Legal - Newark (NJ), NJ e-Discovery Project Manager

Prudential’s Law Department is seeking an experienced project manager for the position of Process Management Specialist within the Discovery Services Team in the Enterprise Litigation Group. Under the direction of in-house and outside counsel, the Discovery Services Team provides quality-controlled, efficient and cost-effective discovery management services for all litigation and regulatory matters throughout the Company. The Discovery Services Team manages all aspects of discovery, from information governance to preservation, including managing Prudential’s legal hold process and technology, through to collection, analytics, review and production.

The successful candidate must be prepared to work in a fast-paced and high-volume team environment. The Process Management Specialist will be required to possess a strong e-discovery knowledge base and a comfort level with litigation support technology and vendors. Excellent interpersonal skills will be needed as there will be significant interaction with associates at all levels of the organization, including attorneys from any of the practice groups, other legal professionals and the records management community, as well as outside counsel. This position also requires a candidate that can multi-task, prioritize, and work independently under tight time constraints.

Job Description

The roles and responsibilities include:

• Tracking and managing discovery projects effectively to completion while keeping in-house and outside counsel apprised of developments.
• Advising on preservation and collection issues surrounding new emerging technology, e.g., Microsoft Office 365.
• Assisting attorneys in drafting legal hold notices, including identifying appropriate recipients and the records that must be preserved.
• Identifying enhancements to the legal hold process and technology, including participating in user acceptance testing in the legal hold tool.
• Conducting custodian interviews to assess the scope of preservation or collection for the matter.
• Working with the High Tech Investigations Unit to conduct collections of electronically stored information.
• Providing guidance on data processing, e.g., application of search terms, analytical tools and production parameters, including any documentation covering such topics such as ESI protocols.
• Assisting outside counsel with drafting protocols for document review performed by contract attorneys.
• Supervising Prudential’s e-discovery technology and managed review vendors.
• Managing the e-discovery budget including tracking accruals and invoices.
• Overseeing DST’s role in the subpoena handling process, in coordination with the respective businesses or law/compliance areas.   
• Partnering with Corporate Records Management and the business/corporate center records management contacts to provide guidance on records and legal hold-related issues.
• Conducting research and benchmarking with peer companies and e-discovery industry subject matter experts to identify best practices and continuous process improvement.

Required Skills and Experience

• A minimum of 3 to 5 years of relevant experience within a legal environment.
• College degree or equivalent experience required, a law degree will be considered a plus.
• Exceptional project management skills required, project management certification a plus.
• Knowledge of the discovery process, including best practices and technologies that support legal holds, processing, and analytics, including for technology assisted review (“TAR”).
• Strong analytical and problem-solving ability.
• Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written.  
• Ability to conduct legal research.
• Ability to collaborate with diverse internal and external parties.
• Strong attention to detail and organizational skills.  
• Strong managerial skills.
• Proficiency in the use of the Microsoft Office suite.