Senior Counsel (Coverage Litigation)

Qbena; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 145,000 - 248,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid Working

Family leave benefits

401(k) match

Well-being program

Tuition reimbursement

Employee Networks

Job summary

QBE North America seeks a Senior Counsel (Coverage Litigation) to guide the organization on insurance coverage and bad faith matters. The role involves overseeing a litigation caseload, advising executives, and shaping policies across lines of business.

You will supervise internal teams, manage panel counsel, and report trends to stakeholders in a hybrid setting with offices in New York City and Chicago. A JD and bar admission are required with 7+ years of experience.

Qualifications

• Juris Doctorate required and admitted to the Bar.
• Minimum 7 years relevant experience in coverage litigation.
• Experience handling insurance coverage and bad faith matters is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Draft legal documents and resolve complex regulatory inquiries.
• Advise senior managers on high-impact legal matters and risk.
• Direct litigation caseload and manage external counsel as needed.
• Develop policies and training to ensure compliance.
• Collaborate cross-functionally on contracts, disputes, and compliance.
• Lead and mentor paralegals to improve efficiency.

Skills

Client-first mindset

Legal research

Legal writing

Communication

Risk assessment

Project management

Cross-functional collaboration

Judicial analysis

Stakeholder management

Decision making

Education

Juris Doctorate Degree

Job description

Primary Details

Time Type: Full time

Worker Type: Employee

Senior Counsel (Coverage Litigation)

• Location: New York City, NY and Chicago, ILL
• Work Arrangement: Hybrid (8-12 days in office per month)
• The salary range for this role is between $145,000-247,500

The Opportunity

Represent the company by providing legal guidance across the organization primarily focused on litigated and non-litigated insurance coverage and bad faith matters, in-depth analysis on complex coverage issues, recommending appropriate solutions to management, and developing strategic practices to ensure that the Company’s concerns, issues, and liabilities are identified and resolved effectively. Actively supervise, manage and direct a caseload of litigation by or against the company to successful outcomes, provide legal advice and support with respect to insurance policy analysis and interpretation on all lines of business, assist in preparing witnesses, discovery, selecting and managing panel counsel and delivering better litigation management processes. Participate in training and reporting trends and developments to key clients and stakeholders, manage legal projects by defining scope, setting milestones, delegating tasks, tracking progress and reporting project results to ensure successful and efficient implementation, model QBE values in personal work behaviors, decision-making, contributions and interpersonal interactions

Primary Responsibilities

• Research and follow established guidelines to draft legal documents, resolve regulatory inquiries problems and support lines of business for complex and higher risk priority matters
• Build strong relationships with internal business clients and outside parties by utilizing in-depth knowledge of areas of responsibility to resolve legal inquiries and provide effective support for the resolution of issues
• Advise senior managers on moderate to high impact legal matters by utilizing legal expertise to assess risk and recommend effective and appropriate solutions
• Manage legal projects by defining scope, setting milestones, delegating tasks, tracking progress, and reporting project results to ensure successful and efficient implementation
• Contribute to cross-functional decision-making by collaborating with internal partners and participating in multi-disciplinary teams to provide legal expertise and assist with the development of company policies and best practices
• Prioritize workload by evaluating urgency of issues and delegating tasks to paralegals to increase efficiency and effectiveness of legal department
• Identify potential legal risks and issues by tracking relevant judicial, legislative and regulatory developments and analyzing implications to suggest strategies for organizational response
• Develop policies, procedures and training in areas of expertise in order to ensure compliance across the organization
• Provide legal advice and support with respect to insurance policy analysis and interpretation on all lines of business
• Participate in training and reporting trends and developments to key clients and stakeholders
• Collaborate with internal partners in drafting, investigating, researching, and advising with respect to contracts, disputes, compliance, products, laws and regulations

Required Education

• Juris Doctorate Degree

Required Experience

• 7 years relevant experience

Required Licenses/Certifications

• Admitted to the Bar

Preferred Competencies/Skills

• Emphasize a client-first mindset and messaging in all meetings and client interaction
• Utilize effective research and investigative techniques
• Communicate information in a clear, well-organized, and professional manner
• Legal analysis and writing
• Effectively and efficiently present logic, reasoning, and analysis to others
• Utilize established procedures to guide decision-making
• Anticipate obstacles and challenges, identify root cause and strategize plans to address
• Manage and prioritize competing responsibilities concurrently and effectively
• Demonstrated ability to think critically; exercise sound judgement
• Proven track record of identifying legal issues and providing accurate and timely legal advice to a variety of stakeholders that result in decreased legal risk to the organization.
• Evaluate causal relationships
• Ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong
• Escalate issues when necessary
• Follow established guidelines to focus on details and complete tasks attentively and thoroughly
• Maintain admission to the bar by participating in required continuing legal education

Preferred Experience

• At least 10 years proven experience in handling insurance coverage and bad faith litigation and policy interpretation at a top tier law firm and in-house at a Fortune 500 insurance company.

Preferred Knowledge

• Laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, and agency rules.
• Business acumen
• Policies, practices, trends, and information affecting the business and organization
• Litigation methodologies and best practices

Compensation Package

The salary range for this role is provided above. This is the national range for location(s) listed. The salary offer will be decided based on the role's complexity, its location, and the candidate’s professional background, including their education and experience. Beyond the base salary, regular full-time and part-time employees will also be eligible for QBE's annual discretionary bonus plan based on business and individual performance.

QBE Benefits

We offer a range of benefits to help provide holistic support for your work life, whatever your circumstances. As a QBE employee you will have access to:

• Hybrid Working – a mix of working from home and in the office
• 22 weeks of paid leave for family growth, with 12 weeks available to all parents on a gender-equal basis
• Competitive 401(k) program with company match up to 8%
• Well-being program including holistic wellbeing coaching, gym membership, confidential counselling, financial and legal advice
• Tuition Reimbursement for professional certifications, and continuing education
• Employee Network and Community – QBE actively supports six Employee Networks, and many ways to give back to your community

Why QBE? What if you could have a positive impact – at work and in the world?

At QBE, we're enabling a more resilient future – for our customers, communities, environment, and for our people. We're building momentum to achieve something significant and know our people are at the center of our success. Our industry offers interesting and varied careers where you can help people to protect what matters most. As part of the QBE team, you'll get to spend every day working with people who are passionate, talented and kind. And our international scale means we're big enough for your ambitions, yet small enough for you to make a real impact.

Commitment to Diversity

QBE is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to, among others, individuals with disabilities and disabled veterans. If you need an accommodation because of a disability to search and apply for a career opportunity with QBE, please inform our Talent Acquisition team to let us know the nature of your accommodation request and your contact information.

Equal Employment Opportunity

QBE provides equal employment opportunities to applicants and employees without regard to race; color; gender; gender identity; sexual orientation; religious practices and observances; national origin; pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions; protected veteran status; or disability or any other legally protected status.

QBE is an equal opportunity employer and is required to comply with equal employment opportunity legislation in each jurisdiction it operates.

Skills

Business Law, Communication, Contract Management, Critical Thinking, Intentional collaboration, Legal Consulting, Legal Documents, Legal Risk, Litigation Management, Managing performance, Negotiation, Research Analysis, Sound Judgment, Stakeholder Management, Team Management

https://www.linkedin.com/company/qbe-north-america/