SVP & Deputy General Counsel, Global Dispute Resolution, Corporate and Legal Operations

Hilton•McLean, VA

3d•Onsite

About The Position

This Deputy General Counsel role represents a critical enterprise leadership position within Hilton's Legal team at a top-tier global hospitality and S&P 500 company. This role operates with significant independence and executive visibility, requiring sound judgment, executive presence, and the ability to influence outcomes at the highest levels of the organization. The portfolio combines strategic oversight of complex global litigation with broad corporate, governance, transactional, and public company responsibilities. The role operates as a trusted advisor to the General Counsel, CEO, executive leadership team, and Board of Directors, and is expected to bring seasoned judgment, business acumen, and leadership presence to the company's most consequential matters. The Senior Vice President & Deputy General Counsel, Global Dispute Resolution, Corporate and Legal Operations will oversee a substantial portion of Hilton's global Legal function, including Global Dispute Resolution, Public Company Governance and Corporate Transactions, and Legal Operations. Reporting to the EVP & General Counsel, this leader will partner with senior executives, including Finance leadership, Operations, Development, and the Board of Directors to protect Hilton's brands and reputation, strengthen governance, and proactively manage enterprise risk. This is a highly visible role requiring frequent interaction with the Executive Leadership Team and the Board of Directors. The successful candidate will bring a commercial mindset, strong financial acumen, and a proven track record of leading complex legal portfolios in a manner that integrates risk management with business performance and long-term enterprise value creation. Aligned with Hilton's corporate objectives, this leader will reinforce a proactive, high-performance culture in which legal strategy and business objectives are integrated and mutually reinforcing, thereby driving efficiency and financial performance, enabling global growth, strengthening governance and culture, and delivering value for guests and owners.

Requirements

Juris Doctor (JD) from an ABA-accredited law school
Active U.S. bar license
Sixteen (16+) years of progressive legal experience
Broad-based legal experience
Significant senior-level litigation experience, including leading complex commercial litigation, investigations, and regulatory matters, ideally within a large, global, sophisticated organization. Government and/or law firm training is preferred.
Broad corporate legal background encompassing securities law compliance, corporate governance, M&A, financings, and strategic transactions.
Deep experience advising senior executives and Boards of Directors or the equivalent on high-stakes legal, governance, and risk matters with the confidence and credibility to deliver clear, candid, and business-oriented advice.
Proven experience managing and developing senior legal teams, including both attorneys and non-attorney professionals, within complex, matrixed organizations.
Track record of effective influencing and relationship building
Willingness to travel up to 15–20%.
Strategic Judgment & Business Acumen. Brings a business-minded, pragmatic approach to legal leadership, with the ability to assess risk, anticipate issues, and deliver clear, actionable advice aligned with enterprise priorities.
Demonstrates sound judgment, independence, and credibility in high-pressure, high-visibility situations.
Able to integrate financial, operational, reputational, and regulatory considerations into balanced, enterprise-level decision-making.
Leadership & Influence. A confident, authentic leader who can influence without authority, inspire followership, and operate effectively with senior executives, Boards, regulators, and external stakeholders.
Communicates complex legal issues in clear, practical, “plain English” terms, while retaining technical depth when required.
Exercises independent, well-calibrated judgment to ensure defensible, timely, and proportionate outcomes in high-risk matters, including appropriate escalation of material issues to senior leadership and the Board.
Collaboration & Execution. Highly collaborative and service-oriented, with the agility to shift between strategic leadership and hands-on engagement as needed.
Results-oriented, resilient, and comfortable operating in ambiguity, with a demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities in fast-paced environments.
Integrity & Presence. Unquestioned ethics, integrity, and discretion, coupled with executive presence, gravitas, and the ability to represent the Legal function at the highest levels of the organization.

