Corporate Counsel, Product Liability

For Earth For Life

BASIC PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF POSITION

The purpose of the position is to provide corporate oversight and evaluation of product liability issues, including product liability lawsuits, personal injury accidents, property damage incidents and defective product claims, and; to advise management of lawsuit procedural and substantive progress, potential and likely outcome, witness and technical issues, and; to provide management with resolution possibilities and avenues, and to provide local counsel with the resources to aggressively defend Kubota.

The intended impact is to reduce corporate expenditures relating to product liability litigation, incidents and claims, by promulgating and pursuing procedures and processes which will significantly advance the level and sophistication of the defense of Kubota’s products, including document control and production, witness education and technical analysis.

PRINCIPAL ACTIVITIES:  This position does the following in accordance with all applicable Federal, State and local laws / regulations and the Company’s policies, procedures and guidelines:

1. To advise management of personal injury accidents, property damage incidents and defective product claims, provide resolution possibilities and avenues and to defend and resolve those matters not assigned to local counsel.
2. To analyze the legal and product issues that underlie the lawsuits, accidents, incidents and defective product claims and to provide management with recommendations regarding governmental notification and/or product Quality Assurance or Quality Control revisions or modifications.
3. Attend trials, mediations, arbitrations and depositions, where appropriate.
4. To attend inspections and coordinate in-house resources for the investigation into the cause of the accident, incident or product defect and to provide management and engineering with recommendations regarding a resolution, if necessary.
5. Meet with engineers from the various design teams at Kubota entities to assist in formulating defense of suit or claim, including preparation of risk/benefit analysis with engineering groups; assist in preparation of the various witnesses.
6. Coordinate and manage responses to written discovery, including gathering and review of relevant information and documents, and requests for corporate depositions.
7. Review product marketing and instructional literature and new product development and assess conformance to U.S. industry standards and practices.

SPECIAL PROJECTS

Special projects may include creating maintaining a legal/incident database and/or creating a KTC Product Council with functional representation from all suppliers to document compliance standards, perform hazard analyses and provide a pro-active approach for implementing knowledge taken from past experience (legal or otherwise).

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

EDUCATION, CERTIFICATIONS, AND TRAINING:

• JD degree from an accredited law school; member in good standing of a State Bar
•  5+ years’ experience in litigating defending product liability, warranty and subrogation litigation with trial experience preferred claims.
• Some in-house counsel experience managing outside counsel is preferred; experience in negotiating pre-litigation matters to a successful resolution;  with experience in State and Federal Courts.

SKILLS AND BACKGROUND:

• Excellent written and verbal communication and analytical skills.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a collegial, fast-paced environment
• Strong attention to detail, ability to prioritize work, effectively manage a large number of issues at one time and interact and communicate effectively with senior management
• Knowledge of and experience in Product related trials, discovery and trial preparation. Experience in regulatory matters, defense and prosecution of regulatory issues; experience with e-discovery, including requirements, and practical experience with meeting Federal and State requirements.
• Practical knowledge of products, including experience with agricultural, construction, turf equipment and utility vehicles; understanding of the regulatory requirements and the standards used for design and manufacture in North America.
• Proficient in the operation of a variety of business and legal computer software/hardware and multimedia products including research, and large databases.
• If possible, general exposure and experience in a variety of technical disciplines, such as strength of materials, static load analysis, internal combustion engines, structural design analysis.

LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS:

Must be able to read, write and communicate in English

EQUIPMENT OPERATION (% of time, description, nature of service):

If possible, some experience with the operation of agricultural, construction and turf equipment.  Office equipment including computer, copier, fax and phone, printer

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:

Must be able to lift up to 50 lbs.  The position will require walking, standing and sitting at a computer.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Extensive travel involved; extensive work with outside counsel and outside experts involved.

DISCLAIMER:

The information provided in the description has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by incumbents within the classification.  This description is not intended to be a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, qualifications and working conditions required of employees assigned to this job/classification.  This job is intended to include the current essential functions of the job.  Management reserves the right to add or modify the duties and responsibilities and to designate other functions as essential at any time.

 Kubota is an equal opportunity at will employer and does not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of age, race, religion, color, disability, sex, sexual orientation or national origin.