Legal Data Program Manager

Listing expiry: 20 October 2026

About the role

Role Overview

Serves as the primary operational lead for assigned eDiscovery, litigation, investigation, and compliance matters, managing each matter from intake through closeout. Coordinates internal counsel, outside counsel, business stakeholders, technical teams, and service providers to deliver timely, cost-effective, and defensible outcomes. The role combines end-to-end legal data and eDiscovery lifecycle expertise with disciplined project management, risk assessment, stakeholder communication, and technology-enabled process improvement.

Key Responsibilities

• Manage assigned matters from intake, scoping, and planning through preservation, collection, processing, review, production, and closeout.
• Translate legal strategy and deadlines into documented project plans, milestones, roles, dependencies, budgets, quality controls, and escalation paths.
• Lead matter kickoff calls and status meetings, coordinating internal counsel, outside counsel, business units, technical teams, and service providers.
• Assist with meet-and-confer preparation, ESI protocols, search-term negotiations, production specifications, and discovery-related declarations or documentation.
• Maintain accurate matter records, including scope decisions, chain-of-custody documentation, data maps, collection logs, exceptions, approvals, productions, and closeout records.
• Track matter deadlines, data volumes, review progress, risks, issues, spending, and forecasts; report status and escalate material concerns with recommended actions.
• Conduct post-matter reviews and coordinate secure data disposition, return, or retention in accordance with legal, contractual, and IBM requirements.
• Advise attorneys and case teams on practical, auditable approaches to preservation, collection, search, review, analytics, privilege, and production.
• Assess matter complexity, data sources, jurisdictional requirements, privacy constraints, cost drivers, and technical risks, and recommend execution strategies.
• Explain technical concepts, platform capabilities, limitations, and tradeoffs to legal and non-legal audiences and translate decisions into operational requirements.
• Apply technology-assisted review, continuous active learning, advanced analytics, AI-assisted review, and automation where appropriate, with documented objectives, validation methods, quality controls, and defensibility considerations.
• Develop reusable workflows, templates, playbooks, and quality-assurance standards; identify operational gaps and recommend process, configuration, integration, or automation improvements.
• Support implementation, governance, adoption, and responsible use of approved eDiscovery technologies.
• Provide practical training and guidance to attorneys, case teams, and internal partners on eDiscovery processes and tools.

Qualifications & Experience

• Six or more years of eDiscovery program management experience gained in-house, at a law firm, consultancy, or eDiscovery service provider.
• Experience managing complex global legal data and eDiscovery matters and programs.
• Deep, hands-on knowledge of the legal data and eDiscovery lifecycle, including legal holds, preservation, collection, processing, review, production, and data disposition.
• Experience with global eDiscovery matters involving multiple jurisdictions, data privacy regimes such as GDPR, and cross-border production challenges.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple concurrent complex matters with competing deadlines and shifting priorities.
• Significant experience interacting with and advising senior stakeholders, outside counsel, and cross-functional partners.
• Hands-on proficiency with one or more eDiscovery platforms such as Relativity, Nuix, Reveal, or Everlaw, or comparable tools.
• Experience with TAR/CAL workflows, predictive analytics, and AI-driven document review methodologies.
• Experience explaining search algorithms, Boolean search logic, and analytics tools to legal teams.
• Familiarity with enterprise productivity platforms and cloud-based data sources such as Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Slack, and Teams.
• Deep understanding of the Electronic Discovery Reference Model (EDRM) and eDiscovery industry best practices.
• Familiarity with AI-assisted review tools and willingness to continue learning emerging AI methodologies.
• Strong project and time management skills, including prioritization, problem-solving, and meeting deadlines under pressure.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, strong organization and judgment, and the ability to work independently in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to learn new processes and systems quickly and apply them effectively across matters.
• Strong ethical standards and commitment to compliance.
• Ability to support global teams, including occasional flexibility outside standard business hours when needed.

Additional Details

• Preferred education: Doctorate degree.
• Preferred credentials include project management or eDiscovery accreditations such as PMP, ACEDS, or RCA.