Chief Deputy City Solicitor

Job Description

Position Summary

The City of Philadelphia Law Department seeks a licensed PA attorney with at least nine (9) years of practice to lead the Department’s E-Discovery and Data Strategies Unit. This is a management level position for attorneys interested and experienced in E-Discovery and data management and who also have personnel management experience. The E-Discovery and Data Strategies Unit is currently staffed by two attorneys and collaborates with all attorneys and administrative staff across all practice units within the Department as well as with leadership across various City Departments including the Department of Innovation and Technology.  The Unit provides legal and technical guidance on all aspects of e-discovery practice across the Department.  This includes the supervision of outside e-discovery vendors, the management of legal holds, and the management of e-mail collections and electronic document productions for the Department.    Strong leadership, analytical, technical, research, persuasive writing, and organizational skills are essential.  

Essential Functions

In addition to the Position Summary, responsibilities may include, but are not limited to: 

• In collaboration with the Executive Team, develop and manage the Department’s data policy and strategy, including internal e-discovery policies and procedures, consistent with applicable laws, best practices, and City of Philadelphia policies.   
• Manage and supervise all attorneys and administrative personnel in the Unit. 
• Supervise all aspects of e-discovery to support litigation, Right to Know requests, and investigations, including electronic document preservation, collection, review, and production. 
• Serve as project manager on a variety of legal matters involving productions of large or sensitive data and document sets. Execute document coding consistency checks and document productions within e-discovery software. Prepare e-discovery software data usage along with Divisional Deputy City Solicitor for E-Discovery. 
• Ensure that proper security and permissions are maintained in accordance with City security procedures. 
• Lead project manager on the rollout and adoption of the department’s new case management solution and development of department policies for usage and data management. This will also include designing and deploying legal workflows and ensuring successful adoption and integration into existing systems and practices. This is a strategic role that combines legal operations expertise, technical know-how, and project management to drive innovation and efficiency. 

• Coordinate activities between the Law Department and the Department of Innovation and Technology, and the external technology e-discovery teams and vendors responsible for data collection, processing, and production.
• Stay current with emerging trends and advancements in data and analytics technologies in the legal field and municipal government to inform strategic decisions. 
• Communicate with all Unit staff on a regular basis and maintain an open door for staff concerns 
• Provide opportunities for attorney training and mentoring 
• Foster and maintain a collegial, inclusive, and professional environment that recognizes and values all forms of diversity
• Participate in external efforts to raise the profile of the Unit and the Law Department 

Competencies, Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Requires technical knowledge, skills and experience using e-discovery software; excellent oral and written communication skills. 
• Demonstrated ability to manage numerous complex and time-critical litigation support activities simultaneously, including technical/data processing and e-discovery support activities. 
• Strong understanding of privacy and cyber security issues with respect to data management and transfer. 
• Ability to maintain large volumes of documents and data utilizing databases such as Sharepoint. 
• Qualified candidates must be hard-working, organized, attend to detail, and have an eager, helpful attitude.  
• Knowledge of City procedures is a plus. 
• Ability to analyze large amounts of information, identify relevant facts, and propose viable solutions  
• Excellent time management skills 
• Excellent organizational skills 
• Ability to work in a demanding and fast-paced setting 
• Ability to work productively individually and collaboratively 
• Experience with Word, Excel (including formulas), Teams, and Adobe Acrobat (including bates stamping and redaction) 
• Knowledge of legal concepts such as attorney-client privilege and relevance. 
• Experience using advanced features of vendor-managed e-discovery software, such as Relativity, and of end-to-end e-discovery software, such as Everlaw/Logikcull/DISCO, is a plus. 

Qualifications

• The candidate will have at least 9 years of experience in civil litigation and/or e-discovery. 
• At least four years supervisory and management experience on major litigation support projects, including proven capabilities and communication skills to successfully interact with clients and attorneys. 
• Experience with implementation of a case management system is a plus. 
• Candidates must have a law degree from an ABA accredited law school and must either be a member in good standing of the Pennsylvania Bar, or currently eligible to be admitted by reciprocity to practice in Pennsylvania (Pa.B.A.R. 204). Continued employment of attorneys not admitted to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania within six (6) months of hire is at the discretion of the Law Department.