ASSISTANT LEGAL OFFICER

PURPOSE OF THE POSITION

• To provide effective management of legal risks arising from insurance claims and ensure the Company operates within the applicable legal and regulatory frameworks.
• To provide proper and proactive management of all legal claims to ensure prompt settlement at optimal cost to achieve high levels of customer satisfaction and cost-cutting for the Company.

KNOWLEDGE AND QUALIFICATIONS

• Academic Qualifications: Bachelor’s degree in law (LLB)
• Either pursuing or has attained a Post Graduate Diploma (Dip KSL) from the Kenya School of Law
• Either duly admitted as an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya, with a current Practicing Certificate or awaiting admission.
• Ability to quickly learn the operations of the insurance industry and its interface with the Insurance Regulatory Authority.

WORK EXPERIENCE

At least 6 months of practical work experience in either a law firm as a pupil or as an intern.

SPECIFIC JOB SKILLS

• Good interpersonal and communication (verbal and written) skills.
• Ability to meet deadlines.
• Good interaction and presentation skills
• Attention to detail.
• Team player
• Good negotiation skills
• High Integrity and honesty

PERSONAL BEHAVIOUR AND COMPETENCIES

• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Ability to adopt the Company’s culture of professionalism, integrity, and effectiveness.
• Ability to negotiate the best bargain for the Company.
• Ability to work under pressure while prioritizing tasks.
• Ability to work within deadlines with minimal supervision.
• Proactive in nature and results-oriented.

KEY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

A. LITIGATION

• Receiving summons to enter appearance /statutory notices /demand letters /other pleadings.
• Conducting an initial review of matters and preparing an opinion on whether to proceed to defend or negotiate out of court.
• Appointing Advocates to enter appearance and file defenses.
• Liaising with appointed Advocates for updates on matters they are handling and follow up on implementation of our instructions.
• Calling for documents, names of witnesses, and any other particulars from the insured and liaising with Advocates on signing of supporting affidavits.
• Reviewing Legal Opinions and instructing Advocates on the way forward, with the approval of the Legal Manager.
• Allocation and revision of reserves.
• Instructing any other service providers e.g., investigators and doctors, where necessary.
• Liaising with the Company’s advocates on routine correspondence.
• Reviewing investigation reports, to ensure that they are comprehensive enough to meet the need for which they were sought and recommending remedial action as necessary.
• Calling for verification of documents by Investigators.
• Attending court to give evidence.
• Monitoring and confirming that matters in court are proceeding expeditiously.
• Notifying insureds and witnesses of scheduled court hearing dates.
• Following up on witnesses to attend court and our advocates’ offices for pre-trial briefing and reviewing the adequacy of evidence.
• Liaising with Auctioneers on their fees and seeking indulgence where warrants of attachment are obtained.
• Re-negotiating judgment amounts with claimants’ advocates where necessary.
• Quantifying and negotiating amounts for out-of-court settlements.
• Processing payment requests and coordinating fee payments to advocates and other service providers.
• Reviewing and determining whether the outcome of court cases should be appealed or not.
• Ensuring that stay of execution orders are obtained pending appeal and where required, decretal sums or a portion thereof is deposited in a joint interest-bearing account in the names of both counsels.
• Maintaining a master diary and individual diaries of court cases and facilitating hearings of court cases to ensure timely conclusion.
• Processing payment requisitions for payment of judgment awards and following up on payments within the stay period.
• Conducting an annual review of files to confirm the adequacy of reserves.
• Requesting advocates for status reports on cases for review of performance.
• Conducting an annual review of advocates’ performance.
• Preparing performance reports for Departmental meetings.

1. RECOVERIES

• Assisting in recovery of the Company’s outlay from third parties.
• Liaising with the Company’s advocates for recovery of outlays.

Interested candidates are to share their application letter and CV to hr@geminia.co.ke by 30^th November 2023. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.