Job Location: United States : New York : New York
Role Value Proposition:
In Legal Affairs, we strive to attract, develop and retain diverse talent with the potential to be future leaders of our department and of MetLife as a whole. We seek legal and compliance professionals who demonstrate high intellectual capacity to understand complex matters facing our company, combined with strong leadership competencies to motivate and inspire higher performance by all our professionals. We take an active role in developing the skills of our talent and guiding their professional growth. By promoting skill development and career advancement for our professionals, we are better positioned to serve our internal business partners and to help achieve MetLife’s vision of becoming a world-class leader in the insurance, retirement savings and employee benefits industries.
The attorney in this Senior Counsel role will provide timely legal advice via daily contact with the group benefits and distribution business partners, and through completion of various assignments as an individual or as part of a team. This may include researching and performing analysis of laws that relate to the businesses; identifying and quantifying risks; determining eligibility of groups under state insurance laws; assisting the contract filing area in obtaining approval of policies; preparing correspondence and documents needed to implement, service and terminate group insurance plans; reviewing marketing material; responding to customer and insurance department inquiries; and negotiating contracts with insurance brokers, third-party administrators and private insurance exchanges.
Key Responsibilities:
The attorney will be responsible for:
Day to day delivery of legal services individually and as a member of a team to MetLife’s Group Benefits, Affinity and Member Benefits, and Distribution Development & Benefits Delivery organizations;
Effective, timely and strategic counsel to business on significant business initiatives;
Effective support of Unit, Section, and Law Department objectives and initiatives.
The attorney will be able to:
Handle complex legal matters, analyze legal (and business, where applicable) issues, draft legal documents, and negotiate matters and solve intricate problems using sound legal judgment and expertise with minimal or no supervision;
Build and maintain client relationships with diplomacy and by providing concise, insightful, timely, pragmatic, and proactive counsel;
Prepare, initiate, advocate, and effectively present legal points and recommendations to influence clients and to represent clients as legal counsel;
Conduct legal research and gather matter-related information from various sources;
Educate self and business partners on legal developments affecting the business and provide innovative strategies to address those developments.
The attorney will have the responsibility to:
Advise the Group Benefits business on matters relating to insurance issued to affinity groups and associations;
Determine eligibility of groups under state insurance laws;
Advise on a variety of insurance product matters, including filings, contract requirements, privacy, and master services agreements;
Draft and negotiate contracts with intermediaries who market and administer MetLife’s insurance products;
Review marketing and training materials;
Advise the business units on responses to requests for proposals in connection with the sale and renewal of employee benefits products;
Handle customer complaints and regulatory inquiries;
Analyze new laws and regulations to determine whether they require changes to MetLife’s business processes and products;
Perform other duties as required.
Essential Business Experience and Technical Skills:
Required:
Law Degree (J.D. or equivalent) and bar admission required with a minimum of five years of relevant legal experience
Subject matter expertise in most or all of the following areas: group insurance, employee benefits, ERISA, licensing, and broker issues
Candidate must have excellent oral and written communications skills and the ability to handle multiple projects and assignments effectively, and must be able to deal comfortably with business partners and others at all levels within the company
Preferred:
Leadership aptitude and interest in developing management competencies preferred
Travel
negligible
Business Category
Legal Affairs
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