The Vice President & Chief of Staff of Legal will operate as Chief of Staff and business partner to the Chief Legal Officer to oversee all Legal department operations, help drive all projects, save executive time, keep initiatives on track, provide strategic insights, framing and guidance on key issues, ensure smooth running and scaling of the organization. The Chief of Staff will be responsible for management of all non-law practice aspects of the Legal Department in coordination with and under the direction of the Chief Legal Officer, including: development of and adherence to monthly, quarterly and annual budgets; development of metrics and preparation of dashboards and reports regarding Legal department spending, analytics, and performance; assisting in intra-department and inter-department activities, events and communications; oversight of personnel development, recruitment, orientation, training and retention; development of project budgets with outside counsel and ensuring adherence to the same; creating and applying procurement processes to engage outside counsel, vendors and software; development of corporate law department best practices and creating or updating internal process improvements; and oversight of all department project management. The successful candidate will be a hands-on, roll-up your sleeves individual that has a very strong work ethic, is well organized, analytically skilled, a strategic thinker, strong leader, detailed oriented and quality minded, who is proactive and has exceptional communication skills.

As a hands-on manager and through the leadership of Legal operations team members, duties and responsibilities include, but not limited to, the following:

Overview

Acts as Chief of Staff and partner with Chief Legal Officer providing leadership to the Legal organization worldwide and implementation and executing on Legal department’s objectives.

Save executive time

Free up CLO time to concentrate on the highest value tasks.

Organize staff meetings, QBRs, team meetings/offsites, etc.

Create agendas, create templates, prep presenters, review presentations for clarity and appropriate asks/outcomes

Prepare executive communications and presentation materials for C-level internal, Client, and Prospect meetings

Act as interim leader of a group or team to cover executive departures or leaves

Meet with external parties (partners, clients, vendors) in situations that might not require a meeting with the CLO or when the CLO not available

Drive projects, get things done, and alert CLO and practice group lead counsel of tasks or projects that are not timely progressing

Drive initiatives that cut across functions and teams

Provide leadership to the Legal organization and coordinate with other Chiefs of Staff and Operations personnel in other departments

Coordinate special projects

Help the CLO keep initiatives on track

Serve as an extension of the CLO in non-legal matters – maintain momentum and execution of the CLO’s top priorities. 

Work with Legal department leadership team to develop and oversee a program focused on the recruitment, training and retention of Legal Department support staff and attorneys and management of support staff

Manage the Legal Department's budget and forecasting processes, and regularly update and monitor the budget to effectively control costs

Drive the development of monthly and quarterly business metrics and provide operational analysis through reports and dashboards

Manage the outside counsel law firm rate review process under the direction of the CLO

Act as primary contact for outside counsel management and communication of billing procedures and vendor guidelines

Manage resources focused on E-Billing, and related issues and firm communications

Complete ad-hoc and special projects as requested/required by the Legal Department Leadership Team

Source, evaluate, test, train, implement and support technology solutions throughout the Legal Departmen  

Act as system owner for Legal Department tools and technology, including Matter Management, E-Billing, Document Management, Intellectual Property Management, Contract Management, E-Discovery, ServiceNow, Icertis, SharePoint, and Intranet 

Develop best-in-class systems, policies and processes required for maximum efficiency and consistency across the Legal Department including any underlying data that may be needed for such systems to function accurately and reliably

Work with the Legal Department Leadership Team to determine future Legal Operations team hires, develop job requirements and lead the hiring process 

Define, develop and manage a program for continuing Legal Education, as well as research library tools/subscriptions and new employee orientation handbook

Provide such other support and activities as requested by the CLO

Operational Planning and Execution

Help develop, refine and promote the Legal department’s mission, and develop and execute on the department’s short and long-term operations plan

Provide creative thinking to help identify and develop cutting-edge strategies for increasing value and reducing outside legal spend, while maintaining excellent legal representation and optimizing engagement practices with our law firms

Manage other plans or initiatives to scale and make the legal department more efficient, as delegated by the CLO

Create metrics KPIs and monitor progress to measure success against plans

Benchmark both internally and externally to stay on top of current trends and best practices

Finance and Budget Management

Partner with legal leadership, finance and procurement to develop and manage the legal annualoperating plan and all department budgets

Lead the operational planning process to determine future headcount and spend by practice area and site. Work as a primary interface between the legal department and finance and/or procurement

Identify, collect, and report on key performance indicators and metrics on a global basis that are meaningful and relevant in ascertaining the legal team’s budget management performance, including spend analysis, efficiency initiatives and technology

Reduce the cost of the Legal department annually in relation to company revenues by scaling operations and driving efficiencies

Legal Information Technology

Assess all department resources related to matter management, knowledge management, eDiscovery, ethics & compliance, document management, and billing management, then implement best in class technology, systems and processes

Partner closely with Brightflag e-billing provider to implement system, enhancements, run detailed reports within the software tool and create spend dashboards

Create and manage department intranet websites and all knowledge management tools and processes

Develop expertise on legal tech and assessing other tools which may include contract management, content & knowledge management, IP management, business process enhancement, e-signature, eDiscovery, litigation hold, compliance management and subsidiary management. As the company and legal department grow, lead the effort to implement appropriate systems

eDiscovery, Document and Records Management

Streamline eDiscovery processes (legal holds, document review and management), reduce spend and partner with eDiscovery vendor as appropriate in coordination with the Litigation practice group

