Chief Legal Officer

Chief Legal Officer
Cities and Villages Mutual Insurance Company (CVMIC)
Wauwatosa, WI
 
Why join the CVMIC Team?

• The ability to make a difference to internal and external customers!
• Great variety in what you do each day
• Flexibility with your schedule
• A supportive team environment
• Outstanding benefits that include:  Participation in the Wisconsin Retirement System, Company-paid Health, Dental, and Life Insurance, and tuition reimbursement for continuing education.

View what other employees say about working here! 

Under the CEO's direction, this position serves as the Chief Legal Officer for Cities & Villages Mutual Insurance Company, providing strategic legal guidance on insurance operations, intergovernmental pooling, governance, and regulatory compliance, and coordinating outside legal counsel.  This position also delivers targeted legal services to member municipalities, where appropriate, subject to rigorous conflict of interest analysis and compliance with applicable professional conduct rules.


Essential Duties & Responsibilities

• Serves as Chief Legal Officer and Strategic Legal Advisor on legal, regulatory, and governance matters affecting CVMIC and its intergovernmental pooling functions.
• Coordinates and oversees CVMIC’s outside legal counsel, including legal strategy, allocation of resources, reviewing legal opinions, and ensuring outside counsel advice is integrated into organizational decision-making.
• Oversees and advises on compliance with Wisconsin mutual insurance law, related provisions of the Wisconsin Insurance Code, and applicable administrative regulations; Monitors statutory and regulatory developments affecting CVMIC and recommends policy or operational changes.
• Provides legal guidance on member participation agreements, governance structures, and statutory authority for cooperative risk sharing among public entities; Advises on municipal laws affecting members, including governmental immunity, liability limitations, open meetings and public records requirements, procurement, employment law, and constitutional considerations.
• Collaborates with claims leadership and outside counsel on complex, high-exposure, or precedent-setting claims.  Advises on coverage interpretation, policy language, and claims practices involving municipal liability.
• Oversees litigation in which CVMIC is a party, and monitors member litigation on CVMIC's behalf in its capacity as insurer — including coordinating with and managing outside defense counsel retained for members, while respecting that such counsel represents the member and directs the member's defense; Evaluates case exposure, litigation strategy, and settlement posture from CVMIC's perspective; Ensures alignment with CVMIC risk tolerance and financial objectives. This position serves as counsel to CVMIC only and does not provide legal representation to members.
• Coordinates with outside counsel to oversee the drafting, review, and revision of insurance policies, endorsements, member agreements, intergovernmental agreements, reinsurance contracts, vendor contracts, and other legal instruments.
• Designs, implements, and monitors internal compliance frameworks, including policies addressingregulatorycompliance,ethics,conflictsofinterest,datagovernance, records retention, and reporting obligations. 
• Advises leadership and human resources on employment law, workplace investigations, personnel policies, and executive-level employment matters.
• Under the direction of the CEO, this position may advise or support member municipalities in property tax assessment appeals and related proceedings.
• Delivers training for members, Board members, and staff on legal risk, liability trends, governance obligations, and compliance requirements specific to public entities and pooled insurance structures.
• Assesses developments and emerging risks in insurance law, municipal liability, public administration, and regulatory oversight. Guides leadership on recommended policy revisions and strategic adjustments.
• Ensures organizational clarity regarding the respective roles of internal legal leadership, as Chief Legal Officer, and any outside counsel. Establishes protocols for engagement, privilege, communication channels, and decision authority to preserve efficiency, confidentiality, and legal integrity.

Qualifications

• Graduation with a Juris Doctor from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association.
• Admitted to practice law in the State of Wisconsin, and Wisconsin federal courts, or the ability to obtain such admission within a reasonable period.
• Ten (10) years of progressively responsible legal experience, including substantial experience as in-house counsel within state or local government, a public entity, or a governmental risk pool or municipal mutual insurer.
• Significant experience advising on issues affecting municipal government, including but not limited to risk management, claims adjudication, liability insurance, and public-sector governance.
• Demonstrated experience interacting with executive leadership and governing boards, including providing legal advice on complex, high-impact organizational matters.

Preferred Qualifications

• Previous experience with property tax assessment appeals or other municipal litigation affecting local government revenues or liabilities.
• Familiarity with Wisconsin insurance regulations and mutual insurance operations.
• Previous experience working with or advising regulated insurers, risk pools, or public entity coverage programs. 

This posting will be open until October 16, 2026, or until the needs of Cities & Villages Mutual Insurance Company have been met.


Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Knowledge of:

• Wisconsin municipal law, including statutes, ordinances, and legal doctrines affecting cities and villages.
• Wisconsin insurance law, including mutual insurance structures under Wis. Stat. Ch. 611, and regulatory oversight by the Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance.
• Intergovernmental risk-pooling structures, including governance, member participation agreements, and cooperative public entity arrangements.
• Administrative law, civil procedure, and the rules of evidence, including practice before administrative agencies and courts.
• Litigation processes, including pleadings, motion practice, discovery, trial advocacy, and appellate procedure.
• Insurance coverage law and claims handling, including interpretation of policy language and municipal liability exposures (e.g., civil rights, employment practices, law enforcement liability).
• Corporate governance principles, including fiduciary duties, conflicts of interest, and board operations in a mutual insurance context.
• Legal ethics and professional responsibility, including conflict-of-interest rules (e.g.,SCR20:1.7), attorney-client privilege, and duties to organizational clients.
• Legal research and writing methodologies, including the use of primary and secondary legal authorities.
• Employment and labor law, public records and open meetings law, procurement law, and other legal frameworks affecting public-sector entities.

Skill In:

• Apply legal principles, practices, and techniques to resolve complex legal and organizational issues in a regulated insurance environment.
• Analyze, synthesize, and present complex facts, legal authorities, and policy considerations in a clear, logical, and actionable manner.
• Interpret and apply constitutional provisions, statutes, administrative regulations, insurance policies, and legal precedents.
• Manage concurrent legal matters and competing priorities, including adherence to deadlines in a dynamic environment.
• Exercise sound professional judgment, particularly in identifying and addressing conflicts of interest and ethical obligations.
• Maintain confidentiality and protect privileged information across organizational and multi-client contexts.
• Work independently with minimal supervision while also functioning effectively as part of an executive leadership team.
• Supervise and coordinate the work of external counsel and, as applicable, internal staff.
• Build and maintain effective working relationships with board members, executives, municipal officials, regulators, and other stakeholders.
• Communicate with clarity, precision, and professionalism, both orally and in writing.
• Exercise tact, diplomacy, and discretion in sensitive legal and governmental matters.
• Identify and manage ethical risks, including determining when representation of multiple entities is permissible and when it must be declined or referred. 
• Handle matters of a sensitive nature confidentially and professionally.
• Communicate professionally, timely, and effectively, both verbally and in writing.
• Work effectively as part of a management team.
• Effectively interact with others both within and outside the organization.              
• Perform tasks and interact with others in a consistent, controlled manner that conveys organizational values and professional ethics.
• Organize, coordinate, and direct projects and meet work objectives.
• Assume a leadership role and effectively direct team members and processes with or without formal authority. 
• Legal analysis and problem solving, including the ability to apply legal principles to complex, high-risk, or novel issues.
• Legal writing, including drafting clear, precise, and persuasive briefs, opinions, policies, contracts, and governance documents.
• Oral advocacy and presentation, including the ability to communicate complex legal concepts effectively to executives, board members, municipal officials, and non-lawyers.
• Litigation management and strategy, including evaluation of case exposure, coordination without outside counsel, and alignment of legal strategy with organizational objectives.
• Contract drafting and negotiation, particularly for insurance policies, intergovernmental agreements, reinsurance arrangements, and vendor contracts.
• Regulatory compliance management, including interpreting regulatory requirements and implementing compliant operational practices.
• Risk assessment and mitigation, particularly in the context of municipal liability and pooled insurance operations.
• Stakeholder engagement, including the ability to work effectively with elected officials, municipal staff, regulators, and external counsel.
• Training and education, including the ability to develop and deliver legal and risk management training for diverse audiences.
• Proficient use of legal research tools, document management systems, and standard office software, including Microsoft Office products.

Ability to:

• Apply legal principles, practices, and techniques to resolve complex legal and organizational issues in a regulated insurance environment.
• Analyze, synthesize, and present complex facts, legal authorities, and policy considerations in a clear, logical, and actionable manner. 
• Interpret and apply constitutional provisions, statutes, administrative regulations, insurance policies, and legal precedents.
• Manage concurrent legal matters and competing priorities, including adherence to deadlines in a dynamic environment.
• Exercise sound professional judgment, particularly in identifying and addressing conflicts of interest and ethical obligations.
• Maintain confidentiality and protect privileged information across organizational and multi-client contexts.
• Work independently with minimal supervision while also functioning effectively as part of an executive leadership team.
• Supervise and coordinate the work of external counsel and, as applicable, internal staff.
• Build and maintain effective working relationships with board members, executives, municipal officials, regulators, and other stakeholders.
• Communicate with clarity, precision, and professionalism, both orally and in writing.
• Exercise tact, diplomacy, and discretion in sensitive legal and governmental matters.
• Identify and manage ethical risks, including determining when representation of multiple entities is permissible and when it must be declined or referred.
• Handle matters of a sensitive nature confidentially and professionally.
• Communicate professionally, timely, and effectively, both verbally and in writing.
• Work effectively as part of a management team.
• Effectively interact with others both within and outside the organization.
• Perform tasks and interact with others in a consistent, controlled manner that conveys organizational values and professional ethics.
• Organize, coordinate, and direct projects and meet work objectives.
• Assume a leadership role and effectively direct team members and processes with or without formal authority. 

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