Senior Counsel - Litigation

Sazerac Company•Jeffersontown, KY

1d•$160,000 - $240,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Senior Counsel, Litigation is responsible for managing and executing the company’s litigation strategy and operations, with a particular focus on eDiscovery, discovery management, records retention, legal holds, and external counsel oversight. This role serves as a central point of coordination across Legal, Risk Management, Insurance, IT, and business stakeholders to ensure litigation matters are handled efficiently, defensibly, and within approved budgets. You will promote awareness of attorney–client privilege, legal risk, and responsible communication practices across the organization. You will also design and deliver company-wide training on privilege protection, legal communications, and investigations, and partner with internal teams and international counsel to ensure consistent privilege-preserving practices across jurisdictions. In this hybrid role, you'll be expected onsite 3 days a week for in-person collaboration with the team.

Requirements

Juris doctor from an accredited law school; active bar membership
7+ years of litigation experience, including discovery and ediscovery leadership

Nice To Haves

Demonstrated expertise in litigation operations, privilege, and cost management
In-house experience is strongly preferred

Responsibilities

Lead litigation discovery and legal compliance activities to ensure defensible processes and regulatory adherence.
Manage all phases of litigation discovery including preservation, collection, review, and production.
Design and administer the company’s legal hold program and partner with IT and Records Management to align data sources and enforce the records retention schedule.
Provide guidance on privilege protection, discovery proportionality, and legal risk mitigation.
Ensure compliance with discovery obligations, privilege standards, and legal processes across the organization.
Develop and improve standardized litigation and discovery processes that increase efficiency and defensibility.
Create discovery protocols, playbooks, and workflows that guide legal, IT, and business teams during litigation matters.
Continuously evaluate discovery processes, vendor performance, and internal procedures to improve effectiveness, reduce risk, and streamline legal operations.
Manage relationships with outside counsel, eDiscovery vendors, and litigation support providers to ensure effective service delivery and adherence to company expectations.
Serve as primary liaison with external legal providers and ensure compliance with billing guidelines, discovery protocols, and privilege standards.
Oversee litigation budgeting and legal spend management.
Require detailed budgets from outside counsel, monitor spend against approved budgets, and address variances proactively.
Prepare reports on litigation status, costs, and risk exposure to support financial planning and leadership decision-making.
Promote awareness of attorney–client privilege, legal risk, and responsible communication practices across the organization.
Design and deliver company-wide training on privilege protection, legal communications, and investigations.
Partner with internal teams and international counsel to ensure consistent privilege-preserving practices across jurisdictions.