Senior Manager, Legal Operations (16800)

Job Title: Senior Manager, Legal Operations

Job Code: 16800

Job Location: Melbourne, FL or Washington DC

Job Schedule: 9/80: Employees work 9 out of every 14 days – totaling 80 hours worked – and have every other Friday off

Job Description:

L3Harris is seeking an experienced, proactive, and solutions-focused Sr. Manager – Litigation, Legal Operations & Outside Counsel Management to drive operational change and modernization through the design and implementation of processes and systems aimed at promoting the day-to-day efficiency and effectiveness of the Legal team.  This role will report directly to the Vice President & Associate General Counsel – Litigation and will be responsible for developing, implementing, and managing an array of programs to assist the in-house legal team in maximizing the value of the legal services provided to the company internally and procured externally. The ideal candidate has a passion for creating effective and scalable processes, driving technology adoption, spearheading change management initiatives, developing key metrics to drive cost-saving solutions, and nurturing and managing relationships, is extremely organized and is always looking for opportunities for continuous improvement.  If you are looking for an opportunity to make a lasting impact in an organization, this role is for you.

Essential Functions:

Outside Counsel and Legal Vendor Management

• Partner with L3Harris attorneys to select and evaluate appropriate outside counsel and legal vendors to ensure quality of service and maximize value.
• Act as primary liaison between L3Harris and Outside Counsel; negotiate preferential rates and discounts, alternative and fixed fee billing arrangements, and oversee annual rate increase request process.
• Create and manage legal RFP process; assist attorneys with scoping matters, developing budgets, and determining where and how to award legal business.
• Develop and drive Preferred Provider Program aimed at consolidation of external legal spend to smaller network of Outside Counsel and Alternative Legal Service Providers (ALSPs), maintain roster of approved firms and coordinate approved additions.
• Assist with evaluation of potential conflicts of interest and waiver requests, as appropriate; track acceptance of L3Harris’s Outside Counsel Engagement Standards and assist with negotiation and tracking of Exception Addendums as necessary; draft and coordinate acceptance of periodic updates to OCES.
• Develop and oversee a benchmarking and vendor performance assessment program, aid in developing and implementing strategic outside counsel initiatives supporting DEI, spend management, training, and pro bono.
• Develop and coordinate outside counsel relationship meetings and educational training programs.

Legal eBilling and Matter Management

• Oversight of Legal eBilling and Matter Management Tool, maintain rate cards, timekeeper assignments, matter files, etc. Coordinate onboarding of new firms and vendors.
• Provide day-to-day oversight and management of external legal spend, with a focus on developing and managing key metrics to predict and track outside counsel and vendor spend, adherence to budgets, timely accruals, compliance with OCES, and other performance targets.  Responsible for identifying opportunities for cost savings and regular reporting to senior leadership. 
• Maintain and update templates for Engagement Letters and manage process for new matter creation, periodic review and other matter maintenance activities.
• Develop, refine, and maintain standard work and guidance to aid L3Harris attorneys in active matter management and outside counsel oversight.

Litigation and Investigations Support

• Responsible for all aspects of matter management in support of asbestos litigation portfolio and other assigned litigation and investigations matters, including opening matters, negotiating rates and alternative fee arrangements, drafting and overseeing legal holds and data preservation, managing eDiscovery, and coordinating with in-house attorneys and outside counsel on case strategy.  Review and approve invoices for asbestos portfolio.
• Coordinate with attorneys, Risk Management, brokers and insurers to coordinate ensure regular reporting and prompt payment and/or recovery of legal fees and costs from insurers
• Work closely with managing attorneys and outside counsel to develop effective processes and strategies for managing litigation and mitigating risk.
• Track and report regularly on status of asbestos and other assigned litigation and investigations.
• Collaborate with attorneys and other functional stakeholders throughout the enterprise to develop responses to subpoenas, pre-litigation demands, government or other third party inquiries, etc. 
• Conduct fact-finding, gather relevant records, and assist with preparation of discovery requests and responses in coordination with in-house attorneys and outside counsel.
• Identify opportunities to develop standard work, guidelines, playbooks, and training to improve efficiency of litigation and investigations management.
• Work across departments and legal functions to support audits and special projects.

Continuous Policy & Process Improvement

• Find opportunities to develop and enhance Legal policies, processes, and standard work, share best practices, and develop playbooks and knowledge management systems to improve efficiency for the Legal team.  This leader will act as a change agent for the legal function developing and deploying improvement strategies that will make a lasting impact on the organization.

Change Management & Communications

• Lead change management, including project timelines, value stream mapping and effective communication strategies to maximize the use and impact of enhanced policies, processes, tools and trends. 

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's with 12 years prior experience in legal, Graduate Degree with 10 years prior experience in legal. In lieu of a degree, minimum of 16 years of prior related experience in legal.

Preferred Additional Skills:

• Experience in a corporate legal department developing strategies and managing major initiatives and operational processes for large-scale legal departments focusing on driving efficiency and operational rigor.
• Deep understanding and experience with a variety of technical systems and workflow automation tools utilized by in-house law departments, including e-discovery, matter management, contracts management, e-billing, financial reporting and patent program systems.
• Demonstrated experience with strategic planning, outside counsel management, data & analytics and systems implementation and management.
• Track record of applying methods for process improvement in a legal environment (e.g., continuous improvement, lean management, Six Sigma, etc.).
• Successful financial management experience, including owning and optimizing a budget and tracking outside counsel and other spend in a cost-conscious environment, leveraging company tools and automation wherever feasible.
• Ability to analyze operational issues, diagnose problem areas and provide change leadership.
• Prior experience in an aerospace & defense or technology company is a plus.