AVP, Legal Operations & Network Strategy

A day in the life of an AVP, Legal Operations & Network Strategy at Met Life Legal Plans:

The AVP, Legal Operations & Network Strategy provides executive leadership for the department responsible for overseeing both the strategic management of Met Life Legal Plans’ nationwide attorney network and the business processes that support it. This role ensures operational effectiveness across panel management and claims collaboration, while driving accountability to service level agreements, audit standards, and enterprise objectives. As a senior subject matter expert, the AVP provides guidance on complex coverage matters and escalations, ensuring cohesion between internal teams, member experience, and participating law firms.

This leader sets the vision and direction for a team of relationship managers and support professionals, strengthening internal processes, enhancing network engagement, and delivering measurable performance outcomes. The role partners closely with Sales Support, Legal, Claims, Finance, and Operations to support growth initiatives, fee strategy, coverage evolution, and sponsor reporting. Success requires strong business acumen and the ability to balance legal expertise, operational scalability, financial considerations, and customer experience.

This position will be a hybrid position, with roughly two days in the Cleveland, OH office and three days remote

• Manage attorney panel including recruiting, training, supervising, evaluating and re-credentialing and communicating with PLFs and visiting PLF offices as appropriate
• Lead a team 40 relationship managers to engage, support, educate and manage attorney relationships across the country
• Develop communications and strategies to strengthen our relationships, engage, educate and improve the network NPS
• Support coverage reviews including coverage determinations and coverage appeals.
• Manage annual review of network attorney fees to determine if adjustments need to be made to existing fee schedules including negotiation of fees.
• Maintain and update Participating Law Firm manual on a regular basis.
• Support and manage virtual panel engagement offering available to members.
• Lead a team of associates that support scheduling appointments with our attorneys

• Support Sales department in completing RFP (request for proposal) responses, plan comparisons, and competitor comparisons.
• Participate in finalist meetings, customer facing sales calls/presentations as requested by the sales/marketing organization.
• Partner with our Sales and Legal departments in creating new coverages and/or updating coverage definitions and establish alignment of these changes throughout the organization.
• Partner with Finance and Legal departments in establishing network and out of network attorney fees for new coverage offerings.
• Approve special fee requests at firm level during recruitment to our network.

• Manage attorney panel including recruiting, evaluating, and re-credentialing to including malpractice checks.
• Manage recruiting of network attorneys including: reviewing and approving all attorney applications
• Manage the attorney audit system including assisting accounting with audit standards and cases, determining PLF status related to audit issues and managing training related audit issues
• Support and manage responses for member complaints relating to coverage, claims processing and network attorneys.
• Support and respond to any litigation which may arise from items directly related to position’s management responsibilities.
• Support company litigation by researching legal issues and/or coaching members of the organization in their responses.
• Support and manage audit activity and responses related to the panel and claims departments.
• Obtain and maintain adjustor licenses as deemed necessary for role responsibilities.

• Manage, coach, train, supervise and develop direct reports.
• Manage departmental staffing levels, paid time off, performance reviews and compensation
• Support budget planning by ensuring staffing and capacity models are kept up to date and…