Canadian Senior Counsel, Global Surety Department: Global Surety Legal
Location: Toronto, ON
ReportsTo: AVP & Senior Counsel, Global Surety Legal
The Opportunity:This is a newly created role in Canada, established in response to the continued growth of Liberty Mutual's Global Surety book of business, including the increasing size, sophistication, and complexity of accounts. The Senior Counsel will be a dedicated, business-embedded legal support to Liberty Mutual Canada's Global Surety business as it continues to evolve, and in response to the increased diversity in the Canadian surety market.
The successful incumbent will have a direct reporting line to the Canadian Head of Surety, with a functional reporting line to the Assistant General Counsel, Global Surety Legal (U.S.), ensuring strong alignment with global strategy, governance, and risk management practices. The Senior Counsel will play a critical role in primarily supporting underwriting, operations, and strategic initiatives across contract and commercial surety lines. This role serves as a trusted legal advisor, providing timely, pragmatic, and commercially informed legal counsel while helping the business identify and manage legal risk.
The role combines sophisticated individual contributor work with strong cross-functional partnership and contributes to legal operational excellence, process improvement, and the adoption of technology -enabled legal service delivery, including AI- and GenAI-supported tools.
Duties & Responsibilities:- Uphold Liberty Mutual's values and Guidelines for Inclusion to foster a high-performance, collaborative, and inclusive legal and business environment
- As the Canadian portfolio evolves, there is a need for dedicated, locally based legal support aligned to global function.
- Serve as day-to-day legal counsel to designated Global Surety business partners, primarily underwriting, as well as operations, claims, and support functions
- Provide legal advice on contract and commercial surety matters, including complex, high-exposure, and non-standard transactions
- Advise on indemnity agreements, bond forms, construction and commercial contracts, financial and alternative risk transfer structures, agency and broker matters, and related surety issues
- Partner proactively with business stakeholders to identify legal issues early and deliver practical, business-aligned solutions
- Monitor Canadian legal, regulatory, and market developments relevant to surety, including infrastructure and construction trends, financial institution developments, and emerging risks
- Escalate significant legal and regulatory issues as appropriate and translate emerging risks into clear, actionable guidance
- Support legal operational excellence through development of templates, playbooks, standard documents, and knowledge-sharing tools
- Participate in legal technology initiatives, including AI- and GenAI-enabled workflow improvements, to enhance efficiency, consistency, and service delivery
- Contribute to cross-functional and enterprise initiatives, projects, or transformation efforts as required
Skills & Qualifications:- Law degree (LL.B. or J.D.) and active membership in good standing with a Canadian provincial law society (Ontario preferred)
- 9-12 years of relevant legal experience, with strong exposure to surety law, construction law, commercial transactions, insurance, or financial services; in-house and/or private practice experience considered
- Strong knowledge of Canadian contract and commercial surety law; experience with construction and infrastructure projects is an asset
- Demonstrated ability to exercise sound legal judgment and manage legal and business risk in complex or ambiguous situations
- Strong business acumen with the ability to provide concise, practical, and commercially focused legal advice
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain legal concepts clearly to non-legal audiences
- Proven ability to build effective partnerships and collaborate across legal and business teams
- High level of professionalism, responsiveness, and accountability
- Comfort with legal technology and a continuous improvement mindset; interest or experience with AI-enabled legal tools is an asset
- Occasional travel required (approximately up to 20%)
We do not use AI-based screening tools in our hiring process. Candidates who complete an interview and remain under consideration may request, and will receive, feedback within 45 days.
