Job Description

Role Value Proposition: 

The position is in the Claims Litigation Unit of the Litigation Section.  The attorney in this position will be responsible for handling a broad range of litigation and pre-litigation matters relating to claims for benefits under MetLife’s disability and life insurance benefit products, including group disability, group life, long-term care, accident, and health and dental.  The attorney provides pre-litigation and litigation advice to several key business areas including US Business and Claims.

The candidate must be able to provide excellent legal advice and representation, have demonstrated a high degree of discretion and judgment, have the intellectual curiosity to keep abreast of the changing legal climate on issues relevant to a global provider of income and protection products and services, and have a strong commitment to personal growth and demonstrating leadership.  Experience in some or all the following litigation areas strongly preferred in addition to e-discovery experience:  ERISA claims litigation, bad faith insurance claims litigation, federal court litigation and class actions.     

Key Responsibilities:

Responsible for advising internal business clients with respect to risks presented by actual and threatened litigation, managing and resolving those risks, identifying opportunities to improve processes and business practices which will mitigate risk and better protect the Company, and developing and presenting related training.   
Responsible for meeting e-discovery obligations (including managing legal holds, custodian interviews and appropriate preservations, collections and review)   
Responsible for end-to-end litigation management in addition to discovery including research and writing, reviewing briefs, managing outside counsel, developing and executing cost effective litigation strategy including early case resolution whenever appropriate, budgeting and reviewing outside counsel invoices, negotiating settlements, preparing witnesses for deposition and trial, and negotiating directly with claimant’s counsel on some threatened litigation matters.   
Responsible for establishing litigation reserves and ensuring that MetLife meets its disclosure obligations.   

Essential Business Experience and Technical Skills:

Required:

   JD degree from accredited law school
   Admission to a state bar and ability to register as in-house counsel   
   3+ years of related experience
   Excellent analytical and organizational skills   
   Superior oral and written communications skills   
   Demonstrated record of attention to detail, sense of urgency, ability to handle substantial workload effectively (i.e., establish priorities, adhere to deadlines)   
   Willingness to partner with colleagues and business partners to contribute to success of the Litigation Section, Legal Affairs, and MetLife   
   Ability to thrive as a team member and individual contributor in a high-performance culture   
   Ability to provide creative input in culture of continuous improvement with respect to policies and procedures of Legal Affairs and our business partners.   

Preferred:

   ERISA claims litigation and/or insurance bad faith litigation    
   Class action experience
   General litigation experience including drafting motions and briefs, arguing motions and appeals, taking and defending depositions, attending mediations and settlement conferences
   Experience with medical records or testimony or disability or injury claims  

MetLife: