Director of Technology Platforms & Applications

Cooley is seeking a Director of Technology Platforms & Applications to join the Technology Platforms and Applications team.

Position summary: The Director of Technology Platforms & Applications will play a key role in leading in our Technology & Security organization, overseeing many of the critical systems and tools that power a leading technology law firm. In addition to technical management, this role is instrumental in leading a team of experts, shaping our technological direction, and ensuring our lawyers, paralegals, and business professionals have the advanced tools they need to serve our clients and drive the business of law.
 

The Director of Technology Platforms & Applications is responsible for a wide-ranging portfolio and lead the teams that span our enterprise business systems, as well as applications supporting general, commoditized needs across practice areas and administrative departments. The Director of Technology Platforms & Applications is also responsible for a firmwide portfolio of core technology workflow and collaboration platforms from the Document Management System to ServiceNow to the Firm’s intranet and workflow systems including low-code/no-code, while shaping and driving a program of responsible enterprise AI initiatives. This role is also responsible for managing a significant annual budget, overseeing vendor relationships, and acting as a strategic partner across the firm, driving continuous improvement and growth. Specific duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:
 

Strategic Leadership & Management

• Lead and mentor a team of Associate Directors by example, fostering a culture of ownership, accountability, Technology Service Management and continuous improvement across their teams
• Recruit, develop and retain top talent in all areas with clear roles and responsibilities, establishing key goals and performance indicators
• Develop and execute a strategic roadmap for our application and platform portfolio, ensuring alignment with the firm's business goals and measures with clear KPIs
• Manage a $10–twelve million annual budget, making strategic decisions to maximize technology value
• Ensure compliance with all firm and department policies
   

Operations & Technology Oversight

• Provide strategic oversight for all business-of-law applications, including finance and marketing, and toolsets which support commoditized eDiscovery and Intellectual Property services
• Drive the modernization and effective usage of our core enterprise platforms, including but not limited to our Document Management System, SharePoint Intranet, Microsoft Teams and Box.com
• Ensure a best-of-breed, center of excellence for database engineering, with redundant, scalable services for Microsoft SQL and other needed database functions
• Coordinating with Practice Innovation, drive the responsible use of enterprise AI across the firm in accordance with firm policy, enabling lawyers, paralegals and business professionals to be more efficient and productive

Portfolio, Project & Vendor Management

• Maintain a clear line of sight into top initiatives across teams, proactively identifying risks and raising concerns with leadership, along with proposed action plans when necessary
• Work collaboratively with the Firm Operations to ensure successful project execution and outcomes
• Manage and negotiate vendor contracts, holding vendors accountable to agreed upon terms and service level agreements
   

Collaboration & Communication

• Build strong, trusting relationships with internal and external stakeholders
• Partner with peers across Technology & Security, Firm Projects and Procurement and Practice Innovation to improve ways of working and deliver measurable outcomes
• Synthesize and present complex technical information and ideas to diverse audiences with clarity and supporting data

Skills and experience:
Required:

• After orientation at Cooley LLP, exhibit proficiency in the Microsoft Office suite, iManage and other firm applications
• Ability to work extended and/or weekend hours, as required
• Ability to travel, as required
• 10+ years of experience in an enterprise application-related role (e.g., managing large-scale application portfolios with significant budget, across project and operational needs) providing  data research, data delivery, data operations, etc. with 5+ years of management experience in relevant roles and with proven track record of effective leadership
• Demonstrated ability to negotiate and manage complex vendor contracts
• Bachelor’s degree

Preferred:

• Law firm experience
• Application-level engineering technical background
• Enterprise AI experience driving small to large scale initiatives
   

Competencies:

• Good judgment
• Highly collaborative and transparent
• Intellectually curious
• Track record of effective leadership and mentorship of others, including contractors and vendors  
• Proficiency in effectively and creatively communicating ideas to various levels of stakeholders, including the legal practice community
• Proven strong strategic thinker regarding technologies used to provide legal services across multiple technology disciplines
• Exceptional communication, customer service and presentation skills
• Ability to meet deadlines, conduct and direct research into digital workplace issues, technologies and strategies
• Expert consultative and strategic thinking skills
• Visionary, creative and innovative thinker
• Expert ability to synthesize facts, trends and key issues in complex situations
• Successful track record as project and people manager in technical initiatives
• Professional demeanor with excellent communication (verbal and written) skills; must listen effectively and respond appropriately to complex and challenging situations in a fast-paced environment
• Excellent communication skills regarding technical and user documentation
• Strong organizational and time management skills
• Strong team player who can successfully interact with all levels of business professionals
• Ability to lead cross-functional teams and manage complex projects
• Deep understanding of digital tools, technologies, and best practices
• Experience with change management and driving organizational transformation
• Strong analytical, problem solving, evaluative and project management skills
• Familiarity with budgeting, financial analysis and asset management within the context of a technical operation
• Proactive, high energy, creative self-starter

Cooley offers a competitive compensation and excellent benefits package and is committed to fair and equitable employment practices.

EOE.

The expected annual pay range for this position with a full-time schedule is $250,000 - $300,000. Please note that final offer amount will be dependent on geographic location, applicable experience and skillset of the candidate.

We offer a full range of elective benefits including medical, health savings account (with applicable medical plan), dental, vision, health and/or dependent care flexible spending accounts, pre-tax commuter benefits, life insurance, AD&D, long-term care coverage, backup care for children and/or adults and other parental support benefits. In addition to elective benefit options, benefited employees receive firm-paid life insurance, AD&D, LTD, short term medical benefits as well as 25 days of Paid Time Off (“PTO”) and 10 paid holidays each year. We provide generous parental leave and fertility benefits. New employees will attend a detailed benefit orientation to learn more about our many benefits and resources.