Manage and continuously improve the document management process across the entire department

Implement knowledge management program such that information is easy to find for both the legal department team and its clients

Outside Counsel and Legal Vendor Management

Lead the law firm and third-party vendor management programs with the aim of reducing spend, maximizing value, and improving predictability, all while improving the quality of outside legal representation

Conduct vendor RFPs where appropriate

Update outside counsel billing guidelines

Create a tracking system or leverage Brightflag or other platforms that will provide quick access to data on each engagement and pricing model

Manage relationships with law firms and other outside vendors

Develop templates for use across the department

Develop creative matter-specific fee arrangements in partnership with managing attorneys • Negotiate fee arrangements with outside counsel firms and third-party vendors

Create data and reporting processes to monitor pricing performance and savings

Collect and organize outside counsel data, leverage data in future negotiations

Communications and Administration

Stay abreast of industry trends, analyze outside counsel billing practices against in-house guidelines, and maintain an updated outside counsel guidelines document and related tools.

Work with Legal Staff to ensure the legal department’s workflow is aligned to priorities and to identify solutions to increase overall efficiency

Work cross-functionally with professionals in Legal, Finance, IT, Procurement, HR, Security, and others

Manage new hire onboarding processes for the legal department

Recruit, select, train, manage, appraise performance, and administer salaries of direct report employees

Oversee development and implementation of department policies and trainings

Manage the department’s linkages with HR, IT and other Staff Functions, helping to implement Company initiatives and minimize attorney time spent on such initiatives

Develop and implement the department’s strategic communications plan, e.g. newsletters, announcements, and messages from leadership team; ensure communications goals support department and company objectives; measure effectiveness and relevance

Identify training opportunities, facilitate education on best practices, and help create department-specific guidelines and policies

Coordinate monthly department meetings and weekly Legal Management Meetings by developing agendas with CLO and leadership team, record notes and action items in each meeting, document and follow up on action items between meetings

Establish operating cadence - weekly, quarterly and annual cycle

Qualifications/Skills/Experience

Location

Remote, US

Education

Bachelor’s degree required. Law degree preferred. MBA degree or demonstrated equivalent management experience a plus.

Experience and Skills

5-10 plus years of total work experience in legal operations or law firm management, or equivalent experience

Executive management experience and proven leadership track record of making an impact, developing and executing on strategies and delivering superior results in both the short and long term

Demonstrable experience with alternative fee arrangement cost modeling or law firm billing, pricing and compensation practices

Strong understanding of litigation/transaction matter lifecycles and delivery of legal services

Technology-savvy; proficient in all Microsoft Office applications, especially Excel; expertise with eBilling software

Proven negotiation skills with senior partner level outside counsel attorneys and pricing directors or finance departments of law firms.

Demonstrated track record of influencing senior level stakeholders (both internal and external)

Excellent written and oral communication skills. Strong ability to communicate concisely with a wide variety of audiences, including senior management and key external stakeholders and proven ability to engage, influence and align stakeholders

Demonstrated ability to build and lead a complex function; success managing, leading and coaching others in a large, global organization in order to achieve objectives; and execute projects

Capacity to think strategically to identify issues, especially in a fast-paced environment, and develop long-term solutions

Demonstrated project management aptitude or skills

Both broad and deep experience creating and implementing new processes or improving existing processes that drive operational efficiencies in the software support and development areas.

Detailed understanding of financial planning and budget management, support and development processes, operational reporting.

Start-up and rapidly expanding service delivery organization experience strongly preferred.

Self-confident with ability to work with and influence senior management.

Ability to build and maintain strong relationships, gaining trust and confidence as a strategic partner from all levels within the organization

Very strong work ethic and team player with a positive “do what it takes” attitude.

Strong problem solving, organizational and collaboration skills.

Outstanding analytical skills and strong ability to interpret and succinctly present key findings and recommendations.

Excellent written, oral and presentation skills.

Education or relevant experience in business analysis, strategic planning & statistical analysis, with preferred focus on legal department metrics and analytics

Experience simultaneously driving multiple projects, and identifying, prioritizing and resolving key business issues

Ability to work remotely if not resident in a company office. Ability to work both independently, as a self-starter with strong work ethic, as well as collaboratively as team player with the CLO and Legal department

Strong executive presence, with excellent ability to communicate verbally and in writing and to inspire confidence by subordinate team members and company leadership, including the ability to lead or participate in conference calls, meetings with third-parties, and presentations to the company’s Executive team and Board

Strong inter-personal skills to work with department team members, other departments, law firms and vendors at all levels of employment

Ability to perform the essential functions of the position, as described above and as modified by the CLO from time to time based on the needs of the company

Excellent judgment and the ability to function with sound strategic thinking in a highly confidential environment

Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills

Able to manage multiple priorities with “can do” attitude, work cross-functionally and meet tight deadlines without getting flustered

Desired Qualifications:

Experience with Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Smartsheet’s required

Experience with project management software strongly preferred

Experience with Microsoft Teams or similar remote communication software a plus

Personable, self-starting team player with a friendly demeanor and great sense of humor

Proactive, organized, self-motivated and self-disciplined

Experience managing legal professionals a plus

Willing and able to work in a fast-paced, emerging technology company environment.