Associate General Counsel, Litigation

Job description

Tasks

About Us

Mercedes-Benz is USA is responsible for the sales, marketing and service of all Mercedes-Benz and Maybach products in the United States. In our people, you will find tremendous commitment to our corporate values. Our products and employees reflect this dedication. We are looking for diverse top-notch individuals to join the Mercedes-Benz Team and uphold these hallmarks.

Job Overview

Leads MBUSA’s litigation and disputes function and serves as the senior legal advisor responsible for significant litigation, investigations, pre-litigation disputes, and related enterprise risk. Directs strategy, staffing, discovery, witness preparation, outside counsel, and resolution of high-impact matters, while ensuring that lessons from disputes are translated into practical business and process improvements.

Responsibilities

• Lead the defense and strategic management of significant product liability, warranty and lemon law, class action, employment, commercial, financial services, intellectual property, advertising, and other litigation assigned to the function.
• Establish case strategy, settlement posture, trial strategy, discovery approach, privilege protections, and escalation protocols for material matters.
• Manage internal investigations, document preservation and collection, witness identification and preparation, expert strategy, and coordination with business and technical functions.
• Select, direct, evaluate, and manage outside counsel, experts, e-discovery providers, and other litigation vendors; control quality, cost, and adherence to company strategy.
• Advise the General Counsel and senior management regarding material litigation exposure, reserves, trends, reputational risk, and business implications.
• Lead and develop attorneys and legal professionals assigned to Litigation; allocate work, ensure consistency, and maintain succession and coverage plans.
• Coordinate with Product Regulatory, Product Compliance, Commercial Affairs, Dealer & Network, Compliance, and business teams where disputes implicate their areas, without assuming their primary counseling or governance responsibilities.
• Use litigation outcomes and claim trends to recommend improvements to product, customer, marketing, employment, record-management, and operational practices.
• Support cross-entity matters and Mercedes-Benz affiliates where MBUSA expertise, witnesses, documents, or coordinated litigation strategy are required. Qualifications .Qualifications
• Juris Doctor from an accredited U.S. law school.
• Active membership in good standing in at least one U.S. state bar.
• At least 10 years of progressively responsible legal experience, including substantial in-house or equivalent business-facing experience. for internal HR review
• Demonstrated ability to advise senior executives, lead complex matters, exercise independent judgment, and communicate legal risk in practical business terms.
• Experience leading attorneys or other professionals and managing outside counsel or specialist providers.

Preferred Qualifications

• Major law-firm litigation experience combined with in-house automotive, manufacturing, consumer products, or financial services experience.
• First-chair, trial, multidistrict, class action, government investigation, and high-volume litigation-management experience.
• Experience managing geographically dispersed teams and portfolios with substantial annual outside-counsel spend.

Role Scope And Compensation Factors

• Enterprise accountability for litigation with potentially material financial, operational, regulatory, and reputational consequences.
• Leadership of a specialized team and a high-volume national portfolio requiring prioritization across individual claims and bet-the-company matters.
• Frequent interaction with senior executives, regulators, technical witnesses, outside counsel, experts, and Mercedes-Benz affiliates. Additional Information This job description describes the principal responsibilities of the role and is not an exhaustive list.

Responsibilities may evolve based on business needs, organizational changes, and allocation of work within Mercedes-Benz North America. EEO Statement Mercedes-Benz North America Corporation is committed to fostering an inclusive environment that appreciates and leverages the diversity of our team.

We provide equal employment opportunity (EEO) to all qualified applicants and employees without regard to race, color, ethnicity, gender, age, national origin, religion, marital status, veteran status, physical or other disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law.