Litigation & Recovery Manager

About the role

We are seeking an experienced Litigation & Recovery Manager to lead the Company's litigation and recovery activities related to distressed and defaulted equipment finance transactions. This hands-on role requires strong judgment, persistence, and commercial thinking. Reporting to the Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer, the Litigation & Recovery Manager will develop and execute strategies to maximize recoveries, protect company assets, and resolve matters efficiently while balancing financial, legal, customer, and reputational considerations. This position oversees a portfolio of complex default, litigation, repossession, bankruptcy, deficiency, fraud, and other recovery matters and partners closely with Credit, Collections, Asset Management, Operations, Sales, Finance, Compliance, and Legal.

Essential Functions

• Manage a portfolio of complex litigation, recovery, bankruptcy, repossession, deficiency, enforcement, fraud, and other matters arising from equipment finance and leasing transactions, including matters brought by or against the Company.
• Develop and execute recovery strategies based on exposure, collateral value, obligor financial condition, guarantees, documentation, jurisdiction, legal costs, timing, collectability, and expected recovery.
• Determine when matters should be negotiated, restructured, escalated to litigation, referred to outside counsel, settled, or recommended for write-off, partnering with Legal leadership on significant, precedent-setting, or higher-risk matters.
• Ensure recovery actions are timely, commercially reasonable, appropriately documented, and consistent with Company policies and applicable law.
• Prepare and file civil complaints in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas; participate in in-person and virtual hearings and settlement conferences; draft discovery responses; respond to subpoenas; and prepare estate claims, in coordination with Legal and as permitted based on the individual's qualifications.
• Select and manage outside counsel and other third-party recovery resources within established Company guidelines, setting expectations for strategy, timelines, budgets, reporting, and outcomes.
• Review legal invoices and evaluate outside counsel performance, including responsiveness, cycle time, cost-effectiveness, and recovery results, while maintaining an effective network of counsel across relevant jurisdictions.
• Coordinate with Asset Management, Collections, Operations, and third-party providers regarding repossession, surrender, remarketing, equipment disposition, deficiency claims, and post-disposition recovery strategies.
• Manage bankruptcy and other complex default matters in coordination with internal and external counsel, including proofs of claim, relief from stay, restructuring strategies, equipment surrender, and other creditor remedies.
• Evaluate financially distressed obligors and matters involving suspected fraud, asset concealment, fraudulent transfers, documentation issues, or other unusual circumstances, escalating concerns appropriately.
• Lead and manage a Litigation and Recovery team of approximately six to eight employees, including coaching, workload prioritization, performance management, and professional development.
• Maintain accurate reporting on exposure, matter status, strategy, expected recovery, legal spend, key dates, and next actions; provide regular updates to Credit, Finance, Legal, and senior management regarding significant matters, trends, risks, and forecasts.
• Establish and monitor meaningful measures of effectiveness, including gross and net recoveries, recovery rates, recovery versus forecast, legal expense, time to resolution, matter aging, and outside counsel performance.
• Partner across Credit, Documentation, Operations, Asset Management, Collections, Sales, Finance, and Legal to identify root causes, strengthen underwriting and servicing practices, improve recovery effectiveness, and reduce future losses.
• Build a disciplined, data-driven litigation and recovery function that balances appropriate controls with practical business judgment and consistently drives matters toward resolution.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required. Legal education, training, or experience, including a JD or paralegal background, is a plus but not required.
• 7+ years of experience in commercial collections, litigation management, recovery, special assets, workout, equipment finance, commercial lending, or a related discipline.
• Equipment finance and leasing experience strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated knowledge of commercial finance documentation, secured transactions, guarantees, repossession, bankruptcy, litigation, settlements, and deficiency recovery.
• Experience managing outside counsel, legal expenses, and third-party recovery resources.
• Ability to analyze financial exposure and make practical cost-benefit decisions regarding recovery strategies.
• Strong negotiation, communication, documentation, reporting, and organizational skills.
• Ability to manage a significant caseload while distinguishing routine matters from those requiring immediate escalation.
• Strong judgment, commercial thinking, and the ability to clearly communicate risks, options, costs, and recommended actions.
• Demonstrated ability to take ownership, work with urgency and accountability, and build effective relationships across Legal, Credit, Operations, Finance, Asset Management, Collections, and Sales.
• Team leadership and performance-management experience.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Life insurance
• Short and long-term disability
• 401(k) with match
• Flexible spending
• Paid time off
• One paid day off per year for community involvement
• Birthday off