Scorecard with KPI-driven performance measures across firms.
• Collaborates with Data Science and IT to enable AI and legal tech adoption across legal operations.

Descripción del empleo

Are you looking to make an impactful difference in your work, yourself, and your community? Why settle for just a job when you can land a career? At ICW Group, we are hiring team members who are ready to use their skills, curiosity, and drive to be part of our journey as we strive to transform the insurance carrier space. We're proud to be in business for over 50 years, and its change agents like yourself that will help us continue to deliver our mission to create the best insurance experience possible.

Headquartered in San Diego with regional offices located throughout the United States, ICW Group has been named for the twelfth consecutive year in a row and for the 20th time overall as a Top 50 performing P&C organization offering the stability of a large, profitable and growing company combined with a focus on all things people. It's our team members who make us an employer of choice and the vibrant company we are today. We strive to make both our internal and external communities better everyday! Learn more about why you want to be here!

The Legal Operations & Analytics Manager is responsible for the strategic management of ICW Group's outside (panel) counsel network across all lines of business. This role monitors the annual defense spend on Workers' Compensation, General Liability, Auto Liability, Coverage, and Bad Faith litigation. This position oversees the outside counsel panel, manages a data-driven performance framework to monitor law firm effectiveness and outcomes, governs e-billing and invoice compliance, and identifies opportunities to leverage artificial intelligence and legal technology to improve claim outcomes, enhance operational efficiency, and optimize litigation spend while maintaining defense quality.

Outside Counsel Panel Management & Governance

• Provides strategic oversight of ICW Group's outside counsel panel across insurance offerings encompassing Workers' Compensation, General Liability, Auto Liability, Coverage, and Bad Faith, including panel selection standards, performance expectations, tiering, geographic coverage and specialty expertise.
• Leads the Request for Proposal (RFP) process as well as firm onboarding/offboarding. Negotiates rates including alternative fee arrangements (flat fee, blended rate, success-based structures) where appropriate based on claim severity and complexity.
• Serves as the primary relationship owner for panel firms, balancing cost discipline with the need to maintain strong defense relationships and good litigation quality.

Legal Spend & Budget Management

• Manages the Workers' Compensation defense budget and builds out comparable spend visibility and budget ownership for GL, Auto, Coverage, and Bad Faith as programs are onboarded.
• Partners with Finance / Claims leadership for quarterly and annual forecasting of outside counsel spend by line of business and severity band.
• Identifies and executes cost-reduction opportunities without compromising claim outcomes.

Performance Analytics & Objective Scorecards

• Leads the design, administration, and ongoing refinement of ICW Group's Defense Attorney Scorecard, leveraging objective, weighted KPIs to assess law firm performance, outcomes, efficiency, and cost effectiveness across severity bands.
• Translates law firm performance results into actionable panel management recommendations, including counsel assignment, referral, and In-House Counsel utilization strategies.
• Partners with Data Science and Analytics to enhance performance measurement frameworks, validating and incorporating emerging indicators of legal outcomes, efficiency, service quality, and litigation effectiveness.
• Delivers executive-level reporting and trend analyses on law firm performance, litigation spend, and panel effectiveness, providing strategic insights to Claims leadership and key stakeholders.

Billing Governance, E-Billing & Compliance

• Establishes and oversees outside counsel billing policies and standards, promoting cost discipline, transparency, and compliance across all lines of business.
• Conducts billing analytics and invoice audits to identify cost-saving opportunities, improve billing efficiency, and ensure legal services are aligned with agreed-upon engagement standards.
• Manages the e-billing program, ensuring efficient invoice processing, effective controls, and clear communication of billing requirements to both internal stakeholders and outside counsel.

AI & Legal Technology Enablement

• Partners with Claim Strategy & Operations and IT to assess, pilot, and deploy AI-driven solutions that improve legal operations, spend management, and litigation efficiency.
• Establishes the strategic roadmap for AI adoption within legal operations, prioritizing opportunities to streamline workflows, enhance productivity, and improve organizational outcomes.
• Evaluates outside counsel adoption of AI and related legal technologies, incorporating their impact on efficiency, value, and pricing into panel management and engagement strategies.

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