General Counsel

General Counsel Position

The General Counsel is the first in-house attorney in the company's history and leads all legal affairs for Campers Inn RV, a family-owned dealership group operating approximately 50 locations across 20 states with roughly 1,600 teammates. The position owns the company's litigation portfolio, resolves disputes before they become lawsuits wherever that is the better business outcome, selects and manages outside counsel and legal spend, and serves as a practical business advisor to the executive team. This is a working role. The General Counsel performs legal work personally as well as directing others, and builds the processes, standards and reporting that a legal function needs in order to scale with the business.

Essential Functions

Litigation and dispute resolution

• Owns the company's litigation portfolio end to end, including case strategy, exposure assessment, settlement authority recommendations, and resolution.
• Handles pre-suit consumer disputes, demand letters, and agency complaints directly, and resolves matters before litigation where that produces the better business result.
• Appears on behalf of the company in jurisdictions where admitted, and selects and directs local counsel of record in jurisdictions where not admitted.
• Evaluates each matter for legal merit, financial exposure, defense cost, reputational impact and business disruption, and delivers a clear recommendation to the executive team.
• Manages preservation obligations and legal holds, and directs discovery response.

Outside counsel and legal spend

• Selects, engages and manages outside counsel across all jurisdictions where the company operates.
• Builds and maintains the outside counsel panel, negotiates rates and engagement terms, and consolidates providers where volume creates leverage.
• Establishes and enforces billing guidelines, reviews invoices for rate and efficiency, and requires early case assessments and litigation budgets.
• Determines what work is brought in-house and what is referred out, and reduces total legal spend without increasing risk.

Insurance and risk

• Owns the company's relationship with insurance carriers and brokers on claims matters.
• Tenders claims to carriers, pursues defense and indemnity, challenges denials and reservations of rights, and pursues recovery of defense costs.
• Reviews coverage placement and program structure with the CFO and broker, and identifies gaps and overlaps in coverage.
• Pursues defense and indemnification from manufacturers and vendors where their product or conduct created the exposure.

Contracts and commercial

• Negotiates and administers manufacturer and dealer sales and service agreements, including territory, stocking, warranty, indemnification and termination provisions.
• Drafts, reviews and maintains customer-facing documents, including purchase, service and arbitration agreements, and the disclosures that accompany them.
• Reviews vendor, supplier, service and technology agreements, and builds templates and playbooks for recurring transactions.
• Supports real estate transactions, leases, and acquisition activity, working with outside counsel on specialized matters.
• Supports banking, credit facility and syndication matters in partnership with the CFO.

Employment, regulatory and compliance

• Advises Human Resources and operations leadership on employment matters, including terminations, accommodation, wage and hour, harassment complaints and internal investigations.
• Advises on dealer licensing, consumer protection, advertising, F&I and finance-related regulatory requirements across all states of operation.
• Monitors legal and regulatory developments affecting recreational vehicle retail, service and finance, and advises the business on required changes.
• Supports corporate governance and entity management, including registrations and required filings.

Business partnership and prevention

• Serves as a practical advisor to the Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer, and gives direct answers quickly.
• Identifies recurring sources of claims and works with operations to change the underlying process, not only to resolve the individual matter.
• Delivers training to store management, service and sales teams on documentation, customer communication and risk avoidance.
• Builds and maintains a matter intake process, a matter tracking system, and regular reporting to the executive team on open matters, projected exposure, spend and recovery.
• Establishes a documented litigation philosophy so recurring situations are handled consistently.

Qualifications

Required

• Juris Doctor from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association.
• Active member in good standing of The Florida Bar, or eligible to register as Florida Authorized House Counsel and willing to complete registration promptly after hire.
• Minimum of ten (10) years of legal experience, including at least five (5) years managing litigation, whether in-house or in private practice.
• Demonstrated experience owning a litigation portfolio and directing outside counsel across multiple jurisdictions.
• Experience advising senior executives on matters involving legal risk and business tradeoffs.
• Valid driver's license and ability to travel to dealership locations.

Preferred

• Experience in a franchised dealership environment, whether recreational vehicle, automotive, powersports, marine or heavy equipment.
• Consumer claims experience, including warranty, product liability, premises liability and consumer protection matters.
• Insurance coverage experience from the policyholder side, including tendering, disputing denials and recovering defense costs.
• Consumer finance and F&I regulatory experience, including TILA, UDAAP, FCRA, FDCPA and state-level dealer and lending requirements.
• Employment law experience and experience supporting a human resources function.
• Experience building an in-house legal function where none previously existed.
• Experience in a family-owned or closely held business.
• Multi-state licensing and regulatory compliance experience.

Licenses and Certifications

• Juris Doctor — required.
• The Florida Bar, active and in good standing, or Florida Authorized House Counsel registration under Rule 17 of the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar — required.
• Valid driver's license — required.
• Admission in additional states where the company operates — preferred, not required.
• Board certification in a relevant specialty — preferred, not required.
• Continuing legal education sufficient to maintain licensure — ongoing requirement of the role.

Competencies

• Business judgment. Weighs legal risk against commercial objectives and recommends a path rather than only identifying problems.
• Candor. Tells ownership and the executive team what they need to hear, including when it is unwelcome, and does so constructively.
• Responsiveness. Gives fast, usable answers and distinguishes between what needs a considered opinion and what needs an answer today.
• Approachability. Builds relationships across the company so issues surface early, while maintaining independence.
• Ownership. Operates as a department of one without waiting for direction, and builds structure where none exists.
• Integrity. Consistent with the company's core values, including in situations where no one is watching.

Supervisory and Budget Responsibility

• Supervisory: Oversee legal team, including Paralegal. Expected to grow as the function scales.
• Budget: accountable for the company's outside counsel and legal spend, and for a professional development and legal research budget.

Physical Requirements and Work Environment

• Primarily sedentary work in a professional office environment. Regular use of a computer, telephone and standard office equipment.
• Must be able to remain in a stationary position for extended periods and to communicate clearly in person, by telephone and in writing.
• Must be able to review and analyze detailed written material, including printed and electronic documents.
• Occasional travel to dealership locations, which includes exposure to sales lots, service bays and outdoor areas with uneven surfaces and varying weather conditions.
• Occasional travel by automobile and by air for hearings, mediations and industry meetings.