AVP, Contingent Liability Legal – P&C

Overview

This role provides strategic leadership and senior legal guidance for the Property & Casualty (P&C) contingent-liability portfolio, including matters such as bad-faith allegations, extra-contractual exposure, complex coverage disputes, and other high-risk litigation.

The Associate Vice President serves as a trusted advisor to Claims, Legal, Finance, Underwriting, Reinsurance, Compliance, and business leadership, providing enterprise-level oversight of litigation risk, governance, financial exposure, and resolution strategy. The role focuses on portfolio oversight, escalation support, governance, resource direction, and organizational leadership rather than day-to-day management of individual matters.

Responsibilities

Strategic Litigation and Portfolio Leadership

• Provide executive oversight of the contingent-liability portfolio, including matters involving significant financial, operational, regulatory, or reputational risk.
• Establish priorities, governance standards, escalation protocols, and resource strategies for complex litigation and claims-related disputes.
• Direct legal strategy for significant bad-faith, extra-contractual, coverage, and related litigation matters, including settlement, mediation, trial, and appeals considerations.
• Ensure coordinated, consistent approaches across internal legal teams, Claims organizations, and outside counsel.

Risk Management and Business Advisory

• Identify emerging legal and business risks and provide practical, strategic guidance to mitigate exposure.
• Advise leadership on legal, regulatory, financial, operational, and reputational implications of claims practices, litigation positions, and business initiatives.
• Develop governance frameworks, decision-making standards, and best practices to support consistent, defensible outcomes across the enterprise.
• Partner with key stakeholders to address evolving legal, regulatory, and industry developments.

Financial and Outside Counsel Oversight

• Oversee significant litigation exposure, reserve evaluations, legal spend, and financial reporting related to contingent-liability matters.
• Provide strategic guidance regarding reserve adequacy, settlement authority, and litigation budgets.
• Establish standards for the selection, management, and performance of outside counsel.
• Promote accountability, budget discipline, and efficient resource utilization across the portfolio.

Leadership and Talent Development

• Lead, coach, and develop attorneys and legal professionals responsible for complex litigation matters.
• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, sound judgment, and continuous improvement.
• Provide strategic support and escalation assistance to matter-responsible attorneys while promoting professional development and knowledge sharing.
• Align team resources and capabilities with enterprise priorities and emerging risks.

Enterprise Influence and Continuous Improvement

• Build and maintain strong partnerships across Legal, Claims, Finance, Underwriting, Reinsurance, Compliance, and business leadership.
• Communicate complex legal and business issues clearly and effectively to senior stakeholders.

Additional Responsibilities

• May perform other responsibilities as assigned.

Requirements

• Juris Doctorate from an American Bar Association-accredited law school.
• Licensure/Certification/Designation: Attorneys reporting within the Office of the Chief Legal Officer (OCLO) and functioning in attorney roles must be fully licensed in accordance with OCLO policy, in good standing, and in compliance with all continuing legal education requirements at all times in the state(s) in which they practice.
• Experience: 10 to 15 years of relevant legal and P&C insurance experience.
• Additional expectations:
  • Experience working on corporate matters with senior executives.
  • Strong business and financial acuity.
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
  • Ability to analyze and communicate sophisticated legal concepts and provide advice in a pragmatic and easy-to-understand manner.
  • Ability to collaborate, lead, and influence across teams and at all levels.
  • Excellent interpersonal skills with ability to build organizational talent.

Preferred Qualifications

• Other criteria, including leadership skills, proficiencies, and experiences may take precedence.
• Staffing exceptions to the education/licensure/experience requirements must be approved by the hiring manager’s leader and HR Business Partner.

Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range

• National salary range (AVP, Contingent Liability Legal – P&C): $175,000.00–$326,000.00
• Expected starting salary range: $175,000.00–$291,000.00

Placement within the starting salary range is determined by factors including skills, education, training, credentials, experience, and the scope, complexity, and location of the role, as well as market labor costs and other conditions of employment.

Benefits

• Medical/dental/vision
• Life insurance
• Short- and long-term disability coverage
• Paid time off (minimum of 18 days paid time off each full calendar year for newly hired associates, pro-rated quarterly based on hire date)
• Nine paid holidays
• 8 hours of Lifetime paid time off
• 8 hours of Unity Day paid time off
• 401(k) with company match
• Company-paid pension plan
• Business casual attire, and more

Location

• Preferred hybrid in Columbus, OH; remote will be considered.
• This position could be filled within any of the lower 48 U.S. states.

Job Conditions

• Overtime Eligibility: Not Eligible (Exempt)
• Working Conditions: Normal office environment; some travel may be required.
• ADA: Statements cover principal and essential functions; specific circumstances may allow or require some people assigned to the job to perform a somewhat different combination of duties.

Application Timing

• Applications are currently anticipated to be accepted until 10/25/2026 (early submissions are encouraged; the posting may close sooner if a strong candidate slate is identified before the deadline).