Litigation & Practice Support Manager

Under the direction of the Director of Litigation & Practice Support Services and the Director of Administration for the office, the Litigation & Practice Support Manager has overall responsibility for the all the Litigation & Practice Support consultative and operational activities for their office(s). The efforts of the manager should focus on bringing automation and efficiency to the practicing lawyers in the office through a coordinated information management strategy involving Paralegals, and Litigation Support & Practice Support professionals.

In addition to office operations, the manager will be expected to participate in defining the firm-wide strategic direction for the department. This includes technology decisions, as well as the role of Paralegal and, Litigation Support & Practice Support professionals. The manager will be responsible for implementing locally the firm-wide department strategic initiatives, and ensuring customers are successfully using firm technology to improve legal outcomes, while driving adoption of services and technology across case teams and clients.

The primary mission of the Litigation & Practice Support professionals is to provide legal teams automated solutions for efficiently managing information associated with representing clients. The primary mission of the Paralegal is to provide legal teams with efficient and expert matter management and to effectively direct firm resources supporting those matters.

Plans, manages, organizes, coordinates, and controls the overall operations for Paralegals and, Litigation Support & Practice Support Services for the office.
• Supervises the Paralegals and, Litigation Support & Practice Support staff to develop internal project plans and requests for proposals to vendors. Supports the hiring, training and performance manager for staff.
• Work closely with the legal technology services manager to ensure all processes, people and business functions are aligned to deliver consistent customer success and drive greater adoption of Firm services and technology, including developing strategy to measure and improve local customer satisfaction
• Assists in establishing firm-wide best practices for Paralegals and, Litigation Support and Practice Support activities.
• Assists with evaluating vendor proposals and coordinates and negotiates vendor contract services and pricing.
• Presents plans and budgets to legal team and/or clients and recommends appropriate vendor accordingly.
• Coordinates training for attorneys on Firm automation that brings efficiency to the legal practice in the office.
• Markets department capabilities and is the primary point of contact for the office attorneys.
• Serves as the first point of contact for all legal matters to develop an automation plan and identify appropriate internal and external resources.
• Establishes goals, provides metrics and reports results against goals and routinely recommends steps to meet or exceed departmental goals.
• Coordinates internal and external client requirements with demonstrated client-service attitude and adaptability.
• Keeps abreast of current technologies, strategies and solutions relating to legal support automation.
• Performs other tasks as requested by attorneys, the Director of Litigation & Practice Support or the Director of Administration

Salaries vary by location and are based on numerous factors, including, but not limited to, the relevant market, skills, experience, and education of the selected candidate. If an estimated salary range for this role is available, it will be provided in our Target Salary Range section. Our compensation package also includes bonus eligibility and a comprehensive benefits program. Benefits information can be found at Sidley.com/Benefits.

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform the Duties and Responsibilities (Duties) above satisfactorily and meet the requirements below. The requirements listed below are representative of the minimum knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations will be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job. If you need such an accommodation, please email staffrecruiting@sidley.com (current employees should contact Human Resources).

Education and/or Experience:

Required:

• Bachelor's degree
• A minimum of 8 years litigation support or related experience within a law firm environment and at least 2 years of management experience.
• Knowledge of technologies specific to the legal vertical, including Litigation Support applications
• Proficiency in legal research including Lexis, Westlaw, Internet services and other library material.

Preferred:

• Advanced degree such as a JD, MBA or Master's degree
• Bachelor's or Advanced degree in Business, Legal Studies, Information Systems or related field
• Prior experience as an attorney or paralegal
• Amlaw 100 Law firm experience
• Knowledge of the complete litigation process.
• Knowledge of current vendor market.

Other Skills and Abilities:

The following will also be required of the successful candidate:

• Strong organizational skills
• Strong attention to detail
• Good judgment
• Strong interpersonal communication skills
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Able to work harmoniously and effectively with others
• Able to preserve confidentiality and exercise discretion
• Able to work under pressure
• Able to manage multiple projects with competing deadlines and priorities

Sidley Austin LLP is an Equal Opportunity Employer

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