Strategic Mass Tort Settlement Operations Lead

Barnes & Thornburg LLP; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Barnes & Thornburg LLP seeks a Settlement Operations Manager to oversee the firm’s mass tort settlement programs, designing intake, tracking, QA, and reporting procedures. You will serve as the subject matter expert for case management and settlement systems and translate needs into technical requirements for vendors and IT teams.

The role requires moving beyond case-specific support to coordinating systems, building procedures, and standardizing practices across teams, with oversight from

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree and 5+ years of relevant experience in mass torts, complex litigation, settlement administration, insurance claims, or a comparable high-volume claims environment. Paralegal certification is a plus, but is not required.
• Demonstrated experience building, documenting, or standardizing processes across multiple teams or matters, as distinct from supporting a single case or matter.
• Significant experience with legal case management, claims, or CRM systems, such as Case Manager Pro, Litify, or Filevine, or with other SQL- or database-backed claims and litigation platforms, including a working understanding of how relational case and claim data is structured.
• Working knowledge of settlement administration mechanics, including claimant inventories, releases, lien resolution, QSF administration, and payment tracking.
• Advanced Excel skills (e.g., pivot tables, lookups, data validation) and the ability to build, interpret, and maintain recurring reporting.
• Proven track record managing high-volume data and identifying inconsistencies across large medical and claims datasets and legal documentation.
• Proficiency in, or a strong aptitude for, emerging legal AI tools for document review, data extraction, and reporting.
• Excellent organization, detail orientation, problem-solving, and time management skills, with the ability to work independently and as part of a fast-paced, high-performing team.
• Demonstrated ability to handle and manage confidential and sensitive information with discretion and professionalism.

Responsibilities

• Settlement Support: Provide high-level technical and administrative support for mass tort settlements, including data management and reporting.
• Cross-Matter Systems Expertise: Serve as the practice's primary subject matter expert on the team’s case management and settlement tracking systems.
• Protocols and Standardization: Design, document, and maintain the intake, data entry, tracking, and reporting protocols used by the settlement teams, at the direction of the attorneys managing the matters.
• Quality Assurance: Administer the quality assurance process for settlement data; define tests, run QA and exception reporting, issue findings, and track remediation.
• Claims Intake: Lead intake of case and claim information, including coordination with plaintiff's firms on claimant data submission, format, and completeness.
• Data In and Out: Administer the import, export, batch update, and reporting workflows the settlement teams depend on; identify new capability needs.
• Requirements and Build Partnership: Translate business requirements to tech; participate in design, perform acceptance testing, and ensure usability.
• Systems Synchronization: Maintain alignment of claim and settlement data across firm systems and third-party portals; validate status and milestones.
• Financial Tracking: Maintain settlement payment tracking as system of record with audit-ready records.
• Lien Resolution and QSF Coordination: Coordinate healthcare, lien resolution, and QSF data with settlement admins and clients.
• External Coordination: Act as data contact for settlement administrators, lien vendors, and counsel under attorney supervision.
• Training and Enablement: Train lead paralegals and staff on protocols and system use; maintain reference docs.
• Other General Duties: Perform other duties related to settlement operations as assigned.

Skills

Mass torts experience

Process standardization

Case management systems

Excel proficiency

Data analysis

Confidential information handling

Education

Bachelor's degree

Paralegal certification (plus)

Tools

Case Manager Pro

Litify

Filevine

SQL / databases

Job description

Barnes & Thornburg LLP seeks a Settlement Operations Manager to oversee the firm’s mass tort settlement programs, designing intake, tracking, QA, and reporting procedures. You will serve as the subject matter expert for case management and settlement systems and translate needs into technical requirements for vendors and IT teams.

The role requires moving beyond case-specific support to coordinating systems, building procedures, and standardizing practices across teams, with oversight from