Director, Legal Ops & Legal Systems Innovation

Earthjustice•Washington, DC

40d•$151,100 - $197,500•Hybrid

About The Position

Earthjustice is the nation's leading environmental law organization. We wield the power of law and the strength of partnership to protect people’s health, preserve magnificent places and wildlife, advance clean energy, and combat climate change. We are here because the Earth needs a good lawyer. Driven by a passion for justice, inclusion, partnership, and excellence, our core values lead us to seek a broad range of perspectives and backgrounds to achieve our mission and maintain an inclusive environment where all staff are valued and respected. The Director, Legal Ops & Legal Systems Innovation (“Director”) is responsible for overseeing the design and operation of effective legal technology and administrative systems to support Earthjustice’s various legal programs. The position works closely with Information Technology (“IT”) leadership to develop and implement the General Counsel’s (“GC’s”) and legal teams’ legal technology strategy. The Director acts as an innovative leader, can get things done, continually improves processes, and stays up to date on legal technology and legal innovation opportunities to help support IT’s work towards overall systems improvement. The Director may attend relevant industry conferences and travel to meet with teams as necessary and appropriate from time-to-time. This position is also responsible for supporting GC staff in compliance and risk management responsibilities. This position is supervisory, overseeing a team of skilled professionals, and reports to the General Counsel. The Director, Legal Ops & Legal Systems Innovation is expected to work a full-time (37.5 hours/week) schedule and may work hybrid or remote. For hybrid arrangements, the preferred location is San Francisco, CA or Washington, D.C.; however, other Earthjustice office locations will be considered.

Requirements

Minimum of 5 years of progressive legal operations experience, with at least 2 years in a management role within a legal department or law firm.
Strong leadership, communication, and management skills.
Tech-savvy and well-versed in legal enterprise software, tools, and applications, with strong knowledge of matter management and intelligence systems (e.g., Intapp, Foundation), ethical walls, conflicts, and time entry, as well as experience deploying AI-based legal tool and ensuring that legal technology solutions align with global compliance frameworks (e.g., GDPR, FDA, EMA) and company policies.
Demonstrated ability to use change management practices to facilitate transitions related to technology, processes, and people.
Understanding of legal operations and litigation processes within law firms.
Superb project management skills, attention to detail, and the ability to meet tight deadlines, with a demonstrated ability to adapt to change, organize, prioritize, and manage multiple tasks—sometimes under pressure and facing unexpected challenges—with excellent results.
Deep understanding of legal ethics, conflicts management and professional responsibility
Demonstrated experience developing, implementing, and tracking budgets.
Excellent interpersonal, written, and verbal in-person communication skills, sound judgment in dealing with people and situations, and ability to maintain discretion and handle confidential information appropriately.
Contributes to recruiting, hiring, developing, and retaining a diverse and inclusive workforce.
Commitment to Earthjustice’s values of Justice, Excellence, Inclusion, and Partnership.

Responsibilities

Collaborate with organizational leadership to align operational strategies for program teams with organizational goals and improve legal systems innovation to support Earthjustice legal programs, to enhance efficiency of workflows and to strengthen compliance.
Oversee the team’s budgeting, administrative, and people management function; provide assistance with strategy and operational processes within the General Counsel’s Office; and develop and implement internal guidelines, templates and workflows that meet organizational policies and standards; Manage vendor relationships and external service providers.
Uphold Earthjustice’s mission and values by fostering a respectful, inclusive, and collaborative work environment, providing clear direction and prompt feedback, and promoting a culture of learning for all team members.
Develop and execute the department’s strategic operational plan and conduct data analysis to inform decision-making and identify cost-saving opportunities.
Establish and track key performance indicators (KPIs) and operational metrics for the team and regarding the team’s systems.
Develop annual budgets and supervise team spend and resource allocation. Manage the budget for and recommend legal technology software and tools in consultation with key stakeholders.
Oversee the conflict-of-interest identification and clearance process and implement and maintain ethical wall protocols to ensure compliance with professional responsibility requirements in coordination with the Deputy General Counsel.
Collaborate with IT to oversee the transition of responsibility for system maintenance and backend administrative support for LegalOps’ software. Ensure that this shared model promotes data quality, supports efficient workflows, ensures adherence to ethics rules and regulatory requirements, and includes the development of policies and procedures that protect privileged and confidential information.
In conjunction with GC staff, manage legal staff involved in legal risk mitigation, including, without limitation, the conflicts checks and resolution process for new matters and staff, including identifying opportunities to improve processes and systems to mitigate legal risk.
Oversee the gathering, maintenance, and interpretation of matter intelligence to support reporting needs for the SVPs of Operations and Program, VPs of Litigation and the President, as well as the Finance, Development, and Communications teams.
Manage and assist with optimizing matter intake, assignment and time tracking processes and oversee timekeeping systems to ensure accurate time capture.
Oversee day-to-day operations and adoption of Contract Management System, including evaluating potential platforms and process improvements with GC Team.
Partner with IT and Program to identify, evaluate, and adopt tools, including legal artificial intelligence tools, that will support the organization’s legal practice and compliance.
Support the development of processes and workflows to ensure such deployments are done in a compliant manner and are periodically evaluated to ensure they meet ongoing program needs and satisfy applicable compliance requirements.
Stay current on emerging legal technologies and innovation trends.
Actively pursue professional development and promote a culture of learning by building skills and sharing knowledge.
Maintain current knowledge of law firm administrative and technology best practices.