Associate Director of eDiscovery and Litigation Support

Associate Director of eDiscovery and Litigation Support

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Position Overview Collaborate with department leadership to advance eDiscovery practices by expanding the use of Technology Assisted Review and Generative AI workflows. Assists the Senior Director of Innovation, Knowledge, and eDiscovery in cultivating a high-performing team through strong leadership, communication, and professional development initiatives. Drives cross-functional initiatives, mentors talent, and elevates the firm’s eDiscovery practice through the strategic implementation of advanced technologies and methodologies integrating eDiscovery, AI, and process optimization. Provides expert-level management of multiple concurrent litigation projects throughout the electronic discovery lifecycle. Consults with case teams and clients on all aspects of the electronic discovery process. Implement and integrate new eDiscovery technologies, achieving high adoption among team members and legal teams. Maintain a high level of client service by delivering timely, accurate, and cost-effective solutions. Works directly with case teams and clients to define requirements, engage vendors, prepare discovery budgets, and organize and manage the handling of electronically stored information throughout the course of litigation, investigation, and other matters. Assists legal teams with the application of technology across various practice group projects. Assists the Senior Director with daily management of the Practice Support Group.

Primary Duties And Responsibilities

• Work with Senior Director to create, modify and improve best practices and workflow procedures for the department. Collaborate with Senior Director and eDiscovery Project Managers to enhance existing processes and reskill/upskill team to address the evolving landscape of eDiscovery and AI. Collaborate with full team to ensure team proficiency in industry-leading eDiscovery technology platforms.
• Provide e-discovery consulting expertise and project management for attorneys, paralegals and clients; provides guidance on strategic and technical issues relating to all aspects of discovery including: overall scoping and budgeting of e-discovery projects, coordination of data collection efforts, documenting data processing and production instructions, monitoring risk issues within the discovery process, implementing database review processes and procedures, providing information regarding current federal/state rules and case law precedents specifically relating to e-discovery issues and handling overall project management issues (e.g., discovery analytics, data sampling, technology search options, vendor management and budget issues, etc.).
• Collaborate with team leadership to manage, lead, motivate and develop PSG team members. Mentor team members and maintain an environment of ongoing education, client service excellence, and professional growth. Conduct team meetings to discuss active projects that affect the PSG department. Work closely with Senior Director and eDiscovery project managers to ensure that policies, programs and processes are developed, implemented and communicated to PSG and to firm personnel as appropriate.
• Qualify and coordinate use of litigation support vendors for legal teams; manage timelines; negotiate contracts and fees; review vendor invoices for accuracy and negotiate adjustments when needed; prepare data processing specifications and other vendor instructions; provide quality control of deliverables. Ensure that scope and volume of work follows original Statements of Work and ensure that changes impacting costs/budget are communicated to case teams and approved by clients.
• Collaborate with leadership team to advance eDiscovery practices by expanding the use of TAR, machine learning, and Generative AI workflows, while consistently staying ahead of industry trends.
• Conduct research and evaluate industry-leading eDiscovery technology platforms and vendors in order to make recommendations on the best technology options for the firm. Serve as liaison with the Technology and Data Services and/or Project Management Office during implementation, customization and deployment of new litigation support programs and systems.
• Stay current on the rapidly changing technology developments relating to litigation support and the rapidly changing case law, rules and statutes impacting electronic discovery, both domestically and internationally.
• Work with team leadership to prepare the annual staff plan and budget for the department, monitor and control expenses and explain variances in the budget.

Secondary Duties And Responsibilities

• Performs additional duties and responsibilities as may be assigned.

Working Conditions

• Job requires flexibility with hours and work during non-traditional business hours when case deadlines demand.
• Travel to other office locations as needed.
• Job is subject to rigorous deadlines and high-pressure situations.

Qualifications

Education

• Bachelor’s degree or related equivalent experience

Experience

• Ten years’ experience in electronic discovery project management at a law firm or litigation technology vendor.
• Significant experience in eDiscovery and project management, with significant experience in a senior leadership role predominantly within a law firm or legal technology vendor preferred.

Special Knowledge

• Position requires expert-level knowledge of the litigation and dispute process, all phases of the Electronic Discovery Reference Model and the use of technology to support litigation, e-discovery, and other practice group projects.
• Significant knowledge of TAR, machine learning, and Generative AI workflows in eDiscovery.

Technical Skills

• High level of experience with Relativity and other web-hosted litigation support applications; high level of experience with data analytics tools and applications.
• Proficiency in TAR, machine learning, and metrics capture is essential; experience with GenAI is a plus.
• High level knowledge of CaseMap Cloud+ or similar programs, Adobe Acrobat/Kofax PDF.
• Experience with trial presentation software (OnCue, Sanction, Trial Director).

Attributes

• Strong supervisory, teamwork, organizational and project management skills.
• Ability to communicate well and deal effectively with all levels of firm personnel at varying levels of technical ability.
• Strong collaboration and influencing skills.
• Ability to effectively translate technical information about environments, tools and controls to case teams in layman’s terms so that they are able to understand and customize the electronic discovery process for each matter in a way that is strategic, risk averse and cost effective.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, demanding environment, be flexible and adaptable, relate to user problems and maintain a calm demeanor. Excellent written, verbal, listening, analytical, negotiation and presentation skills.
• Ability to manage multiple concurrent projects and tasks effectively.

Qualifications

• Ability to think critically throughout the electronic discovery process, to proactively identify potential problems and impending potential issues.
• Exceptional analytical skills with a strong ability to identify and resolve complex problems.
• Ability to handle sensitive and/or confidential documents and see projects through to completion in a timely manner.

Annual Salary Range

$178,735.13 - $294,914.29

Please note that the actual compensation may vary from posting based on geographic location, work experience, education and/or skill level. The posted salary is the range Vinson & Elkins in good faith believes to be the possible compensation for this role at the time of this posting. This range is only applicable for jobs to be performed in Washington D.C. and may be modified in the future.