Associate Director of Discovery Program Management

About Kirkland & Ellis

At Kirkland & Ellis, we are united in our ambition and drive to move forward. We share core values that help us achieve excellence: collaboration, talent empowerment, service, inclusion, respect and gratitude. Our people are our greatest asset, and we invest in the brightest talent and encourage a diversity of perspectives and strengths to create dynamic teams that operate at the pinnacle of their field. Our talented professionals show up every day knowing they will engage in meaningful work, continuous learning and professional development.
 
As one of the world’s leading law firms, we serve a broad range of clients with market-leading practices in private equity, M&A and other complex corporate transactions; investment fund formation and alternative asset management; restructurings; high-stakes commercial and intellectual property litigation; and government, regulatory and internal investigations. We handle the most complicated and sophisticated legal matters because we don’t just meet industry standards, we create them. We bring innovation and entrepreneurialism to every engagement and, as a result, have long-standing client relationships with leading global corporations and financial sponsors. With 6,500 employees (including 3,500 lawyers) operating from 20 offices across the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia, we are one of the largest law firms in the world and a top financial performer.

Essential Job Functions

The firm’s discovery and data science teams continue to grow.  We are looking for experienced leaders excited by a day-to-day that pivots--often rapidly, between resource and project planning, team management, technology roll-out and organizational change management.

The Litigation & Practice Technology (“LPT”) Associate Director of eDiscovery Program Management (“AD”) reports to the Head of Litigation & Practice Technology and will work at the direction of LPT leadership to manage initiation of ediscovery projects, support team administrative management and contribute to other team and firmwide strategic initiatives. 

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS       

Project Resource Planning & Matter Start Up Consulting

The AD will collaborate closely with LPT leadership and firm attorneys to identify and connect new client matter requirements with appropriate team and technology resources.  Matter startup tasks will include collecting and reviewing matter details, assessing technical requirements, and outlining critical timelines.

The AD may also work with case teams to support common matter planning tasks including ediscovery and document review budgeting, consulting on discovery orders, data preservation scoping and general project management.  

Should projects require vendor support, the AD will aid vendor assessment and engagement activities.  The AD will also participate in vendor performance monitoring and process standardization initiatives.  

To optimize resource planning and matter execution the AD will actively participate and lead initiatives to streamline new matter intake, improve workload balancing and other process transformation initiatives.

Develop and/or lead change management efforts across all phases of projects and initiatives to drive the Firm’s culture of continuous improvement.

Team Development & Management

The AD will be joining a leadership team dedicated to modeling and fostering a team culture of open, constructive communication and cross-team collaboration. 

The role will manage development needs for the team, including identifying and coordinating training opportunities. 

The role will also lead various team and sub-team administrative meetings and eventually assume direct, functional management responsibilities.   

DEPARTMENT INITIATIVES

The AD will support team and firm-wide initiatives and special projects focused on litigation technology roll-out and change management, emerging technology assessment (e.g., GenAI) and other process improvements.

The role will support the creation and delivery of presentations to firm clients, attorneys, paralegals and staff regarding team services and general ediscovery topics.      

LPT leadership may adjust or assign responsibilities within the context of this role to support the Firm and our clients as required.  The AD role includes client-billable and non-billable tasks.

Qualifications & Requirements

Required

• Candidates will have spent 10+ years of their career delivering ediscovery solutions in one or more of a variety of roles (e.g., at a law firm, advisory firm, service provider, inhouse legal team or technology company).  
• This experience should include strong familiarity with core ediscovery workflows and platforms (Relativity, Reveal), analytics and TAR use cases (BrainSpace, RevealAI) and common ediscovery rules that impact project planning (ESI Orders, Federal Rules of Civil Procedures, data privacy/cross-border requirements). 
• Candidates will have 3 or more years’ experience coordinating or supervising the work of others.  The AD should have an interest and aptitude for fostering the growth of high-performing teams and enjoy one on one team member engagement.  This must include an ability to identify and resolve conflicts and performance concerns directly, honestly, and respectfully.    
• This position requires a high level of collaboration with clients, attorneys, and other firm leadership; therefore, the ideal candidate must possess strong communication skills and interact with people at all levels with a high degree of accuracy, professionalism, and accountability. 
• Candidates must possess exceptional organizational skills, coupled with good judgement and the ability to independently define and make progress on action items.  Concurrently, they must demonstrate a commitment to consensus building and demonstrate an ability to stay aligned with and meet directives set forth by leadership.
• Bachelor’s Degree
• Proven change management skills

Preferred

• Experience with PMO design and management, multi-phased strategic planning, and leveraging common project management tools and frameworks.
• Data analytics skills, including proficiency in Excel, Tableau, and other data reporting tools.
• Strong PowerPoint and presentation design skills combined with comfort in delivering in-person presentations and updates.

JD/LLM and/or MBA is a plus, but not necessary.

How to Apply

Thank you for your interest in Kirkland & Ellis LLP.  To complete an application and submit your resume, please click "Apply Now."

For applicants who are based in Los Angeles, visit the following link for pay range information: http://staffjobsus.kirkland.com/pages/LAJOBID7622

For applicants who are based in New York City, visit the following link for pay range information: http://staffjobsus.kirkland.com/pages/JOBID7622

Equal Employment Opportunity

All employment decisions, including the recruiting, hiring, placement, training availability, promotion, compensation, evaluation, disciplinary actions, and termination of employment (if necessary) are made without regard to the employee’s race, color, creed, religion, sex, pregnancy or childbirth, personal appearance, family responsibilities, sexual orientation or preference, gender identity, political affiliation, source of income, place of residence, national or ethnic origin, ancestry, age, marital status, military veteran status, unfavorable discharge from military service, physical or mental disability, or on any other basis prohibited by applicable law.

Closing Statement

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