The Opportunity

About Digital Legal Delivery

Digital adaption is presenting businesses with efficiencies and opportunities at pace – Herbert Smith Freehills is no different. Continuing to support our clients with this rapid change, we have created a team of the best analytical legal minds with investments in cutting-edge technology and technologists in our Digital Legal Delivery (Digital) practice.

Bringing together legal, project management, process design and technology expertise, our Digital group supports businesses who need invention from their legal advisors. Leveraging experience to map the intersections where people and tech deliver results, this team supports businesses undergoing their own digitisation projects and those who seek disentanglement from the manual and inefficient processes in the delivery of legal services. Experienced at delivering large and complex legal services, we are experts in the delivery of data-intensive mandates.

Imagining possibilities, HSF’s Digital Legal Delivery practice is implementing the best technology solutions today, while horizon scanning and experimenting with emerging technologies to understand their practical applications.

Legal

In Legal, we help shape how the firm delivers legal matters to clients. We have longstanding experience in thinking differently about law, and we are at the forefront of making legal services more efficient – particularly at scale.

We have a deep knowledge across a broad range of sectors, and a wealth of experience in delivering large and complex mandates. We are specialists in contract management, document review, volume claims and remediation, and due diligence.

Working collaboratively with colleagues from across the firm, we use our expertise in law, process design and technology to deliver solutions for our clients. Underpinned by our legal project management capability, we organise our collective effort as efficiently and seamlessly as possible. This ensures consistent delivery throughout and enables our clients to achieve efficiencies across their operations.

Legal Technology

In Legal Technology, we deploy the firm’s established technology efficiently and reliably across a range of client matters and projects.

We combine our expertise in document automation, custom development, eDiscovery and data analytics and client reporting – to work collaboratively across the firm on disputes, transactions and projects.

Digital Change

In Digital Change, we innovate, invest and push our firm’s boundaries when it comes to new uses of legal technology.

We experiment with technology and pilot tools to understand them deeply: their potential challenges and benefits, and how they can be used in our day-to-day work to provide better solutions for clients.

And we ensure we have the right internal governance when it comes to making decisions, so we can minimise risk, maximise our opportunities and provide consistency for our stakeholders.

Advisory

In Advisory, we bring deep expertise in legal operations and emerging technologies, working across any sector, alongside our teams or directly with clients.We are trusted advisers to our clients on new ways of working as we scan the horizon, together.

The Role

This role is responsible for day-to-day engagement with instructing teams (partners and associates of the firm) for the best practice execution of the eDiscovery aspects of matters.

The role will ensure the overall provision of high quality services and will play a key part in building the reputation of the eDiscovery function both internally and externally.

Note that limited travel, to other Herbert Smith Freehills offices or to clients, may be required from time to time.

Key Responsibilities

• Working under the direction of the Managers/Senior Executives, to identify and understand client needs, executing the recommended technical solutions and delivering an effective solution throughout the life of a matter.
• In consultation with the Managers/Senior Executives to help set accurate budgets for costs and timescales for cases, subsequently ensuring that such work is completed within budget and to agreed standards and deadlines.
• Working with Managers to develop project management plans for each matter, which includes evidence tracking, resource management, preparing and reporting on cost proposals, risk management, risk mitigation and status reporting.
• Maintaining project files including preparing file notes, memoranda, minutes of meetings, instructions and communications with the legal teams and clients.
• Liaising with other team members to ensure that correct solutions and processes are implemented at a cost effective level and work is delivered on time.
• Working collaboratively with team members including, when directed by the Manager/Senior Executive, to supervise as appropriate any tasks delegated to Analysts.
• Executing tasks on cases, as assigned, with a high level of attention to detail, and to be proactive about consistency and quality control throughout.
• Taking the lead on individual cases, reporting to and updating Managers/Senior Executives, eDiscovery on a regular basis.
• Assist in the preparation of presentations to internal and external audiences, conducting presentations when required.
• Participating in post case reviews.
• System implementation and support: participating in the team’s activity, workflow and processes in support of the necessary document review software solutions and, as part of their role, to provide where requested support to technical and other changes in the use of technology over time.
• Assisting and enabling internal stakeholders to work effectively with document review software, and with other relevant IT systems for handling case-related information.
• Document review software expertise:
  • Executives will possess a sound understanding of the functionality of document review software.
  • To the extent that problems arise, in consultation with the Managers and Senior Manager eDiscovery, to trouble-shoot problems and to liaise with the software providers to resolve any issues.
• Working with Third-Party Partners:
  • Supporting and managing third party partner’s activities to support project deliverables.
  • Liaising with third-party partners, HSF legal teams, business services and external clients where necessary to support effective communication between the parties.
  • Providing constructive and timely feedback about the services of our third party partners to Managers as and when necessary.
• eDiscovery: working with the Managers to challenge, develop, maintain and continuously improve best practice eDiscovery processes.
• Protocols: advising on eDiscovery processes and protocols, including communicating with Client Technology/Litigation Support representatives of clients and/or opposing law firms on disputes when applicable.
• Knowledge capture and process improvement: contributing appropriately to the continuous improvement of relevant business processes and protocols including case specific process manuals.

The responsibilities outlined above cannot totally encompass or define all tasks that may be required of the post-holder.  The outline of responsibilities given above may, therefore, vary from time to time without materially changing either the character or level of responsibility or grade.

Skills and Experience

Essential

• Graduate (2:1 or above) or equivalent or a post-graduate qualification with a minimum of 3 A levels (ideally B grades and above) with minimum 2 years’ experience in a similar industry.
• If not a graduate, then the candidate must demonstrate evidence of operating at an appropriate level in the eDiscovery or technical client data field.
• Expertise in Document Review Platforms such as Relativity, Recommind Axcelerate, or similar.
• Experience working within a similar team at the required level.
• Expertise in supporting document reviews and case work.
• Proficiency in technical skills.
• Good verbal and written communication skills.
• Capable of articulating technical concepts effectively. Able to draft concise, accurate (grammar and spelling) and credible notes/emails to explain the eDiscovery process.

Desirable

• Excellent understanding of the legal framework of eDiscovery, existing protocols, practices and relevant legal standards. Academic legal training (law at degree level or postgraduate) and experience as a legal practitioner desirable.
• Experience related to eDiscovery and other Litigation Support processes.
• Proficiency in several Litigation Support applications and a sound knowledge of eDiscovery software market.
• Experience of supervising more junior staff, ideally including identifying and responding to training needs.
• Proficiency in MS Windows and MS Office Applications.
• Industry knowledge or law firm experience, or of working in a professional services environment (e.g. consulting or accounting) would be a distinct advantage, although not essential.
• Financial management skills. Experience in the preparation and monitoring of cost estimates for case reviews.

Closing Date for Applications is Friday 23rd August 2024 at 12pm

Team

Digital Legal Delivery

Full time

Location

London

Contract type

Permanent Contract

Diversity & Inclusion

At Herbert Smith Freehills you will be part of a diverse, innovative culture where high performance, client focus and highly engaged people are our differentiator. People at our firm come from a range of backgrounds and bring a wide variety of experiences and perspectives to their work with us. We strive to ensure that our inclusive environment means you feel valued and able to perform at your best by being your authentic self at work. We know that our future success not only depends on being innovative and progressive in the changing legal market but, most importantly, on our people feeling highly engaged in meaningful work.

We understand that you have commitments and personal interests outside of work and we strive to create a working environment based on mutual trust and respect, in which you can perform at your best whilst maintaining sustainable balance across your life.