Litigation Support

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MANATT, PHELPS & PHILLIPS LLP is one of the nation's premier law and consulting firms known for quality and extraordinary commitment to clients & integrated, relationship-based services. We are notably progressive and entrepreneurial and are deeply committed to diversity, public service, and excellence in all we do.

Summary

We currently have an opportunity for a National Litigation Support Manager in our Los Angeles Office.  This position will be Responsible for all aspects of building and maintaining firm wide litigation support systems and practices, including vendor management, selection and implementation of litigation support and E-discovery technologies, creation and implementation of effective practice support policies and procedures and oversight and management of Practice Support personnel.  Promote department's effectiveness, including assessing team and client needs; organizing and directing workflow; training, coaching and motivating team.  Ensure client service and satisfaction are attained in all relevant areas of the position.

Responsibilities

 Client Service
• Ensure that internal and external clients receive exemplary, seamless support in all aspects of job position.
• Proactively communicate with internal and external clients to ensure litigation support needs are met.
• Regularly review client service procedures and standards related to position, identify and implement enhancements to client service.

Case and Process Management
• Develop and implement strategic plan for providing effective case management services to the Firm's clients; establish and monitor the roles of attorneys, paralegals and litigation practice support personnel in the delivery of planning, budgeting, collecting and reporting tools.
• Establish and implement technology, recommended practices and systems that are consistent across offices to effectively support the litigation practice, and are in line with the business goals of the firm.
• Ensure the litigation practice is using appropriate, innovative and cost effective technologies to manage discovery process.
• Lead post-project analysis to discover workflow inefficiencies and obstacles, and identifies, designs, and applies quality control processes and improvements for the discovery process.
• Manage the development and maintenance of all Practice Support documentation relating to internal processes, workflow, and support information.
• Provide appropriate e-discovery and technology consulting services to clients, attorneys, paralegals and support staff.
• Assist with the development and delivery of training to litigation case teams on effective document review protocol utilizing both Firm and vendor technology etc.
• Provide firm-wide technical assistance for Concordance, FYI, IPro, MSAccess, CaseMap, Sanction, LiveNote, various Online Review Tools, and other litigation software.

Team Management
• Evaluate and initiate department structure and provide role clarification, setting performance standards and implementing accountabilities.
• Participate in hiring decisions, including assisting with preparation of job postings/descriptions, interviews, and review of resumes.
• Responsible for coordinating assignments and timely completion of tasks in order to implement appropriate technology solutions.

Vendor Management
• Develop and maintain a group of standard services and vendors that can support firm-wide litigation cases.
• Develop standards and procedures for negotiating and interacting with vendors for outsourcing litigation projects.
• Work with vendors on negotiation of contracts in conjunction with the Firm's Technology Transactions Group and maintain list of preferred vendors for outsourcing of litigation projects.

Administrative
• Partner with the Information Technology on training attorneys, paralegals and legal staff on the use of computer technology in case management, firm's technology tools and e-discovery.
• Assist with preparation and management of annual budgets.
• Track support center incidents assigned to the team to ensure department service levels are met for responding to and resolving incidents. 
• Analyze data to make recommendations for process improvements.

Qualifications
• Must have a minimum of 5 years experience in a litigation environment, including thorough knowledge of the litigation process and an advanced understanding of the technology supporting litigation efforts.
• Minimum 2 years of large law firm experience required and 3 years in a management role.
• Advanced knowledge of Concordance, IPRO, CaseMap and LiveNote  is a must. 
• Experience with  Adobe Acrobat, Opticon, and Sanction II is highly desirable.
• Ability to travel to other offices as needed.
 
TO APPLY FOR THIS POSITION, PLEASE SUBMIT RESUMES TO JOBOPENINGS@MANATT.COM
Attn:  Holly Brown.  EOE

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FIRM INTRODUCTION

Reed Smith is one of the 15 largest law firms in the world, with more than 1,600 lawyers in 23 offices throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Founded in 1877, the firm represents leading international businesses from Fortune 100 corporations to mid-market and emerging enterprises. Its attorneys provide litigation services in multi-jurisdictional matters and other high stake disputes, deliver regulatory counsel, and execute the full range of strategic domestic and cross-border transactions. Reed Smith is a preeminent advisor to industries including financial services, life sciences, health care, advertising and media, shipping, international trade and commodities, real estate, manufacturing, and education. For more information, visit reedsmith.com.

