Professional Indemnity Associate Director

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an Associate Director Professional Indemnity to join a highly respected legal team in London on a 12-month fixed-term contract, covering maternity leave. You will be part of a knowledgeable and supportive Office of General Counsel team, responsible for managing contentious professional indemnity and risk matters across the UK and EMEA.

Job responsibilities:

• Manage the annual placement and renewal of global professional risk insurance programmes, including professional indemnity, management liability, cyber risk, and speciality products in conjunction with brokers and internal teams.
• Maintain strong working relationships with Office Managing Partners across the UK & EMEA, Office of General Counsel lawyers, business services staff, and integrate compulsory local professional risk insurance policies into the global programme.
• Provide strategic advice on handling serious and complex claims or potential claims by identifying appropriate external legal counsel and ensuring effective management of notifications with insurers and brokers.
• Supervise the PI team in managing live claims, potential claims, ancillary litigation arising from business operations or annual PI trawls, ensuring seamless reporting and management both locally and centrally.
• Collaborate with General Counsels, CFOO, Finance teams, auditors, and internal communications teams to ensure financial implications of claims are fully provided for and manage public relations issues related to contentious risk matters.
• Act as complaints counsel leading responses to professional complaints under relevant policies in the UK & EMEA while overseeing general management of this area.
• Deliver technical and legal support for general insurance programmes including travel, contents, business interruption, commercial contracts or Outside Counsel Guidelines.
• Build and maintain professional relationships with insurance brokers, insurers, peers in the sector; resolve practice risk and compliance issues with partners worldwide; collaborate with IT teams to improve efficiency in insurance processes.
• Lead holistic professional risk management approaches across UK & EMEA by liaising with Legal & Regulatory leadership to develop policy guidance, process improvements, internal training and education initiatives.
• Contribute to quarterly reports for Board or Audit & Risk Committee; present monthly updates to CFOO; appear before regulators or clients as required while maintaining privilege issues.

Person requirements:

• A Bachelor's or Master's degree qualification (or equivalent) demonstrating proven understanding of issues arising within commercial legal practice.
• Significant experience (ideally 5 years'+) managing contentious risk issues in an international commercial law environment; delivering legal advice to senior lawyers; experience in insurance is helpful.
• Ability to define strategic direction for senior management teams; excellent stakeholder management skills including mediation as required; influencing others collaboratively across boundaries at all levels.
• Proactive thinker who anticipates problems; develops commercially aligned solutions; maintains service ethic; manages issues discreetly with sensitivity.
• Technical expertise in legislative/regulatory regimes such as SRA Code of Conduct for Solicitors/RELs/RFLs/Firms; SRA Indemnity Insurance Rules 2013; experience dealing with complex indemnity issues in international contexts.
• Excellent verbal/written communication skills including presentation development/delivery; ability to communicate complex legal/commercial risks clearly to varied audiences.
• Experience leading or contributing to cross-functional teams delivering strategic/cultural change; ability to inspire busy lawyers through engaging training scenarios.

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