Head of Litigation & Disputes Strategy, North America

The team you will be a part of

This role in summary

Whirlpool Corporation is seeking a Head of Litigation & Disputes Strategy for our North America Region (US & Canada) to drive the strategy for and execution of successful outcomes across its highly visible and complex disputes portfolio, with a particular focus on product and consumer class actions, product liability, asbestos, commercial matters, product-regulatory / environmental compliance support, and pre-litigation claims. This role will also provide strategic support for intellectual property litigation, privacy and data security related disputes, trade remedies, labor/employment, and governmental investigations. 

Reporting to the General Counsel for North America, the role will also proactively lead dispute risk mitigation projects and provide strategic counsel on product quality, safety, and other legal risks to advance Whirlpool's strategy and protect the company's interests primarily within the region.

Your responsibilities will include

• Setting Strategy and Delivering Results on Disputes Portfolio

  • Strategic oversight of a portfolio of complex litigation matters, pre-litigation disputes, and government investigations across diverse substantive areas, including consumer and product liability, asbestos, class actions, and commercial matters, as well as intellectual property litigation, product-regulatory / environmental, privacy and data security related disputes, trade remedies, labor/employment, and governmental investigations, as needed

  • Cultivate and manage relationships with Whirlpool’s valued and strategic external law firm partners, including managing performance against Whirlpool’s service level and success requirements; efficiently manage and improve processes related to the bench of our external legal counsel and collaborate closely with internal finance teams to drive predictability in litigation forecasting, reserves, and actual financial performance

  • Lead, develop, implement, and continually refine a comprehensive strategy across the North America litigation portfolio and dispute processes to effectively manage and mitigate significant legal risks, aligning with the company's business objectives and risk tolerance, including setting offensive and defensive strategies, overseeing or leading settlement negotiations, mediations, and arbitrations, evaluating settlement offers against Whirlpool’s objectives and developing pragmatic and strategic recommendations for Whirlpool's leadership teams

  • Drive a culture of continuous improvement, identifying opportunities for automation, artificial intelligence, and enabling efficient use of internal and external resources to drive successful outcomes

  • Collaborate with key internal stakeholders, including communications and business teams, on internal and external communications strategies related to disputes
    
    

• Lead Dispute Risk Mitigation Projects & Strategic Counsel on Dispute Risks

  • Collaborate with law department colleagues on dispute-resolution and embedding litigation-avoidance strategies within business processes

  • Provide direction, strategy and legal advice to the business on dispute resolution issues impacting Whirlpool’s imperatives and operations

  • Bring a data-driven and proactive approach to lead quality, safety, and dispute risk-mitigation projects that help advance Whirlpool’s strategy and protect the company
    
    

• Work Effectively with Business Leaders

  • Work collaboratively with business partners and law department colleagues to ensure goal alignment on major projects, legal and business strategies, resources and communications

  • Communicate with business leaders and internal clients on updates, strategy, and alignment

  • Partner with internal finance and accounting teams on cost management and trends

Minimum requirements

• Juris Doctor (JD) from an accredited law school, with strong academic credentials and active membership in good standing of at least one U.S. state bar

• 10+ years of progressive litigation and litigation management experience in consumer and product liability defense, class actions, commercial litigation, and/or governmental investigations

Preferred skills and experiences

• Experience developing and guiding “parallel” litigation activities including company communications, public relations, and government relations

• Demonstrated ability to achieve results as a leader or member of a cross functional team

• Experience managing complex product liability, asbestos, class action,and/or commercial litigation from inception through resolution, including trial experience.

• Superior intellect, with the ability to think critically and make clear and well-reasoned decisions, and see and handle more than the legal issues of a project

• Pragmatic business acumen with the ability to recognize the business consequences of legal advice

• Experience with presenting and counseling senior leaders on disputes matters and strategies

• Capable of prioritizing and managing a large volume of concurrent projects

• Strong analytical, research, organization and management skills

• Exceptional interpersonal and communication (both written and oral) skills

• Prior top tier law firm experience a plus

• In-house experience a plus

• International experience a plus

What we offer

Additional information

Whirlpool’s Ways of Working

Our goal is to provide an environment that helps you bring your best to Whirlpool every day. While employees in this role work in-person Monday through Friday. We offer flexibility and industry leading time-off benefits that will help you balance what’s important at work and at home, including:

• Always On Flexibility - You will have the autonomy to manage personal, family, and outside-of-work commitments as needed. 

• Two-Week Work from Anywhere - Minimum of one-week increments for a total of two weeks per year.

• Sabbatical - Four weeks paid leave after every five years of service.

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