Director, Litigation

WCF Insurance is an “A” rated, innovative property and casualty carrier with more than a century of experience serving businesses across the Western United States. Since 1917, we have built our reputation on doing the right thing, being great at what we do, and helping others succeed. As we continue to grow, we are looking for individuals who share these values and want to contribute to delivering an excellent insurance experience.

Position This exempt leadership position reports to the VP, Assistant General Counsel - Litigation and directs WCF's litigation strategy and legal services for commercial liability, commercial auto, property, and workers' compensation matters across Utah, Idaho, Arizona, and Colorado.

The director leads WCF's litigation team, advises Claims and senior leadership on significant matters, and oversees the effective delivery of litigation services. Success means achieving sound legal outcomes, developing strong legal talent, managing litigation risk and cost, and building a scalable litigation function that supports WCF's growth.

This is a full-time, exempt position based out of WCF Insurance's Sandy headquarters. This position is open to external and internal candidates.

Responsibilities

• Set and execute litigation strategy for commercial liability, commercial auto, property, and workers' compensation matters, including complex, high-exposure, extra-contractual, and coverage disputes.
• Provide timely, practical legal advice to Claims and senior leaders on liability, coverage, damages, reserving considerations, litigation risk, settlement posture, and emerging legal trends.
• Lead, develop, and manage litigation attorneys, paralegals, and other legal professionals; establish clear expectations and promote collaboration, accountability, and high-quality legal service.
• Serve as lead counsel in civil and administrative matters when needed, including mediations, arbitrations, settlement conferences, trials, depositions, hearings, and appeals.
• Develop, implement, and continuously improve litigation-management guidelines, escalation criteria, case-review practices, and reporting standards.
• Select, retain, onboard, manage, and evaluate panel counsel and experts; establish expectations for strategy, staffing, diversity, budgets, communication, and results.
• Manage litigation spend and operational performance through matter budgets, invoice review, forecasting, benchmarking, and key performance indicators such as cycle time, legal expense, trial results, and resolution outcomes.
• Lead strategic case reviews and partner with claims professionals on early case assessment, alternative dispute resolution, settlement authority, trial preparation, and post-matter learning.
• Oversee legal holds, subpoenas, discovery, e-discovery, and document-preservation practices in partnership with internal stakeholders and outside counsel.
• Build scalable legal operations through litigation-management technology, standardized workflows, dashboards, knowledge management, and responsible process automation.
• Monitor relevant laws, regulations, and case developments and deliver targeted training and guidance to Claims, Legal, Underwriting, Product, Compliance, and business leaders.
• Ensure effective outside-counsel performance, disciplined legal spend, sound litigation outcomes, and timely escalation of material litigation risk.
• Build and sustain an effective litigation team through appropriate staffing, clear performance expectations, coaching, professional development, knowledge sharing, and succession planning.
• Exercise independent judgment on significant matters and ensure appropriate strategy, staffing, budgets, settlement evaluation, documentation, escalation, and executive visibility.

Qualifications

• Juris Doctor degree from an ABA-accredited law school.
• Active membership in the Utah State Bar in good standing, with eligibility and willingness to obtain admission or in-house counsel authorization in other applicable jurisdictions.
• At least eight years of progressively responsible litigation experience involving property and casualty insurance, including commercial liability, commercial auto, property, workers' compensation, insurance coverage, or complex claims; meaningful insurer-side or in-house experience preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to serve as lead counsel in complex civil or administrative matters and to set case strategy, assess liability and damages, negotiate resolutions, and manage trial and appellate risk.
• Experience leading, developing, and managing attorneys, paralegals, or other legal professionals, and influencing claims professionals and cross-functional teams.
• Experience selecting and managing outside counsel and experts, enforcing litigation guidelines, reviewing budgets and invoices, and using performance data to improve outcomes and control legal spend.
• Working knowledge of e-discovery, legal holds, litigation-management systems, matter reporting, and responsible use of legal technology.
• Strong business judgment, executive communication, negotiation, collaboration, and decision-making skills, with the ability to translate complex legal issues into clear, practical, and commercially sound recommendations.

Short-Term Incentive In addition to the base salary, Directors are eligible for WCF’s short-term incentive plan.

Benefits

WCF Insurance offers an extensive compensation package. Benefits include:

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance.
• Company paid life insurance
• 401K with a generous 6% employer match
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Time off to volunteer in the local community
• All employees earn 4 weeks of vacation their first year.

The expected salary range for this position is 155,600.00-194,500.00. This salary range depends on experience, education, and location for this specific position. Current WCF Employees Please apply through the "Internal Job Postings" tab within your employee Workday account.

Values The person in this position must demonstrate the WCF values of doing the right thing, being great at your job, and helping others succeed to fulfill the company’s mission of excellence.

Working Conditions This position is based in an office environment with adequate temperature and lighting control. There are no known hazardous or unpleasant conditions caused by noise, dust, or other environmental factors. There are potentially high-stress situations that require meeting deadlines. The employee must meet the job attendance requirements for this position.

Our People WCF strives to provide an excellent work experience and cultivate an inclusive environment where anyone who embodies our values will thrive.

WCF Insurance is an Equal Opportunity Employer WCF Insurance provides equal employment opportunity to all qualified applicants and employees regardless of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, veteran status, disability that can be reasonably accommodated, or any other basis prohibited by federal, state, or local law.