Nice To Haves

Experience in hospitality, travel, or other global consumer-facing industries
Experience leading legal operations transformation initiatives
Experience managing global, cross-border disputes and regulatory matters
Demonstrated leadership of large, multidisciplinary legal teams
Experience interacting regularly with corporate Boards and Board Committees
Demonstrated experience managing significant outside counsel budget

Responsibilities

Enterprise Legal Leadership Serve as a senior member of the General Counsel's leadership team, partnering closely with the General Counsel on enterprise-wide legal strategy, priorities, and execution.
Act as a strategic advisor to the CEO, Board of Directors, and executive leadership on high-impact legal, corporate, litigation, regulatory, governance, and risk matters.
Provide leadership across a broad legal portfolio requiring sound judgment, independence, discretion, and the ability to balance legal risk with business objectives.
Foster collaboration across the Legal Department and with cross-functional stakeholders, ensuring consistent, high-quality legal support across the enterprise.
Global Dispute Resolution & Enterprise Risk Leadership Lead Hilton's global dispute resolution strategy across domestic and international matters.
Lead, oversee, and set strategy for a diverse, global portfolio of litigation, ranging from routine commercial disputes to complex, high-stakes matters with potential enterprise-wide impact.
Provide strategic and tactical leadership on litigation risk mitigation, dispute resolution, settlement strategy, and litigation avoidance practices.
Drive disciplined outside counsel strategy, including performance, defensible outcomes, cost management, and accurate forecasts of litigation spend.
Serve as a senior legal voice on sensitive investigations, regulatory matters, and disputes requiring executive-level engagement.
Oversee high-risk and high-profile matters involving owner disputes, employment and wage-and-hour class actions (including PAGA matters), ADA and regulatory matters, antitrust and pricing litigation, tax disputes, cyber and privacy claims, intellectual property disputes, insurance recovery, and other complex enterprise risks.
Provide strategic oversight of information governance and global e-discovery programs to reduce risk associated with document retention and preservation.
Advise executive leadership on litigation risk, reputational exposure, and emerging dispute trends in key markets.
Embed lessons learned from disputes across managed, franchised, and owned properties into proactive risk mitigation practices across Operations, HR, Risk Management, Development, and Brand teams.
Provide regular reporting to the General Counsel, CEO, and Board (including Audit Committee, as applicable) on material litigation and dispute exposure.
Public Company Governance & Corporate Transactions Lead corporate governance strategy and Board support, including oversight of Board and Committee materials, agendas, minutes, and written consents.
Oversee and advise on annual shareholder meetings, shareholder engagement, and emerging governance trends.
Maintain oversight of public company compliance, including securities law obligations, disclosure controls, periodic reporting, and shareholder engagement matters.
Advise on emerging regulatory and disclosure issues, including climate, cybersecurity, and other evolving governance considerations.
Advise directors and senior executives on fiduciary duties, disclosure obligations, shareholder engagement, and governance best practices.
Oversee subsidiary governance, entity management, and global corporate secretarial functions.
Oversee legal strategy for capital markets transactions, including credit facilities, bond offerings and redemptions, share repurchases, dividends, debt covenant compliance, and refinancing initiatives.
Supervise governance and compliance for global subsidiaries, including restructurings, intercompany financing, KYC/UBO compliance, and international expansion support.
Transactions & Strategic Initiatives Lead complex transactional work, including mergers and acquisitions, investments, partnership arrangements, corporate real estate matters and other strategic transactions in support of global growth initiatives.
Partner closely with finance, strategy, and business development leaders.
Support complex commercial matters and enterprise initiatives that require integrated corporate, regulatory, and litigation judgment.
Legal Operations & Financial Stewardship Provide executive oversight of Hilton Legal's consolidated budget, forecasting, reporting, and financial operations in close partnership with Finance.
Lead enterprise-wide outside counsel and vendor management strategy, including RFP processes, rate negotiations, billing oversight, and data-driven spend transparency.
Drive modernization and optimization of legal technology platforms in collaboration with Corporate IT, including Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) tools, matter management systems, and document management systems, maximizing the responsible use of Artificial Intelligence to improve efficiency.
Enhance operational infrastructure supporting attorneys and legal professionals, including strategic planning, objective-setting, leadership forums, and alignment to Hilton's key strategic priorities.
Drive a culture of disciplined execution, transparency, and data-driven decision-making across the Legal function.
Ensure Legal Operations functions as a strategic driver of efficiency, accountability, and enterprise value.
Team & Talent Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing team of attorneys, paralegals, and legal operations professionals, fostering a culture of accountability, engagement, and succession planning.