Litigation Associate, Auto Defense

Distinct | North America; Orlando (FL); On-site; USD 120,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

Auto Defense in Orlando is seeking an experienced Litigation Associate to defend drivers, owners, fleets, and insurers in auto negligence claims. You will manage your own caseload from initial evaluation through mediation and trial, including depositions of plaintiffs and experts.

The role offers opportunities for first-chair trials as you gain experience, with regular collaboration with adjusters on pretrial evaluations and settlements. This is an office-based position in Orlando.

Qualifications

• 2+ years of auto, bodily injury or general insurance defense litigation experience
• Confident in depositions and comfortable in front of a judge

Responsibilities

• Defending drivers, owners, fleets and their insurers in auto negligence claims
• Handling your own caseload from initial evaluation through mediation and trial
• Taking depositions of plaintiffs, treating physicians, accident reconstructionists and biomechanical experts
• Arguing motions and hearings yourself
• Trial work with first chair opportunities as your experience grows
• Regular contact with adjusters, including pretrial evaluations and settlement recommendations

Skills

Auto defense litigation

Depositions

Trial experience

Client contact

Job description

Litigation Associate, Auto Defense | Orlando, FL | $120,000 to $200,000 | Auto Defense

Some of the most valuable minutes in a litigation career happen in a hallway.

You come out of a deposition, and the partner who has tried more auto cases than you've opened says, \"Good. Next time, don't let the treating doctor volunteer the future surgery.\" Two sentences, and you're better at your job for the next ten years. You can't get that from a video call on mute.

I'm Ryan Jaiswal at Distinct Recruitment, and I'm recruiting an auto defense attorney for a firm in Orlando where the whole team works together in the office. That's deliberate. It's how people learn quickly and how files move.

The role

• Defending drivers, owners, fleets and their insurers in auto negligence claims
• Your own caseload, from the initial evaluation through mediation and trial
• Taking depositions of plaintiffs, treating physicians, accident reconstructionists and biomechanical experts
• Arguing motions and hearings yourself
• Trial work, with first chair opportunities as your experience grows
• Regular contact with adjusters, including pretrial evaluations and settlement recommendations

Who this suits

The salary range is broad on purpose. If you have a few solid years of auto defense, you'll grow fast here. If you're a senior attorney or counsel, you'll get the larger exposure cases, more first chair trials, associates to supervise and your own client relationships. Nobody is paid a junior salary for senior work.

Requirements

• 2+ years of auto, bodily injury or general insurance defense litigation experience
• Confident in depositions and comfortable in front of a judge

Hours and location

• In the Orlando office, alongside the rest of the team
• 1,950 billable hours a year

Why Orlando, why this firm

• Partners down the hall, not just on the org chart
• Real responsibility on real files from the first month
• Trial reps that build a career, not just a billing record
• Clear room to grow toward partner