Litigation Associate, Bodily Injury Defense

Distinct | North America; Tampa (FL); Hybrid; USD 125,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

Distinct Recruitment is seeking a Litigation Associate in Tampa, FL for a Bodily Injury Defense role. The attorney will manage cases from start to finish, including in-court appearances and client communication.

The right candidate will have BI/PI defense experience, strong judgment on value and risk, and the ability to take cases through depositions, hearings, and trials with increasing responsibility. The position offers hybrid work with the team based in Tampa and a competitive salary range;

Qualifications

• 2+ years of bodily injury, personal injury, or insurance defense litigation.
• Ability to evaluate case value and risk for clients.
• Willingness to handle trials and depositions with senior oversight.

Responsibilities

• Handle case evaluation and strategy with client and adjuster.
• Take depositions of plaintiffs, treating physicians, and experts.
• Argue hearings and dispositive motions.
• Serve as first chair on trials when appropriate.

Skills

Bodily Injury Defense

Litigation Experience

Trial Preparation

Job description

Litigation Associate, Bodily Injury Defense | Tampa, FL | $125,000 to $200,000 | Bodily Injury / Personal Injury Defense

\"Remind me why I'm preparing a witness someone else will examine?\" I hear a version of that from bodily injury defense lawyers more than almost anything else, and not only from mid level associates. Experienced attorneys say it too, usually about cases they know better than anyone else on the team.

If that sounds familiar, this role is built to fix it.

I'm Ryan Jaiswal at Distinct Recruitment, hiring a bodily injury defense associate on behalf of an insurance defense firm in Tampa. The firm wants attorneys who handle their cases all the way through, including in the courtroom.

Your files, start to finish

• Bodily injury defense across auto, premises and general negligence claims
• Case evaluation and strategy set by you, in conversation with the client and adjuster
• Depositions of plaintiffs, treating physicians, IME doctors and vocational and economic experts
• Hearings and dispositive motions argued by you
• Trials, with first chair responsibility for attorneys who have the experience

What matters to the firm

• 2+ years of bodily injury, personal injury or insurance defense litigation
• Good judgment about value and risk, and the confidence to give clients a straight answer
• Senior associates and counsel level candidates are as much a priority as mid level ones. With more experience come larger cases, more trials and responsibility for developing others

The logistics

• Hybrid, with the team based in Tampa
• 1,950 billable hours a year
• $125,000 to $200,000, purposely wide so it can pay a seasoned trial lawyer properly

What changes if you move

You stop being the person who knows the case best but sits in the second chair. Clients start calling you by name. Your reviews talk about trial results, not how many depositions you summarized. Over time, that's what builds a practice of your own and puts partnership within reach.