
Senior Complex Claims Consultant / Claims Counsel - EPL/Professional Liability
Required skills
- EPL
- Professional Liability
- complex claims
- coverage analysis
- policy interpretation
- strategic claim resolution
- seven-figure exposures
- discrimination
- harassment
- retaliation
Nice to have
- Major Case Unit
- Complex Claims Unit
- Specialty Claims Unit
- Excess Claims environment
Role summary
Davies North America seeks a Senior Complex Claims Consultant / Claims Counsel specializing in Employment Practices Liability (EPL) and Professional Liability. This role involves managing high-severity claims with significant financial exposure, including seven-figure reserves and potential class actions. Responsibilities include in-depth coverage analysis, policy interpretation, litigation management, and strategic claim resolution. The ideal candidate will have a JD with active bar membership or 7-10+ years of senior-level claims handling experience in EPL, Professional Liability, or similar complex liability areas. Strong litigation, negotiation, and analytical skills are essential for partnering with carriers, insureds, and legal counsel to navigate complex risks and achieve optimal claim outcomes.
Key Responsibilities
Complex EPL & Professional Liability Claims Management
- Independently manage a portfolio of high-severity EPL and professional liability claims from assignment through resolution.
- Handle matters involving significant financial exposure, including claims with seven-figure reserves, demands, settlements, or potential judgments.
- Evaluate liability, damages, employment law risk, professional negligence allegations, venue risk, reputational exposure, coverage position, and potential excess exposure.
- Analyze pleadings, employment records, personnel documentation, investigation materials, expert reports, wage and hour exposure models, settlement demands, and damages assessments.
- Develop and execute claim resolution strategies based on investigation, legal risk, policy obligations, litigation posture, and business objectives.
- Provide clear, independent evaluations and recommendations to carriers and internal stakeholders.
- Maintain accurate and thorough documentation of claim strategy, liability evaluation, damages analysis, reserves, coverage issues, and resolution activity.
Litigation Management & Strategy
- Oversee complex litigated EPL and professional liability claims, including discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, wage and hour, breach of duty, professional negligence, and other specialty liability matters.
- Direct and partner with defense counsel on litigation strategy, discovery, expert retention, dispositive motions, mediation preparation, and trial planning.
- Review and analyze pleadings, discovery responses, employment records, deposition summaries, expert reports, class or collective action exposure assessments, mediation briefs, and trial evaluations.
- Establish litigation plans, budgets, and key milestones in partnership with counsel and carriers.
- Attend and actively participate in mediations, settlement conferences, strategy meetings, and significant litigation events.
- Provide strategic recommendations regarding settlement, continued defense, alternative dispute resolution, or trial preparation.
Coverage Analysis & Policy Interpretation
- Review and interpret EPL, professional liability, E&O, management liability, excess, umbrella, and specialty liability policies.
- Analyze policy language, endorsements, exclusions, claims-made provisions, notice issues, prior acts, related claims, wage and hour exclusions, punitive damages issues, and allocation concerns.
- Provide recommendations related to defense obligations, indemnity exposure, reservation of rights, coverage defenses, and settlement authority.
- Draft, review, or provide input on reservation of rights letters, coverage position letters, disclaimers, and denial letters, as appropriate.
- Partner with coverage counsel, in-house legal teams, carriers, and internal stakeholders on complex coverage matters.
- Identify and escalate coverage disputes, bad faith concerns, excess exposure, regulatory issues, and other high-risk claim developments.
Settlement, Negotiation & Resolution
- Evaluate settlement demands and develop negotiation strategies based on liability, damages, employment law exposure, professional liability exposure, venue, coverage, reputational risk, and potential verdict exposure.
- Negotiate settlements within authority and make recommendations for matters requiring additional approval.
- Manage reserves in accordance with carrier guidelines and claim exposure.
- Participate in mediations and settlement conferences involving high-value EPL and professional liability disputes.
- Balance legal risk, financial exposure, policy obligations, reputational considerations, and business objectives when recommending claim resolution.
Skills, knowledge & expertise
Required (one of the following):- Juris Doctor (JD) with active bar membership in good standing, or
- 7–10+ years of senior-level experience handling EPL, Professional Liability, GL, or similar complex liability claims.
- Demonstrated experience handling claims with significant financial exposure, including seven-figure settlements, reserves, demands, or potential judgments.
- Strong litigation management experience, including directing outside counsel and developing litigation strategy.
- Experience evaluating liability, damages, coverage, reserves, settlement value, employment law risk, and trial risk.
- Demonstrated expertise in insurance coverage analysis and policy interpretation.
- Experience issuing, drafting, reviewing, or advising on coverage positions, including reservation of rights letters, disclaimers, or denial letters.
- Active adjuster licenses in applicable jurisdictions, or ability to obtain additional licenses as required.
- Strong negotiation, analytical, documentation, and communication skills.
Preferred Experience
- EPL, employment litigation, professional liability, E&O, management liability, wage and hour, class or collective action, or complex specialty liability claims experience.
- Experience working with employment defense counsel, coverage counsel, mediators, carriers, and insureds.
- Experience working in a Major Case Unit, Complex Claims Unit, Specialty Claims Unit, or Excess Claims environment.
- Prior experience as Claims Counsel, Coverage Counsel, National General Adjuster, Executive General Adjuster, Senior Claims Examiner, Complex Claims Specialist, or Senior Complex Claims Consultant.
- Strong understanding of bad faith risk, excess exposure, allocation, coverage litigation, reputational risk, and complex employment liability evaluation.
Equal Employment Opportunity & Legal Notices
Benefits At Davies North America, we are dedicated to supporting the well‑being and future of our qualifying employees. Our comprehensive benefits package includes:- Medical, dental, and vision plans to support your health and that of your family
- A 401(k) plan with employer matching
- Time‑off policies, including Discretionary Time Off (DTO) for exempt employees and Paid Time Off (PTO) for non‑exempt employees
- Paid holidays
- Life insurance and short‑term and long‑term disability coverage
- Maintain regular and dependable attendance.
- Be available and able to perform job responsibilities during established work hours.
Originally posted on Himalayas
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