Inhouse Counsel - Insurance & Claims - 12 month Fixed Term Contract

EMEA
International Operations
Leeds
Fixed Term

Practice Group/Global Operations team: International Operations

Type of vacancy: Fixed Term Contract – 12 months

Full time/Part time: Full time (Part-Time considered)

Location: Leeds (Working from Manchester considered)

About Eversheds Sutherland

Eversheds Sutherland represents the combination of two firms with a shared culture, values and commitment to client service excellence. We are each known for our commercial awareness and industry knowledge and for providing innovative and tailored solutions for every client.

As a full-service law practice, we act for the public and private sector across the UK, Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia and the US providing legal advice to clients across the Company Commercial, Employment, Labour & Pensions, Litigation and Dispute Management, and Real Estate practices.

With over 70 offices across more than 30 countries worldwide, we have become one of the largest law practices in the world and a great place to work and develop your career.

Europe

We have offices in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Nordics and Baltics, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Eastern Europe and the UK. We deal constantly with large-scale projects involving multiple jurisdictions as well as countless day-to-day activities that help our clients manage their operations across the world.

We have local knowledge, combined with an international overview, and complex European work is handled by some of the leading lawyers in the business. Our multi-office structure also gives us the flexibility to apply creative and competitive pricing solutions. From our European offices, we specialize in many areas. These include: banking, litigation/international arbitration, competition and regulatory, tax, financial services (including insurance, pensions and funds advisory), M&A and private equity, major international infrastructure projects.

In addition, we have experts in sectors such as industrials, real estate, consumer, energy and transport and technology.

The Governance & Compliance Team

The Governance & Compliance Team consists of the firm’s in-house counsel team headed by the Chief Governance Officer and General Counsel working with lawyers and other colleagues around the business to develop and implement effective policies and procedures and ensure compliance with new legislative and regulatory requirements. The Governance & Compliance Team also manages the firm’s insurance, claims, contractual and commercial arrangements with clients, suppliers and other third parties, new business intake and conflict management, legal and regulatory compliance (including privacy) and the firm’s ISO9001 accreditation. The Governance & Compliance Team is successfully creating a robust framework for managing risk across all parts of our business, which continues to expand internationally.

The Role

The role is to work within the Insurance and Claims team, as part of the Governance & Compliance function, primarily to support in the investigation, reporting and acting for the firm in relation to professional indemnity claims and circumstances from any jurisdiction.

Supporting the Director of Insurance and Claims and Senior In-House Counsel, you will work in a team of 9 people with differing levels of experience. You will respond to day-to-day queries from the firm on potential claim issues and provide supervision and guidance to junior members of the team. You will need to provide high-quality, commercial and strategic advice whilst working in a fast-paced environment.

The team works closely with lawyers and other colleagues around the business to tailor our insurance cover to business requirements, to investigate and resolve claims, and to develop training and risk management policies and guidance based on our experience. The team reports to and actively engages with insurers and senior management.

The role also involves supporting the firm on any civil claims which may arise and the wider Governance & Compliance team with internal investigations and complaints and strategic projects when required.

You will have constant interaction with partners, legal advisers and business colleagues at all levels across the firm as well as clients and colleagues in our International Operations functions. You will be dealing with contacts in all Eversheds Sutherland offices and will gain profile and reputation with them. This is an international role.

You will support the annual insurance renewal processes for the firm worldwide as required and deal with a range of insurance queries. You will build strong relationships with our brokers and insurers. You will support the business in the management of these policies and any claims or cover queries arising. 

Key responsibilities:

  • Work as an in-house legal adviser to the business and to insurers (in accordance with our claims handling agreements) to investigate professional indemnity risks and other claims arising across the business
  • Manage a large and varied caseload of matters at differing stages
  • Contribute to internal reporting and risk management training and advice
  • Liaise with the wider Governance & Compliance team on regulatory compliance, ethics, data protection and complaints issues which arise from professional indemnity notifications
  • Work with other members of the Governance & Compliance team and wider business as required to support with strategic projects and initiatives in the delivery of the firm’s objectives
  • Support with the annual insurance renewal processes as required
  • Understand the firm’s insurance policies and respond to day-to-day queries from the firm on coverage and potential claims issues

Skills & Competencies required

Skills & Experience required:

  • Qualified solicitor with at least 3 years’ post qualified experience (PQE)
  • Experience in professional negligence claims or a strong litigation background
  • Good communication skills, both written and verbal, and the ability to deliver sensitive messages tactfully when required
  • Good negotiation skills
  • Strong commercial and financial awareness
  • Adopts a pragmatic and innovative approach to meeting client/business needs
  • Ability to think independently, contribute to projects and confidently engage with colleagues at all levels
  • Attention to detail and a passion for delivering to the highest standard
  • Strong organisational skills
  • Excellent time management skills
  • Enjoys working under pressure and meeting tight deadlines
  • Enjoys working with a wide range of people
  • Excellent level of IT and systems literacy
  • Foreign language skills would be advantageous

Key competencies:

  • Ability to work effectively in a small team and with a range of other colleagues, brokers and insurers around the world
  • A lively, energetic personality and enthusiasm for providing quality and excellent client service
  • A tenacious yet practical approach to problem solving
  • Excited and challenged by the pace and demands of a corporate environment
  • Good commercial awareness
  • Good interpersonal skills
  • A high degree of flexibility and responsiveness in approach to work
  • Service-orientated with an ability to understand the varied issues facing the offices across the firm’s network and provide possible solutions to challenges
  • Resilient under pressure and willing to work with the challenges brought by change

Diversity and Inclusion

At Eversheds Sutherland, we recognise that having diverse talent across our business brings many benefits, and we are committed to accessing a wide range of views and thinking in all that we do. A culture of inclusion, where each person feels able to be their true self at work and reach their full potential is key. We recognise that bringing together the perspectives of individuals of all backgrounds, life experiences, preferences and beliefs is critical if we are to serve our global client base, people and communities as a leading global legal practice.

Should you require any reasonable adjustments to enable participation in the recruitment process, please contact us so that we can discuss how best to assist.

We are open to considering flexible working options for our vacancies. Whilst we are not able to offer flexible working across all of our roles, many of our people work flexibly in some way, and we would encourage you to talk to us about this during the hiring process if you would like to explore further.

We are a LGBT+ inclusive employer and are Stonewall Corporate Champions.

This opportunity is closed to applications.