Litigation Associate, Personal Injury Defense

Distinct | North America; Tampa (FL); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

Distinct Recruitment in Tampa, FL, is seeking a Litigation Associate focused on personal injury defense for a Tampa-based insurance defense firm. Hybrid work with a $120,000 to $200,000 salary range and base in Tampa.

The role emphasizes defending PI claims, owning files from evaluation to expert depositions, and participating in motion hearings and trial work as experience grows. Regular client contact and mentor opportunities are available.

Qualifications

• 2+ years of litigation experience, preferably personal injury or insurance defense.
• Able to handle a busy docket with substantial responsibility.
• Willingness to engage in first chair trial work as experience grows.

Responsibilities

• Defend personal injury claims arising from auto accidents, premises incidents, and negligence.
• Own files from evaluation through discovery, depositions, and experts.
• Attend motion hearings, mediations, and trials with increasing responsibility.
• Maintain regular contact with adjusters and clients; provide strategic recommendations.
• Mentor junior attorneys if desired.

Skills

Litigation experience

Personal injury defense

Trial work

File ownership

Job description

Litigation Associate, Personal Injury Defense | Tampa, FL | $120,000 to $200,000 | Bodily Injury / Personal Injury Defense

Hours are the first thing most attorneys ask me about and the last thing most job ads mention. So here they are: 1,950 billable hours a year. Salary from $120,000 to $200,000. Hybrid, based in Tampa. Now that's out of the way, we can talk about the part that actually decides whether a job is good.

I'm Ryan Jaiswal at Distinct Recruitment, hiring a personal injury defense attorney for a Tampa insurance defense firm. The question I'd ask of any firm is simple: what do you get for those 1,950 hours? Here, the answer is real litigation experience.

What fills the hours

• Defending personal injury claims arising from auto accidents, premises incidents and general negligence
• Owning the file: case evaluation, discovery strategy, depositions of plaintiffs, treating doctors and experts
• Motion hearings, mediations and trial work, with first chair trials as your experience grows
• Regular contact with adjusters and clients, where your recommendations carry weight
• Opportunities to mentor other attorneys if that's where you'd like to go

Who fits

• 2+ years of litigation experience, preferably personal injury or insurance defense
• Equally aimed at associates with five, seven or ten years behind them. The salary range is broad by design so experienced lawyers are paid properly
• People who like a busy docket but want every hour on it to count toward something

Working pattern

• Hybrid, with your base in the Tampa office
• Part of the week from home, with the team around you when it matters

Reasons people make this move

• Time spent on substantive work instead of shuffling files
• Trial work that's shared, not hoarded
• A clear path toward a bigger practice, whether that's counsel, partnership or simply more control over your own cases
• Pay that reflects your experience, set within a range wide enough to do so

None of that is unusual on paper. It's unusual in practice, and that gap is what I'd like to talk to you about.