Settlement Department Manager

The Ward Law Group, PL•Miami Lakes, FL

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The Ward Law Group is seeking a Settlement Department Manager to lead the team responsible for valuing, negotiating, and resolving the firm’s pre-suit personal injury inventory. This is a people-management role with no individual file pipeline; performance is measured by the negotiators’ results and the department’s overall outcomes. The firm uses documented workflows, defined case stages, case-level data, and performance standards calibrated to case-specific factors. The manager will recruit, onboard, train, coach, and manage settlement negotiators and support staff; establish and monitor performance standards; oversee valuations, demand packages, settlement strategies, and sensitive negotiations; and maintain department procedures and workflows. The role collaborates with medical management, intake, case management, litigation, and firm leadership to improve case readiness, handoffs, reporting, and client recoveries. The manager also ensures settlement resolutions are documented, compliant, approved by clients, and disbursed accurately and promptly. They set expectations for client communications, including communication in clients’ preferred languages, address escalated concerns, and implement improvements based on feedback. This is an in-office role, Monday through Friday.

Requirements

At least 7 years of progressive personal injury experience, including substantial pre-suit settlement and negotiation experience.
At least 3 years directly managing a settlements, pre-litigation, or case management team, with accountability for other people’s results.
Demonstrated experience managing through metrics, setting performance standards, tracking results, holding people accountable, coaching underperformers, and making performance decisions.
Strong case valuation expertise, including medical specials, treatment trajectory, procedure-level valuation, comparative fault, coverage layers, and venue-specific analysis.
Fluency in written and spoken English and Spanish.
Working knowledge of Florida personal injury practice, including PIP, the statutory pre-suit framework, and applicable damages and fee rules.
Comfort using a case management system, reports, and spreadsheets, including building or interpreting pipeline reports.
Ability to work on-site Monday through Friday.
Employment is contingent on verification of identity and authorization to work in the United States; hired candidates must complete Form I-9 and provide acceptable documentation.

Nice To Haves

Experience on both the plaintiff and defense sides, or exposure to litigation as well as pre-suit.
A track record of building departmental infrastructure such as SOPs, scorecards, training programs, and stage definitions.
Experience managing a department through substantial growth in headcount or case volume.
Deep medical management and lien negotiation experience, including letters of protection and health insurance and government liens.
Formal management training or a documented history of developing people who were later promoted.

Responsibilities

Directly manage settlement negotiators and support staff, including hiring, onboarding, training, and performance management.
Conduct regular, documented one-on-ones, file reviews, and coaching sessions; create individual development plans focused on valuation accuracy, negotiation skills, and file velocity.
Address performance and conduct issues promptly and in partnership with Human Resources, including corrective action when warranted.
Own department KPIs, including settlement volume and value, policy-limits capture, net client recovery, pre-suit stage time, aged-file exposure, demand turnaround, and negotiator productivity.
Set individual and team performance standards calibrated to jurisdiction, case type, treatment posture, coverage, and liability profile.
Review pipeline and performance data weekly, diagnose changes, and take corrective action related to processes, staffing, training, intake quality, or medical management.
Report department performance, forecasts, and risks to firm leadership with analysis.
Manage aged and stalled inventory so files are resolved on their merits and have documented plans.
Serve as the final internal authority on case valuation and settlement strategy within approval limits, escalating matters when appropriate.
Review and approve demand packages, settlement authority requests, and counteroffers for quality, accuracy, and strategy.
Apply and teach valuation methods across injury types and procedures, including soft tissue injuries, injections, surgery, and traumatic brain injury.
Identify bad-faith setups, policy-limits opportunities, UM/UIM exposure, and coverage issues, coordinating strategy with firm leadership.
Personally handle or co-handle the department’s highest-exposure and most sensitive negotiations.
Maintain and improve standard operating procedures, checklists, templates, and case-stage definitions.
Partner with medical management on treatment monitoring, records and billing completeness, reductions, and lien resolution.
Coordinate with intake, case management, and litigation to ensure effective handoffs and share feedback about case quality.
Ensure negotiated resolutions are documented and compliant, have client approval, and are disbursed accurately and promptly.
Identify, implement, and measure technology, reporting, and workflow improvements.
Set standards for clear client settlement counseling, realistic valuation expectations, and communication without surprises at disbursement.
Ensure client communications are in clients’ preferred languages and meet expected standards for responsiveness and cultural fluency.
Personally resolve escalated client concerns and use them to identify process improvements.
Audit department inventory and workflows, establish calibrated performance standards and reporting cadence, triage aged inventory, improve settlement value and velocity, and develop team members into senior or lead roles.

Benefits

Professional development and continuing education support.
Medical, dental, and vision plans.
Hospital plans.
401(k) retirement plan with pre-tax and Roth post-tax contributions.
Company-paid basic life insurance and AD&D, plus voluntary life and AD&D coverage for employees and dependents.
Company-paid short- and long-term disability.
Health and dependent care spending accounts (HSA and DCFSA).
Employee Assistance Program.
Tuition assistance.
Paid time off and paid holidays.