Description
This job description will be reviewed periodically and is subject to change by management and/or Human Resources.
POSITION OVERVIEW
The UK-based Litigation & Practice Technology (LPT) Project Manager will be joining an established team of US-based discovery and data science specialists dedicated to defining and executing projects focused on thoughtful analysis of data and documents to support the needs of legal teams and clients. Matters in scope include litigations, internal investigations, regulatory responses, due diligence reviews, arbitration support, general case management and other complex litigation, dispute, and transactional legal matters.
The LPT Project Manager will also function as a representative of the broader LPT team and so should enjoy, with support from LPT and local leadership, building and maintaining strong working relationships with local teams and broader EMEA stakeholder groups.
The LPT Project Manager reports to the Associate Director of Discovery Program Management and will also have dotted-line reporting and support from local attorney and IT leadership. The role will support both EMEA and US-based projects.
Ideal candidates will have proven proficient experience in their career delivering disclosure/discovery consulting and project management services in one or more of a variety of roles (, at a law firm, advisory firm, or with an inhouse legal team).
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS(This list is not exhaustive and may be supplemented and changed as necessary.)
Coordinate Disclosure/Discovery Workstreams
Working in partnership with Kirkland attorneys, paralegals, and other LPT members, the LPT Project Manager will support the coordination and execution of key disclosure/discovery workstreams including;
Regular communications with clients, case teams, and vendors to define and manage matter goals, action items, and timelines; Identification, collection, and tracking of documents, data, and other key information from client systems through production, including compliance with necessary data protection, privacy and cross-border considerations; Supporting and documenting discussions and action items with client inhouse legal teams, IT teams and employees; Supporting disclosure/discovery and document review vendor assessment, engagement, and onboarding; Coordinating development and tracking of matter fee estimates and budgets.
Facilitate Cross-Team Collaboration
The LPT Project Manager will also play a key role in keeping members across multiple workstreams coordinated and aware of relevant developments. These efforts may include;
Scheduling and leading matter planning, kick-off, and status calls; Managing a centralize tracker of action items and support documentation.
Execute Technical eDiscovery Tasks
In addition to general project management and coordination the LPT Project Manager will complete technical tasks as required including;
Providing hands-on support in Relativity, Brainspace and other technology toolsets for a variety of requests, including: case creation; field and coding layout creation; strategic application of TAR and other analytics; advanced search design, implementation and validation; creation and support of document review and production workflows; privilege log design and management; compliant data and exhibit management. Advising on development of key specifications (g., data processing and exception handling) with case teams and internal LPT Operations team. Addressing any issues found in reporting related to data processing, exception handling or completeness of data collection. Coordinating (or performing if necessary) in-house data management activities such as data processing, loading into database applications, imaging and building production subsets. Performing final quality control and assurance on deliverables to case teams, clients and third parties. Supporting other advisory or technical services as requested by local and EMEA legal teams.
Department Initiatives
The LPT Project Manager may also support team initiatives and special projects focused on building awareness of team services, technology training and team process improvement. LPT leadership may adjust or assign responsibilities within the context of this role to support the Firm and our clients as required. The LPT Project Manager role includes client-billable and non-billable tasks.
QUALIFICATIONS & REQUIREMENTS
A successful LPT Project Manager will have a strong combination of the following technical, project management and consulting experience, capabilities, and knowledge.
Required
Candidates will have proven experience, mastering litigation and disclosure/discovery-focused project management services in one or more of a variety of roles (, at a law firm, advisory firm, service provider, inhouse legal team). This experience should include significant client interactions and strong familiarity with core workflows including data preservation, collection, and production standards; ediscovery platforms (Relativity); and common disclosure/discovery rules that impact project planning (disclosure/discovery orders, data privacy/cross-border requirements). This position requires a high level of collaboration with clients, attorneys, and other case team members; 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 and case teams. Candidates must have a strong hands-on experience with leading eDiscovery review platforms (Relativity, Reveal) with an emphasis on database setup, complex search construction and results validation, design of optimized review workflows including document batching. Candidates must have robust hands-on experience with the use of TAR and other analytics (BrainSpace, NexLP) with an emphasis on the use of CAL/CMML and other techniques for deduplication, email threading, review prioritization, sampling, production quality control, privilege identification and other predictive models. Candidates must have experience assessing and designing data workflows to support compliance with data protection, privacy, and cross-border requirements. Candidates must have expert knowledge of industry standard data processing specifications, exception handling and other data assessment techniques. Candidate must have thorough knowledge of the litigation lifecycle and Disclosure/Discovery processes.
Preferred
Ideal candidates will have experience assessing and summarizing service providers RFP responses, including pricing models. Ideal candidates will have experience consulting case teams and clients on best practices related to data identification, preservation and collection. Ideal candidates will have Experience training case teams on analytics use and best practices.
Other Qualifications & Requirements.
Ability to express thoughts, ideas and information in a clear and compelling manner by highlighting critical points, adjusting messaging to suit the audience, addressing questions and points from others with appropriate responses. Ability to identify problems by detecting patterns or connections, researching and analyze problems, determining alternative solutions and creating action steps to solve the problem. Ability to think and act quickly, effectively, and appropriately in a variety of situations, solving problems while balancing time, quality, cost and risk. Ability to work independently and as part of a cross-office team, building relationships, delegating working and escalating risk appropriately. 'Can Do' attitude. Ability to proactively manage case team expectations, recognize needs and adapt plans accordingly. Willingness and ability to identify gaps, propose solutions and take ownership of projects. Bachelor's Degree preferred, though a combination of associate's degree and commensurate experience will be considered. This position requires some weekend and after hours support and may require occasional travel.
