Counsel – Product Litigation - GM Global Technical Center - Cole Engineering Center - Cole West

Job Description

Work Arrangement

This role is categorized as hybrid. This means the successful candidate is expected to report to the Global Technical Center in Warren, Michigan three times per week, at minimum.

The Role

This position calls for a seasoned and accomplished product litigation attorney possessed of excellent judgment, solid character, and personal integrity. The role will be responsible, primarily, for day-to-day management of GM’s product liability claims related to assigned specialties or jurisdictions.

What You’ll Do (Responsibilities)

• Ensure new matters are properly entered into case management system, including required TREAD data;
• Assign outside counsel, consistent with GM’s Strategic Legal Partner program and the facts and circumstances of the matter;
• Work with GM’s claims administrator, engineering resources, National Discovery Counsel, and trial counsel on evaluation of claims and identification of any engineering safety issues;
• Work with National Discovery Counsel and trial counsel on the development of defense strategies and support of case activities;
• Work with National Discovery Counsel and the in-house discovery team on review of and strategy regarding discovery responses, document collection, and document production;
• Timely review and analyze case evaluations, briefs and motions submitted by outside counsel and address complete related tasks as outlined in GM’s policies and processes;
• Determine settlement value or trial recommendations for specific cases or claims as outlined in GM’s policies and processes;
• Coordinate selection of litigation consultants, expert witnesses, trial counsel, and appellate counsel;
• Work with outside counsel on deposition preparation and trial preparation;
• Attend and support company witness depositions;
• Review and process legal bills for counsel in assigned system and ensure that matters are managed within budget;
• Develop or review reports and data related to engineering analysis, TREAD, Medicare, outside counsel costs, and case load;
• Welcome opportunities for cross-functional, collaborative projects outside of the Product Litigation group;
• Conduct oneself consistent with GM’s Values, Behaviors, and Competencies.

Additional Job Description

Your Skills & Abilities (Required Qualifications)

This position requires an exceptional attorney with a distinguished professional record and a strong business orientation. Candidates must be self-motivated and exhibit a passion for understanding GM’s business and contributing in a meaningful way to its long-term strategic goals. In addition to possessing the requisite legal and technical skills, the successful candidate must approach this role from an experienced business perspective and demonstrate a high degree of ethics and integrity, as well as strategic/conceptual thinking capabilities.

• Key qualifications include:

• Minimum 5 years of substantive experience as a products litigation attorney. Prior in-house experience is not required.

• Experience should include the following:

  • Preparation of answers, motions, and case evaluations;

  • Argument of substantive motions on complex matters before the court;

  • eDiscovery, including overseeing document collection and production;

  • Trial experience in production litigation cases in both federal and state court preferred;

  • Experience in automotive product liability defense preferred;

  • Ability to interact with individuals throughout the organization and with outside counsel and other advisors in a professional and business-like manner, in order to collaborate, build relationships, and gain credibility;

  • Demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously from inception to completion and achieve goals;

  • Ability to present information, cases, or analysis in a timely, clear, and concise manner;

  • Strong written and verbal communication skills;

  • Commitment to high standards of quality and ethics;

  • Proven ability to act as a guardian of the Company through speaking up to say what needs to be said, providing complete, direct, and actionable feedback to others, facing up to problems quickly and directly, and sharing all key information with management to enable them to make well-informed decisions;

  • Enthusiasm to work as part of a high-functioning Product Litigation team to defend the Company and act as an important contributor on issues of vehicle safety.

• In addition to the above skills, the successful candidate must exhibit the following individual characteristics:

  • Organizational Agility: Knowledgeable about how organizations work; knows how to get things done both through formal channels and the informal network; understanding the origin and reasoning behind key policies, practices and procedures; understands the culture of organizations.

  • Functional Expertise: Has the functional and technical knowledge and skills to do the job at a high level of accomplishment.

  • Managerial Courage: Provides current, direct, complete and actionable positive and corrective feedback to others; lets people know where they stand; faces up to problems quickly and directly; is not afraid to take negative action when necessary.

A company vehicle will be provided for this role with successful completion of a Motor Vehicle Report review.

This job may be eligible for relocation benefits.

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About GM

Our vision is a world with Zero Crashes, Zero Emissions and Zero Congestion and we embrace the responsibility to lead the change that will make our world better, safer and more equitable for all.

Why Join Us 

We aspire to be the most inclusive company in the world. We believe we all must make a choice every day – individually and collectively – to drive meaningful change through our words, our deeds and our culture. Our Work Appropriately philosophy supports our foundation of inclusion and provides employees the flexibility to work where they can have the greatest impact on achieving our goals, dependent on role needs. Every day, we want every employee, no matter their background, ethnicity, preferences, or location, to feel they belong to one General Motors team.

Benefits Overview

The goal of the General Motors total rewards program is to support the health and well-being of you and your family. Our comprehensive compensation plan incudes, the following benefits, in addition to many others:
• Paid time off including vacation days, holidays, and parental leave for mothers, fathers and adoptive parents;
• Healthcare (including a triple tax advantaged health savings account and wellness incentive), dental, vision and life insurance plans to cover you and your family;
• Company and matching contributions to 401K savings plan to help you save for retirement;
• Global recognition program for peers and leaders to recognize and be recognized for results and behaviors that reflect our company values; 
• Tuition assistance and student loan refinancing;
• Discount on GM vehicles for you, your family and friends.

Diversity Information

General Motors is committed to being a workplace that is not only free of discrimination, but one that genuinely fosters inclusion and belonging. We strongly believe that workforce diversity creates an environment in which our employees can thrive and develop better products for our customers.   We understand and embrace the variety through which people gain experiences whether through professional, personal, educational, or volunteer opportunities. GM is proud to be an equal opportunity employer.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statements

GM is an equal opportunity employer and complies with all applicable federal, state, and local fair employment practices laws. GM is committed to providing a work environment free from unlawful discrimination and advancing equal employment opportunities for all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, all practices and decisions relating to terms and conditions of employment, including, but not limited to, recruiting, hiring, training, promotion, discipline, compensation, benefits, and termination of employment are made without regard to an individual's protected characteristics. For purposes of this policy, “protected characteristics" include an individual's actual or perceived race, color, creed, religion, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, age, sex or gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, lactation and related medical conditions), gender identity or gender expression, sexual orientation, weight, height, marital status, military service and veteran status, physical or mental disability, protected medical condition as defined by applicable state or local law, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state or local laws and ordinances.  If you need a reasonable accommodation to assist with your job search or application for employment, email us at Careers.Accommodations@GM.com or call us at 800-865-7580. In your email, please include a description of the specific accommodation you are requesting as well as the job title and requisition number of the position for which you are applying.​