Director of Pre-Litigation — Motor Vehicle Accidents

Trial Lawyers United is a plaintiff personal injury and mass tort firm headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, building a national practice with substantial resources, experienced leadership, and a deliberate operating philosophy. We are launching a motor vehicle accident pre-litigation practice with the ambition to make it one of the best-run in the country - and we are hiring the attorney who will build it. This is a founding operational leadership role, not a traditional associate position. The Director of Pre-Litigation will design the operating model, build the team, establish systems and standards, and own the department’s performance. Initially, the Director will work cases directly - directing liability investigations, identifying coverage, managing treatment and case development, drafting demands, and negotiating settlements - setting the standard for the team by example. As the practice grows, the role will evolve into leadership of a substantial business unit within the firm. Primary Responsibilities Practice Build-Out Design the firm's MVA pre-litigation operating model end to end, from intake handoff through settlement or transfer to litigation. Build the department's organizational structure and hiring plan across attorneys and professional staff; recruit, train, supervise, and mentor the team as the department grows. Establish measurable performance expectations for every role, with regular file audits and case reviews. Develop standard operating procedures, workflow stages, task checklists, escalation paths, and quality-control protocols. Recommend and implement the case-management architecture, automation, document generation, and reporting the department will run on. Case Strategy and Quality Set standards for liability investigation and evidence preservation beginning on day one of every case. Establish coverage-investigation standards so that every available policy - liability, umbrella, UM/UIM, MedPay - is identified early and pursued appropriately. Oversee medical-treatment management and case-development strategy, including protocols for gaps in treatment and client communication cadence. Establish demand-preparation and settlement-negotiation standards, including procedures for time-limited policy-limits demands and elevated handling of high-value cases. Identify cases requiring early litigation, specialized expertise, or attorney-level attention - and build the triggers that surface them automatically. Ensure that case velocity never comes at the expense of case value. A fast settlement below what a case is worth is a failure of the system, and the system will be built to catch it. Cross-Functional Collaboration Work with intake and marketing on case criteria, qualification standards, and conversion quality. Define, with the litigation group or referral attorneys, the standards and mechanics governing when and how cases transfer out of pre-suit. Work with finance on department economics, forecasting, and capacity planning; with operations and technology on systems; and with medical providers and lien-resolution professionals on treatment access and clients' net recoveries. Qualifications Juris Doctor; licensed and in good standing in at least one U.S. jurisdiction. Significant plaintiff-side personal injury experience, including demonstrated responsibility for managing or operating a high-volume MVA pre-litigation practice. Direct experience managing a substantial concurrent case inventory across a team Experience managing people: attorneys, case managers, records and billing personnel, demand writers, negotiators, or a combination. End-to-end command of the pre-suit lifecycle. Working fluency in modern case-management platforms and in KPI reporting and dashboards. Preferred Qualifications Licensed and in good standing with the State Bar of Arizona and residing in, or prepared to establish a substantial professional presence in, Arizona. We will consider an exceptional candidate licensed elsewhere whose record of building and operating a high-volume MVA practice is extraordinary; in that case, Arizona admission (on motion or by transferred UBE score where available) would be an immediate, firm-supported priority. Prior experience building a pre-litigation department from the ground up, or substantially rebuilding one. Deep experience with time-limited policy-limits demand practice and with underinsured and uninsured motorist claims. Experience managing medical liens and subrogation at volume, including strategies that protect clients' net recoveries. A note on licensure: because every retention in this practice is accepted by an Arizona-licensed attorney and this role consolidates that acceptance authority with operational command, Arizona licensure at or shortly after start is the strong default. Compensation Compensation will be competitive and commensurate with experience and the scope of responsibility. Trial Lawyers United is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity), national origin, age, disability, veteran status, genetic information, or any other status protected by applicable law. Employment decisions are based on qualifications, merit, and business need. #J-18808-Ljbffr Trial Lawyers United LLC