Director, Data & Technology, eDiscovery

Ankura is a team of excellence founded on innovation and growth.

Our eDiscovery team sits within the Data & Technology practice which is one of seven practices focused on client delivery services across the Firm.

Practice Overview:

The eDiscovery practice is commonly engaged to assist financial investigations, litigations and disputes, turnaround and process improvement engagements, and other critical business issues. The eDiscovery team specialises in designing and implementing processes that help clients reduce their data and review volumes. Our professionals provide workflow design and strategy for keyword search, workflow assignment setup, content analytics, conceptual search/clustering, and predictive coding, and work with clients to efficiently extract and effectively analyse client data.

We help businesses, government entities and law firms to address their most complex and pressing concerns and make well informed decisions, using some of the most advanced technology, tools and techniques.

The team’s consulting experience involves large, diverse, and often incomplete data sets across client enterprises including email, servers, cloud storage, social media, mobile devices, instant messaging and collaboration tools. The team collaborates with cybersecurity, computer forensics, data analytics and investigatory experts to assess and respond to both the quantitative and qualitative aspects of problems.

Your role will involve working collaboratively with and learning from our diverse and knowledgeable team that has a wealth of experience in delivering excellent service to our clients.

Role Overview:

As Director, you will manage Data & Technology projects and members of the project the team to deliver on client expectations. You will ensure the execution of critical project deliverables to ensure these objectives are met on time and with the highest quality. You will be responsible for designing and executing efficient and innovative workflow solutions to address our client’s issues.

You will have a strong attention to detail and a passion to support clients with their complex challenges. The role will be hands on with Relativity and Ankura’s broader tool skit and the expectation is for the individual to be certified in Relativity or a similar eDiscovery solution.

This role will be hybrid in our London office.

Responsibilities:

Your responsibilities will include, but will not be limited to, the following:

Business Development:

• Support the leadership (MD/SMDs) in the generation of business development pursuits/leads for Ankura’s eDiscovery, Data & Technology practice.

• Get involved in drafting content for proposals for new pursuits/leads.

• Identify opportunities on engagements to expand what is being delivered through the use of machine learning and AI solutions.

• Leverage existing relationships and develop new ones with legal practitioners from Law Firms and Corporations that have the potential to utilize Ankura’s eDiscovery and broader Data & Technology practice’s services.

• Educate clients and prospects regarding the full range of Ankura’s Data & Technology services via on-site client visits, conferences, events, etc.

• Increase revenue on current engagements by identifying opportunities to cross sell services offered by Data Analytics and Digital Solutions & Development teams.

• Develop and maintain an accurate list of prospects/clients as well as related pipeline and funnel activities on a regular basis within Ankura’s CRM database.

• Develop and maintain and list of contacts that can be invited to Ankura events

• Attend and participate in key industry conferences and Ankura-sponsored client events.

• Maintain appropriate post-sales/retention contact with clients to ensure quality assurance as well as solicitation of future business.

Collections/Pre-Processing:

• Assist clients with finding, documenting and preventing deletion of data potentially relevant to litigation, regulatory matters, or critical business operations.

• Develop solutions and strategies to collect data with special considerations for the unique environment and project specific complexities of an engagement.

• Coordinate forensic collections with client and Ankura’s forensics team and quality review collections documentation supplied by the forensics team.

• Create and recommend pre-processing strategy to client.

• Coordinate forensic pre-processing work (deNIST, file filters, etc.) with the Ankura’s forensics team, including documenting pre-processing workflow.

Processing:

• Advise client on data reduction strategies including deNISTing, file extension filtering, date culling, and search term filtering.

• Coordinate (provide instruction, obtain status reports, etc.) processing work with Ankura’s processing team.

Review:

• Assist clients with the selection of the appropriate technology to meet specific project objectives.

• Assist with development of efficient work streams, batching strategy, and technology configuration for 1st, 2nd, 3rd tier review; as well as witness review, exhibit designation, and trial preparation.

• Advise clients regarding the efficient use of concept clustering, near duplicate identification, e-mail threading, and assisted review (predictive coding) within the Relativity tool.

Production:

• Assist with written collateral to support production process, such as motions, orders, or proposals to courts and opposing counsel regarding the form of production.

• Provide proactive guidance regarding format, strategy, and timelines for production of electronic data.

• Work with client to develop production identification strategy.

Specific general managerial tasks include:

• Assist in the management of finances of each engagement including developing, documenting, and tracking project budgets, adjusting budgets as appropriate, communicating changes in budgets internally and to the client, and managing the revenue forecasting and invoicing process.

• Review and discuss expectations, anticipated scope of work, and project timeline with client and Ankura’s team

• Manage project close-out process including data return and database archival, ensuring that clients understand the implications of on-going data retention relative to their company’s policies.

• Provide clients and Managing Directors and Senior Managing Directors with periodic status updates, reports, etc. throughout the engagement.

• Generate consistent and thorough documentation to support processes executed throughout the project lifecycle.  Specific tasks may include writing up interview notes and drafting emails, memorandum or reports that demonstrate specific processes followed.

• Mentor, lead, and delegate tasks to junior grade colleagues to support their training and professional development with the goal of creating an exciting leveraged, team environment that offers challenging opportunities and support to all employees and is poised for continued expansion and success.

• Assist in the recruiting process by screening resumes and interviewing candidates.

• Supervise personnel including Associates, Senior Associates, client personnel, clerical support, and others as appropriate.

Requirements:

Technical skill sets

• Minimum of a bachelor’s degree. Preferred degree in engineering, computer science, finance, accounting, economics, information technology, forensics, data analytics, or work experience in a related field.

• Possess strong quantitative and qualitative research and analytical skills.

• Familiar with the EDRM and experience in using eDiscovery products / tools:

• eDiscovery Review/Processing Platforms: Relativity, Brainspace, Disco, Ringtail, Catalyst, Zylab, Everlaw, CasePoint, Nuix, Law, Eclipse, or comparable.

• Forensic Software: EnCase, Cellebrite, Oxygen, BlackBag, FTK.

• Database/Programming: Microsoft SQL Server, SQL, Microsoft Access, Visual Basic, Python, R.

• Email Systems: Office 365, Microsoft Exchange, Lotus Notes/Domino, eVault, email archive platforms.

• System administration experience in Microsoft, Linux/Unix, or Macintosh;

Core consulting skills

• Hold strong team-oriented personality characteristics: hard-working, thoughtful, and collaborative, with a positive outlook and confidence.

• Experience of managing individuals or small teams.

• Highly motivated, eager to learn and able to motivate others.

• Ability to utilise technology to solve complex problems.

• Ability to demonstrate excellent communication (written and verbal) and organisational skills.

• Ability to adapt quickly in handling multiple/evolving tasks as a result of new engagements and/or re-prioritized deadlines.

• Ability to produce high quality and/or final work product under strict deadlines.

• Willing to travel outside of the UK for work, which could involve a few weeks at a time as engagement duration can range from a week to months. The ability to travel at short notice is also important.

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Ankura is an Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or protected veteran status and will not be discriminated against based on disability. Equal Employment Opportunity Posters, if you have a disability and believe you need a reasonable accommodation to search for a job opening, submit an online application, or participate in an interview/assessment, please email accommodations@ankura.com or call toll-free +1.312-583-2122. This email and phone number are created exclusively to assist disabled job seekers whose disability prevents them from being able to apply online. Only messages left for this purpose will be returned. Messages left for other purposes, such as following up on an application or technical issues unrelated to a disability, will not receive a response.