Litigation Practice & Technology Principal

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 discovery subject-matter consulting, team development and thinking about what’s next. 

The Litigation & Practice Technology (“LPT”) Principal reports to the Managing Director of Litigation & Practice Technology and is primarily responsible for directing, supporting, and participating in a team of ediscovery and data science specialists dedicated to defining and executing workflows focused on thoughtful analysis and production of client documents and data.  Matters in scope include litigations, internal investigations, regulatory responses, due diligence reviews, and other complex legal matters. 

Ideal candidates will have spent 15+ years of their career delivering ediscovery consulting services in one or more of a variety of roles (e.g., at a law firm, advisory firm, or with an inhouse legal team).      

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

Matter Intake, Assessment & Execution

The Principal will consult and strategize with case teams, clients, and team members on efficient and effective ways to meet discovery objectives through appropriate workflow design, matter staffing, vendor engagement, and application of technology.

The Principal must be a seasoned, client-facing ediscovery specialist that can bring forward and execute creative solutions backed up by broad experience and tested expertise.  Greater than 50% of the Principal’s time will be spent completing client matter work.   

Team Building & Growth

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

The role will lead a cross-functional team of (8-10) ediscovery experts (indirect reports) all focused on delivering exceptional outcomes to case teams and clients.  The Principal will communicate directly, contemporaneously, and constantly with all team members transforming individual knowledge and discoveries, into team knowledge and department success.

The Principal will encourage awareness and adoption of appropriate standard operating procedures and other defined practices necessary to ensure continuity and quality in service delivery.

Department Initiatives

The Principal will be a member of LPT’s senior leadership team.

The role will lead efforts focused on ensuring broad awareness of team services which may include creation and delivery of presentations to firm clients, attorneys, and paralegals.   

The Principal may also support team initiatives and special projects focused on emerging technology assessment (e.g., GenAI) and other process improvements.

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

Qualifications & Requirements

Required

• Candidates will have spent 15+ years of their career delivering consultative ediscovery services in one or more of a variety of roles (e.g., at a law firm, advisory firm, service provider, inhouse legal team).
• This experience should include significant client interactions and strong familiarity with core discovery workflows including data preservation and collection standards, ediscovery 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). 
• 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 enjoy interacting 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

Preferred

• Ideal candidates will have demonstratable, deep subject matter expertise in two or more of the following disciplines--litigation readiness/information governance consulting; data preservation and collection from enterprise systems; complex data processing; assessment of discovery orders; advanced application of analytics and TAR; design and management of effective review workflows; advanced project management processes. 

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/LAJOBID7624

For applicants who are based in New York City, visit the following link for pay range information: http://staffjobsus.kirkland.com/pages/JOBID7624

How to Apply

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

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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