Counsel and COE Lead, Litigation

The Counsel and COE Lead, Litigation is a key member of the Law and Business Environment (LBE) team, responsible for leading Acuity's day-to-day litigation across product liability, employment, commercial, and intellectual property matters. This role acts as a strategic legal partner to product, engineering, quality, and customer experience teams, providing practical, business-oriented guidance in a fast-paced environment.

This individual will play a critical role in managing risk, improving litigation processes, and driving consistency across legal operations, while working closely with senior leadership and cross-functional stakeholders. The role reports to the Vice President, Deputy General Counsel, Legal Centers of Expertise (COEs).

This is a hybrid role based in Atlanta, GA, with an expectation of 2-3 days per week in the office.

- Manage a portfolio of litigation matters from intake through resolution, including product liability, employment, commercial, and IP cases

- Retain and oversee outside counsel; lead strategy, budgeting, discovery, and motion practice

- Assess liability exposure and support settlement strategy and negotiations

- Provide clear, concise updates to legal leadership and business stakeholders

- Lead product liability claims and litigation, including insured and uninsured matters

- Serve as the primary legal contact for product safety incidents, investigations, and escalations

- Partner with product, engineering, quality, and post-sales teams to assess risk and determine response strategies

- Support regulatory responses, recalls, field actions, and safety-related matters

- Manage warranty disputes, subrogation matters, and customer escalations tied to product performance or safety

- Act as a trusted advisor to cross-functional business partners, providing practical, solution-oriented legal guidance

- Identify trends and recommend proactive improvements in product design, risk mitigation, and business processes

- Enhance processes for managing product incidents, claims, and litigation

- Contribute to internal playbooks, guidelines, and training related to product liability and claims response

- Support other legal and strategic initiatives as needed

- Juris Doctor (JD) from an accredited law school with strong academic credentials

- 5+ years of litigation experience

- Product liability experience strongly preferred

- Experience at a major law firm and/or in-house at a publicly traded company preferred

- Work onsite in our Atlanta office 2-3 days/week

- Travel as needed

- Strong expertise in litigation strategy, case management, and risk assessment

- Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and negotiation skills

- Proven ability to manage multiple complex priorities in a fast-paced environment

- Skilled at influencing stakeholders and translating legal risk into practical business solutions

- Strong written and verbal communication skills with executive presence

- Builds trusted, cross-functional relationships and operates as a strategic business partner

- Demonstrates sound judgment, high emotional intelligence, and accountability

- Drives continuous improvement and contributes to scalable, efficient legal processes

- Proficient with legal technology, research tools, and matter management systems

- Embraces emerging technologies and innovative approaches to improve legal operations and efficiency

We value diversity and are an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will be considered for employment without regards to race, color, age, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, ethnicity or national origin, disability, pregnancy, religion, covered veteran status, protected genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law.

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Accommodation for Applicants with Disabilities: As an equal opportunity employer, Acuity Inc. is committed to providing reasonable accommodations in its application process for qualified individuals with disabilities and disabled veterans. If you have difficulty using our online system due to a disability and need an accommodation, you may contact us at (770) 922-9000, select option 4.

Please clearly indicate what type of accommodation you are requesting and for what requisition.

Any unsolicited resumes sent to Acuity Inc. from a third party, such as an Agency recruiter, including unsolicited resumes sent to an Acuity Inc. mailing address, fax machine or email address, directly to Acuity Inc. employees, or to Acuity Inc. resume database will be considered Acuity Inc. property. Acuity Inc. will NOT pay a fee for any placement resulting from the receipt of an unsolicited resume.

Acuity Inc. will consider any candidate for whom an Agency has submitted an unsolicited resume to have been referred by the Agency free of any charges or fees. This includes any Agency that is an approved/engaged vendor, but does not have the appropriate approvals to be engaged on a search.

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