What Can You Expect in This Role?

• Act as senior legal counsel in claims litigation matters for mid to high complexity files, which includes attending at trials and appeals, contested motions, cross-examinations, examinations for discovery and mediations, preparing court documents, reviewing and analyzing evidence, interviewing witnesses, conducting out-of-court examinations/questionings, acting in mediations or other ADR, engaging and instructing medical,financial and technical experts, surveillance and other third parties supporting litigation, client reporting and providing legal opinions and devising recommended strategies, negotiating settlements and drafting settlement documents, and working with and delegation to support staff
• Contributing to development of overall Claims Litigation Unit strategies and policies
• Play an advisory role to Definity's Claims department in relation to claims litigation
• Travel as needed for claims litigation files
• Provide mentorship, training and support to junior and intermediate claims counsel as well as our claims partnerson all aspects of file handling and strategy, advanced legal practices, and courtroom strategy
• Provide mentorship to law clerks and assistants, as necessary
• Provide high-level advice to Claims department on litigation handling, strategy, and risk management; providing educational seminars to Claims staff on litigation topics that support the development of Claims staff who are responsible for claims that involve litigation or are expected to lead to litigation.

What Do You Bring to The Role?

• Minimum 10+, ideally 12+ years of post-call experience working in civil litigation, ideally personal injury or insurance litigation with a law firm or in-house legal provider
• Trial experience will be preferred
• Experience handling complex claims, contested motions or appeals
• Experience with complex matters while handling full caseload with primary carriage
• Law Degree from an accredited law school (LLB or Juris Doctor)
• Licensed by and in good standing with the Law Society of Ontario
• Strong advocacy skills
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office, including Word and PowerPoint
• Exceptional verbal and written communication skills across a range of contexts
• Excellent negotiation and facilitation skills with a proven capability for effective presentation tools/methods
• Sound judgment, with the ability to critically analyze situations, problem-solve, and deal with ambiguity and have the ability to provide meaningful advice and recommendations
• Ability to perform under pressure, meet deadlines and handle multiple, yet sometimes conflicting priorities
• High degree of personal ethics, integrity and responsibility with an ability to deal with sensitive issues and safeguard confidential information
• Assertiveness in practice, but reasonable and forthright
• Team player, adaptable to a changing environment