Senior Director, Claims Legal

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The Opportunity  

The Senior Director of Claims Legal will serve as the senior legal leader for Root’s Claims organization. This role will oversee all legal aspects of claims operations, litigation management, compliance, and risk mitigation, while serving as a strategic advisor to both the General Counsel and Claims Leadership. The Senior Director will oversee our internal claims legal team and be responsible for building and managing a scalable external panel counsel program, ensuring quality, alignment with Root’s litigation philosophy, and cost efficiency. 

Salary Range: $197,634 - $247,043 (Bonus & LTI Eligible)

How You Will Make an Impact

• Claims Legal Oversight

  • Provide day-to-day legal counsel to Root’s Claims organization, including coverage issues, liability assessment, bad faith prevention, and regulatory compliance.

  • Review and guide litigation strategy across all claim types (property damage, bodily injury, PIP, UM/UIM, subrogation) ensuring balancing cost control with risk exposure.  

  • Partner closely with internal Claims Leadership, General Counsel, and Compliance, to ensure compliant practices and documentation standards.

  • Review complex and escalated claim files and settlement postures.

  • Maintain awareness of emerging legal trends and evolving regulatory risks that may impact claims operations.

  • Advise stakeholders on claims trends, legal exposure, and reputational risk.

  • Provide legal insight during audits, quarterly planning, and claims performance reviews.

  • Attract, hire, develop and retain a team of high-performing legal professionals. 

  • Promote legal claims practices that promote the fair and efficient settlement of claims that put the Insured first.

• Panel Counsel Program Leadership

  • Develop and implement Root’s national panel defense counsel program, including onboarding, performance management, process creation, billing oversight, and litigation quality control.

  • Build scalable vendor selection criteria, engagement policies, and evaluation standards.

  • Lead RFPs, negotiate preferred counsel agreements, and establish KPI frameworks to monitor outcomes and legal spend.

  • Serve as the primary relationship manager for all national panel defense counsel, ensuring values alignment and operational fit.

  • Partner with Claims Leadership to continuously refine Root’s litigation approach, outcome expectations, and resolution culture.

  • Evaluate the need for and implement an internal staff counsel legal team to supplement or otherwise augment external panel defence counsel.

What You Will Need to Succeed

• 15+ years of legal experience, including extensive work in insurance litigation, first-chair trial experience, claims legal oversight, and regulatory compliance.

• 10+ years experience in personal passenger and/or commercial auto, or other property and casualty insurance. 

• Significant experience performing complex coverage analysis.

• Proven track record advising on complex claims issues leading litigation strategies at scale. 

• Strong background managing external counsel relationships and driving cost-effective legal outcomes.  

• Strong experience managing an internal internal staff counsel team.

• Ability to participate effectively on the Claims Leadership senior management team.

• Exceptional analytical, strategic, and problem-solving skills.

• Demonstrated success leading and developing high-performing legal teams. 

• Excellent commu