Assistant General Counsel, Litigation
Grainger
full-time
Posted on:
Location Type: Hybrid
Location: Lake Forest • Illinois • United States
Visit company websiteExplore more
About the role
- Lead Grainger’s global portfolio of litigation, claims, and disputes, including products/tort, commercial, intellectual property, employment, and regulatory matters.
- Develop and implement litigation strategies that balance legal, financial, and reputational considerations to achieve favorable outcomes.
- Manage and evaluate outside counsel, ensuring performance excellence, effective staffing, and cost-efficient representation.
- Oversee discovery strategy, eDiscovery processes, and document management systems, ensuring compliance and operational effectiveness.
- Provide strategic counsel to senior executives and the Board of Directors on significant litigation matters, emerging risks, trends, and potential business impacts.
- Prepare Board materials and litigation updates, ensuring clarity, accuracy, and alignment with enterprise priorities.
- Serve as a trusted advisor and thought partner on dispute resolution, settlement strategy, and risk mitigation; provide trainings on litigation-related topics.
Requirements
- Juris Doctor (JD) from an accredited law school; licensed to practice law in Illinois.
- Minimum 10+ years of litigation experience, including at least 4 years of in-house experience and prior experience trying or litigating cases in private practice or at a government agency.
- Proven ability to manage complex litigation portfolios and outside counsel.
- Must have experience with ediscovery and document management systems.
- Strategic thinking and problem-solving.
- Excellent negotiation and communication skills.
- Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
- The ability to build strong working relationships – internally within Grainger, external partners and counsel, and to communicate complex legal concepts to non-legal stakeholders.
- Must have impeccable judgment and the highest ethical standards, that is, someone who will always do the right thing.
Benefits
- Partner closely with Finance, Controllership, and external auditors to support accruals, reserves, and litigation-related financial reporting.
- Champion operational discipline through robust data management, spend analytics, matter reporting, and performance dashboards; establish KPIs to evaluate litigation performance.
- Enhance internal processes for case tracking, matter budgeting, forecasting, and trend analysis to improve transparency and productivity.
- Lead and mentor a team of legal professionals—including direct report(s) and supporting team members—ensuring strong performance, development, and engagement.
- Foster a culture of continuous improvement within the legal function.
- Strengthen cross-functional alignment with internal partners to ensure consistent, enterprise-wide litigation strategy and readiness.
Applicant Tracking System Keywords
Tip: use these terms in your resume and cover letter to boost ATS matches.
Hard skills
litigationclaims managementdispute resolutioneDiscoverydocument managementstrategic counselrisk mitigationnegotiationlegal strategyportfolio management
Soft skills
strategic thinkingproblem-solvingcommunicationrelationship buildingjudgmentethical standardsnegotiation skillsmulti-priority managementclarityaccuracy
Certifications
Juris Doctor (JD)licensed to practice law in Illinois