Washington, D.C., GENERAL SUMMARY :
The role of a Practice Technology Analyst at Jones Day centers on aligning available and emerging technology with the long- and mid-term objectives of the Firm’s law practices and committees, as well as the immediate needs of lawyers and matter teams. The Analyst performs assigned duties with the goal of formulating solutions that enhance productivity, collaboration, document life cycle management, communication, governance and security, and information retrieval and use. With minimal supervision, the Practice Technology Analyst: elicits and documents technology requirements by close observation and interaction with lawyers, paralegals, legal project managers, and support staff involved with client matters; identifies opportunities for applying commercial or in-house technology solutions to improve productivity; aims to simplify and better align technology to the work of legal professionals; and enhances the user experience across the Firm’s many diverse practice areas.
The Analyst is a problem-solver who thrives on identifying opportunities to continuously improve the practice of law and provision of legal services through the application of technology. To accomplish objectives, the Analyst must bring together multiple parties within the firm to develop practical solutions that positively influence the firm’s practices and operations. The Analyst works across a range of customers, from individual lawyers, case teams, and client teams to the firm’s practice areas and supporting departments. Although a member of the Firm’s IT department, the Analyst will work closely with other administrative departments, including Business Development & Communications, Client Services, Practice Services, Document Centers, and Research & Library Services. This position has global scope. It involves use of continuous improvement methods, close collaboration with various IT functional leaders, active outreach to practicing lawyers and legal staff, attention to user experiences, documenting requirements and work habits clearly and in detail, and showing creativity and initiative.
In addition, the Practice Technology Analyst is expected to perform all job duties with a commitment to providing superior service to clients, producing quality work products, and maintaining an atmosphere of teamwork and continuous improvement. Above all, Paralegals must fulfill the needs of the Office in a manner which is consistent with the Firm’s visions and values.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES :
The Practice Technology Analyst shows initiative, creativity, persistence, attention to detail, and flexibility to accomplish broad objectives established by the Director of Technology, the Firm’s technology committee, practice leaders and other key stakeholders. Leveraging his / her / their knowledge of technology, law practice applications and services, and lawyer / matter team day-to-day work habits, the Analyst serves as the glue to bring technology-based solutions to practice challenges and opportunities while simultaneously identifying existing and emerging technology that has the potential to positively benefit the Firm’s legal services and client relationships.
Serve as the primary catalyst for creating and sustaining a communication and service management relationship between the IT department and a set of broad set of global legal practices that are using or seeking to use technology and information solutions to:
generally improve client service,
respond to specific client requests for technology-based capabilities,
leverage opportunities to improve lawyer and matter team productivity on matters,
reduce or remove administrative or non-productive work burdens from lawyers and legal service staff.
Promote and support practice and administrative innovation efforts
Assume the role of customer advocate; represent the practicing lawyers’ technology and information requirements and expectations by proactively communicating them to IT Management team; educate IT personnel on how technologies are utilized – or underutilized – by legal teams in everyday activities; establish strategies for improving user experiences, supporting legal teams, improving technology education and training materials; and delivering valuable solutions.
In cooperation with practice leaders, lawyers, and legal services staff:
identify desired outcomes, expected outputs,
introduce or enhance the application of new and emerging technologies to the practice of law
develop meaningful measures of success for implemented solutions/changes and put in place the means to track performance, benefits
Develop and maintain awareness of the external “legal technology” environment: evolving practice developments, changing legal service environments and competition, potentially beneficial technology and information offerings, and general technology trends
Coordinate with the Information Governance, Document Center, Records Management, Litigation Support, and other Firm functions as necessary and appropriate to verify requirements, identify potential shared solutions and integration points, validate work flows and document life cycles, and ensure an integrated strategy for development of customer-facing solutions
Educate other groups within the IT function about how various law practices, matter teams, and individual legal professionals use information and technology on a day-to-day basis across the firm’s various practice areas and geographies. Work alongside technology trainers to ensure education and training materials “speak” to lawyers and supporting staff.
Participate in product evaluation and selection prompted by practice needs.
Based on direct interaction with users, specify user experience requirements to IT project teams
Identify and report specific incidents or recurring problems that may be under-reported or accepted as “that’s just the way it works”; document requirements; follow through with IT teams to resolve.
Identify risks or shortcomings pertaining to the Firm’s IT architecture as used by practicing lawyers, and make explicit recommendations
Promote security and data privacy awareness in all activities
Participate in developing test plans and scenarios, coordinating testing among user communities, and collecting test documents / data. Complete testing and validate test results when needed.
Review service requests or incident reports relevant to practice technologies
In support of Procurement and IT line and project managers, coordinate with product vendors and professional services consultants / contractors.
ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES :
Familiarity with a wide range of legal technology such as document analysis, template, and comparison software; legal research and online information services; work flow and document production systems; emerging AI and Natural Language Processing software applicable to legal services; practice management systems; legal project management; document management systems; time entry applications; and other software and online systems common to large international professional services firms.
Basic understanding of law firm structure and business practices, as well as a broad, general knowledge of law practice terminology
Proficiency in MS Excel, MS Word, PowerPoint, Access, OneNote, and Visio; iManage, NetDocuments, or similar document management systems; Adobe Acrobat or equivalent.
Strong professional / technical writing skills; ability to explain technology to a non-technical audience, and to explain legal practices and work flows to technical solution teams
Demonstrated ability to manage multiple assignments with competing deadlines and priorities
Excellent verbal communication ability across many situations and audiences, from one-on-one to group presentations and across partners, associates, senior administrative staff, paralegals, and secretaries
Fact- and data-based decision approach
Ability to engage with lawyers and staff in a respectful but assertive manner
Jones Day is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer EDUCATIONAL/JOB EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS :
Required:
Bachelor's degree from an accredited four-year college or university, preferably in business, decision sciences, management information systems, information science, or similar field
Minimum of four years of experience working within a law firm, with at least two years involved with practice systems or research / library systems
Preferred:
Responsibility for selection, implementation, and ongoing operation of contracts analytics, document automation, predictive analytics, or similar legal “AI” solutions
Recent direct experience employing Lean Six Sigma or comparable methods
ITIL v4 Foundations certification
ECBA, CBAP, or PMI-PBA certification
Proficiency building simple workflows using Smartsheet, ServiceNow, or similar tools
Utilization of Agile principles and methods on software projects