Legal Operations Specialist

Role: Legal Operations Specialist

Team: Legal

Reports to: Deputy General Counsel – People

Scope: Individual Contributor, P4

Years of Experience: 5+

Location: Ventura, CA

In the Legal Operations Specialist role, you will be primarily responsible for leading and supporting the evolution of our legal operations and technology strategy for the Patagonia Legal Department at its headquarters in Ventura, California.  This role reports to the Deputy General Counsel - People.  

Key focus for this role will be to administer and improve upon department operations and technology systems including contract administration, electronic billing, budget and expense management, and financial reporting. In this role you must also be comfortable innovating and providing recommendations on how to improve information sharing and efficiencies across the department, including finding creative ways to use operational strategies to support the company’s mission: We’re in Business to Save Our Home Planet. 

This is a great opportunity for you if you are an individual seeking a challenging, dynamic, innovative role that will combine technical systems knowledge with general operations practices all in furtherance of the Company’s mission and in a manner that is in line with the Company’s values.

Legal Technology Strategy and Management

• Manage and optimize all technology systems currently in use by the Legal Department including electronic billing (Legal Tracker) and contracts management system (Ironclad).
• Manage matter intake portal for all business inquiries into the Legal Department which includes assignment to appropriate team members, tracking completion and managing business partner expectations, as well as ensuring automated or high volume contracts are moving appropriately and timely through the department.
• Provide training and support to Legal Department members as well as relevant internal clients on the effective use of technology tools and platforms.
• Serve as subject matter expert on legal technology trends and solutions and foster a culture of innovation.

Legal Operations

• Identify opportunities and implement best practices for refinement and optimization of legal department processes and workflows to enhance collaboration across the department, improve services delivery and enable the Legal Department to provide high quality legal advice on the most critical issues facing the organization
• Develop and manage document retention system and establish uniform and efficient modes of communication for the global Legal Department.
• Manage budget, billing and expenses and provide reporting to the Legal Department and the Finance team.
• Develop and maintain cadence of updating standard form agreements and commonly used templates.
• Assist in litigation preparation as needed.
• Project manage Benefit Corporation certification and reporting process. 
• Responsible for optimizing legal spend including benchmarking and evaluating  internal/external legal metric reporting to better evaluate team efficiency and service to our business partners.
• Provide coordination support to Crisis Management team on an as needed basis.
• Manage department administrative tasks including expense reports, scheduling, MCLE and dues reporting.
• Stay abreast of emerging developments and best practices in legal operations through collaboration with external partners, industry organizations and engagement with professional networks and adapt and translate to meet the needs and match the unique company culture of the Legal department at Patagonia.

Who You Are:

• Highly technically proficient with proven experience implementing new technical solutions to solve legal department operational problems.
• Passionate and committed to saving our home planet.
• Possess strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work collaboratively across all parts of the business to achieve results that are in line with Patagonia’s unique and dynamic culture. Able to work both independently and as a team and build relationships with key clients, co-workers and business partners.
• Demonstrates initiative, is conscientious and provides complete follow through in all areas of responsibility.
• Adaptable and able to absorb new information and process details quickly.
• Possess excellent project management skills, organized, able to manage multiple tasks and highly detail oriented.
• Excels at facilitating feedback within the Legal department to evaluate system/tool/workflow effectiveness to continuously refine processes.
• Committed to justice and equity and considerate of all classes, races, nationalities, cultures, abilities and genders when creating or analyzing organizational processes or policies.
• Innovative and creative – able to identify a problem and create a process or framework to address.
• Keeps confidences and promotes the value of trust and respect for personal confidences throughout the organization.

Experience You Bring:

• Bachelor’s degree
• High degree of familiarity and experience with technology solutions to achieve operational excellence.
• Minimum 5 years’ experience in Legal Operations with a law firm or global company.
• Proven experience managing multiple projects and conflicting demands in fast paced dynamic environment.
• 1+ years’ experience with Ironclad a plus

Hiring range: $130,000 to $150,000 USD

At Patagonia, pay ranges are assigned to a job based on the location specific market median of similar jobs according to 3rd party salary benchmark surveys. Individual pay within that range can vary for several reasons including skills/capabilities, experience, and available budget. Note the full pay range for this role ranges from: $113,000-$170,000 USD. The Hiring Range reflects where in the range we intend to hire for this role.

Employee Conduct
It is the responsibility of every employee to contribute to a positive, inclusive work environment through cooperative and professional interactions with co-workers, customers and vendors.

Equal Employment Opportunity

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or any other factors prohibited by law.