POSITION SUMMARY

As a member of the Knowledge Management team, the Director of Knowledge Management will partner with the Chief Knowledge Officer (CKO) in the development and execution of a global Knowledge Management (KM) strategy.  This position requires proven excellence in three principal competencies:  Vision (not only the ability to independently incubate innovative ideas, but also to see them through to completion), Leadership (being able to lead and mentor a team) and Delivery (being able to work on a multitude of projects, keep the group on track and on budget while delivering high quality end results).  The Director of Knowledge Management should be a self-starter, a calculated risk-taker and an entrepreneur who is driven by creating a vision and executing it.  By aligning new ideas with the business needs of the Firm, the Director will act as a consultant, driving innovation that fit the Firm's knowledge vision and global strategic plan.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Being able to apply a demonstrated mastery of both the practice and the business of law, and independently indentify new areas of opportunity for KM to help solve business challenges.
• Managing and leading the other members of the KM department and assuming day-to-day responsibility for all KM department activities, keeping both KM projects and KM staff on task and on budget.
• Partnering with CKO to develop and implement KM strategy.
• Cultivate, mentor and enhance the KM staff.
• Act as the primary liaison between the KM Department and the lawyers.
• Staying current not only with KM trends, but also be well versed in law firm business trends such as alternative fees.
• Help define the Reed Smith set of best practices.
• Lead the requirement-gathering and documentation efforts for all new initiatives.
• Excellent writing skills, including the ability to gather due diligence, perform research and document conclusions and recommendations.
• Excellent verbal and presentation skills, including the ability to address large group meetings.
• Develop and instruct educational sessions, including one-on-one training with key lawyers.
• Create the annual budget, with input from the CKO, and manage the budget accordingly throughout the year.
• Participate in meetings with prospective clients.
• Create monthly reports monitoring the utilization of various KM systems.
• Working knowledge of all major legal applications, including Interwoven, Elite, WestKM, Recommind, Extranets and Intranets.
• Understanding of enterprise search, SharePoint 2007/BDC, web 2.0, Silverslight, RSS, mashups and other leading-edge technology.
• Understanding of data warehousing and enterprise data integration methods.

REQUIREMENTS

Education:

Undergraduate degree is required; MBA or J.D. preferred.

Experience:

At least 5 years working in a large law firm environment is required.  International law firm experience preferred.  Experience with SharePoint, Recommind or related systems also preferred.

Skills:

Highly motivated, energetic self-starter who can think and act independently.  Ability to be organized and detailed.  Strong leadership, management, problem-solving skills.  Must be flexible, have strong interpersonal skills and be able to interact with employees at all levels of the Firm as well as vendors and others outside the Firm.

OTHER

Supervisory Responsibilities:

Supervising a team of 4 people; including KM analysts, coordinators and supervisors.

Equipment to be Used:

Personal computer and other office equipment such as telephone, calculator, fax, copier, etc.

Typical Physical Demands:

Manual dexterity sufficient to operate standard office equipment.

Typical Mental Demands:

Must be able to deal with stress associated with fast-paced work environment and be able to handle multiple priorities/tasks.  Demonstrated ability to make judgment decisions and adapt to changing work situations.  Grasp and apply new ideas.  Communicate with various personalities at all levels.

Working Conditions:

Works in a typical office setting.  Candidate can be located in any one of our US offices, which are:  Century City, CA; Chicago, IL; Falls Church, VA; Los Angeles, CA; New York, NY; Oakland, CA; Philadelphia, PA; Pittsburgh, PA; Princeton, NJ; Richmond, VA; San Francisco, CA; Silicon Valley, CA; Washington, DC; or Wilmington, DE

Availability to work before/after traditional business hours and to work hours in excess of 40 in a work week is required.  Must be able to travel (via plane, train, car, etc., as appropriate) to any Reed Smith office as needed and, with reasonable notice, must be able to work at out-of-town locations for possible extended periods of time.

Reed Smith offers a challenging work environment, business casual dress code and a total compensation package that includes a competitive salary, flexible benefits program, tuition assistance, and generous 401(k) plan.

Qualified candidates only. No search firms. Reed Smith is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Please submit resume and salary requirement to:

Christina M. Wortzman
Reed Smith LLP
20 Stanwix Street, Suite 1200
Pittsburgh, PA  15222
E-Mail:  jobs@reedsmith.com
Fax:  412.288.3063
~ no phone calls please ~

- Arnstein & Lehr LLP is seeking a network administrator based out of our Chicago office.

Regional Network Administrator will provide computer, telecommunications and training support to multiple law firm offices. 5+ years of prior experience required. Law firm experience preferred. MS network Certifications MCSE and Bachelor's degree in IT preferable. STRONG communication and customer service skills are a must. Experience in a help desk atmosphere is preferred.

Candidates must have experience troubleshooting PC hardware/software, knowledge of Windows 2003, XP and MS Office in a networked environment and the ability to repair computer hardware and related components in addition to excellent communication and customer service skills.

Position provides PC technical support for end users within the organization; sets up and installs new workstations including hardware and software; acts as help desk team member providing technical support to end user issues, including but not limited to software, hardware, network, operating system, peripherals, etc.

Regional Network Administrator provides software and telephone training for all new hires, applies upgrades and updates to maintain user software, maintains server and network equipment and performs upgrades as necessary, and prepares technology needs for meetings and manages all local office telecommunications.

Interested, qualified candidates should submit their resume with cover letter and salary requirement to mmsiil@arnstein.com. Applicants will not be considered if they do not supply both an updated resume and cover letter stating their salary requirement.