AVP, Legal Operations & Network Strategy

A Day in the Life of an AVP, Legal Operations & Network Strategy at MetLife Legal Plans The AVP, Legal Operations & Network Strategy provides executive leadership for the department responsible for overseeing both the strategic management of MetLife Legal Plans' nationwide attorney network and the business processes that support it. This role ensures operational effectiveness across panel management and claims collaboration, while driving accountability to service level agreements, audit standards, and enterprise objectives. As a senior subject matter expert, the AVP provides guidance on complex coverage matters and escalations, ensuring cohesion between internal teams, member experience, and participating law firms. This leader sets the vision and direction for a team of relationship managers and support professionals, strengthening internal processes, enhancing network engagement, and delivering measurable performance outcomes. The role partners closely with Sales Support, Legal, Claims, Finance, and Operations to support growth initiatives, fee strategy, coverage evolution, and sponsor reporting. Success requires strong business acumen and the ability to balance legal expertise, operational scalability, financial considerations, and customer experience. The ideal candidate is a seasoned attorney and proven people leader who understands how law firms operate and can confidently lead at both the executive and practitioner levels. This is a strategic leadership opportunity for a legal professional who wants to influence how legal services are delivered at scale while leading a high‑performing department within a growth‑oriented organization. This position will be a hybrid position, with roughly two days in the Cleveland, OH office and three days remote. Responsibilities (Essential Duties and Responsibilities) Attorney Network Management Manage attorney panel including recruiting, training, supervising, evaluating and re‑credentialing and communicating with PLFs and visiting PLF offices as appropriate Lead a team of 40 relationship managers to engage, support, educate and manage attorney relationships across the country Develop communications and strategies to strengthen relationships, engage, educate and improve the network NPS Support coverage reviews including coverage determinations and coverage appeals. Manage annual review of network attorney fees to determine if adjustments need to be made to existing fee schedules including negotiation of fees. Maintain and update Participating Law Firm manual on a regular basis. Support and manage virtual panel engagement offering available to members. Lead a team of associates that support scheduling appointments with our attorneys Sales Support Support Sales department in completing RFP (request for proposal) responses, plan comparisons, and competitor comparisons. Participate in finalist meetings, customer facing sales calls/presentations as requested by the sales/marketing organization. Partner with our Sales and Legal departments in creating new coverages and/or updating coverage definitions and establish alignment of these changes throughout the organization. Partner with Finance and Legal departments in establishing network and out of network attorney fees for new coverage offerings. Approve special fee requests at firm level during recruitment to our network. Compliance/Audit Management Manage attorney panel including recruiting, evaluating, and re‑credentialing to include malpractice checks. Manage recruiting of network attorneys including: reviewing and approving all attorney applications Manage the attorney audit system including assisting accounting with audit standards and cases, determining PLF status related to audit issues and managing training related audit issues Support and manage responses for member complaints relating to coverage, claims processing and network attorneys. Support and respond to any litigation which may arise from items directly related to position's management responsibilities. Support company litigation by researching legal issues and/or coaching members of the organization in their responses. Support and manage audit activity and responses related to the panel and claims departments. Obtain and maintain adjustor licenses as deemed necessary for role responsibilities. Team Management Manage, coach, train, supervise and develop direct reports. Manage departmental staffing levels, paid time off, performance reviews and compensation Support budget planning by ensuring staffing and capacity models are kept up to date and reflect work responsibilities across the Attorney Network and Claims Management teams. Participate in user acceptance testing for any changes in process/technology for the Panel Management and Claims departments. Support training of new team members in the Panel Management and Claims departments. Serve as a resource and provide training for other departments on coverage and attorney network issues Manage the client inquiry system including: review and resolution of difficult inquiries; review allegations of attorney misconduct or poor service; review of attorney status; and categorization of inquiries Support Strategic Planning efforts and deliver on the organization's objectives and key results. Support organization with achieving Service Level Agreements and NPS goals. Manage SLA report out requests for Sponsors Assist Legal, Panel, and Claims organization with other items as required. Ensure that all employees are adhering to and modeling after company Success Principles. Minimum Qualifications (Knowledge, skills, and abilities required) Bachelor's degree from an accredited university J.D. from an accredited law school Must be licensed in good standing in the State of Ohio or have the ability to sit for the State of Ohio bar Possess a minimum of 8 years of experience as a practicing attorney Strong leadership skills and ability to work with internal and external partners at all levels Strong time management skills and an ability to prioritize tasks Ability to motivate a team to work together to achieve and support organizational goals Ability to manage team and support the individual goals and objectives of team members Detail‑oriented and well‑organized, with the ability to handle a high‑volume workload Self‑motivated with the ability to take initiative Ability to communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing Ability to analyze and manage client service issues Ability to handle confidential and sensitive situations and documents What Will Make You Special (Preferred knowledge, skills, and abilities) Experience in all aspects of the general practice of law and litigation matters Strong business acumen Prior experience managing a team Prior client relationship management experience Knowledge of the industry, business and product Strong interpersonal skills Strong mediation/conflict resolution skills Ability to coach, mentor and train team members Ability to think outside the box to resolve issues Characteristics of our Director of Panel Operations (Competencies) Customer/client-focused Detail-oriented Communication proficiency Business acumen Ability to thrive in both a team atmosphere and an independent work environment Problem‑solving/analytical skills Demonstrated leadership skills Ability to meet deadlines and deliver results Travel Up to 10% travel may be required for this position. MetLife Legal Plans is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All employment decisions are made without regards to race, color, national origin, religion, creed, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, marital or domestic/civil partnership status, genetic information. #J-18808-Ljbffr Willing