Legal Practice Technology Principal of Discovery Services; US Offices

Position: Legal Practice Technology Principal of Discovery Services (All US Offices)
Job

Updated:
Apr 24, 2026

Location:

Boston, MA, United States

Category:
Litigation & Practice Technology

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About Kirkland & Ellis

At Kirkland & Ellis, we don't just meet the standard for legal excellence - we set it. Our culture is built on teamwork, ingenuity and an unwavering commitment to continuous growth. We tackle the most sophisticated legal challenges with bold ideas and innovative solutions, powered by the exceptional experience and ambition of our 7,000+ people, including 4,000+ attorneys, across 23 offices worldwide.

Our dedicated professionals share our lawyers' commitment to excellence and show up each day to do meaningful work that helps drive global business, investment and innovation forward.

What You'll Do

We are looking for a seasoned eDiscovery leader to join a team dedicated to driving excellence in discovery execution, delivering the efficiency and outcomes that matter most to our clients. This is an opportunity for a hands-on practitioner with deep experience navigating complex data landscapes to bring that expertise to a collaborative group solving real problems on active matters every day.

Sitting within our Innovation Program, the team partners directly with case teams to deliver creative, defensible discovery strategies across high-stakes litigation, investigations, and regulatory matters.

Impact. You will report to the Director of Legal Practice Technology ("LPT") and serve as a senior leader primarily responsible for directing, supporting, and participating in a team of advisors, project managers, and data science specialists. The team is dedicated to defining and executing workflows for the thoughtful analysis and production of client documents and data across litigations, investigations, regulatory responses, due diligence reviews, and other complex legal matters.

This role primarily focuses on data preservation and collection consulting along with processing of complex and modern data types. You will also actively contribute to broader firm innovation initiatives.

Matter Intake, Discovery Scoping, Data Collection and Processing. You will consult and strategize with case teams, clients, and team members on effective ways to meet discovery objectives. You will lead early matter intake and partner with case teams on key steps including meetings with client in-house legal and IT teams. The Principal must be a seasoned, client-facing eDiscovery specialist capable of bringing forward and executing creative solutions grounded in broad experience and tested expertise.

Greater than 50% of the Principal's time will be spent on client matter work.

Team Building & Growth. You will join a leadership team dedicated to fostering open communication and cross-team collaboration. You will often lead cross-functional teams and promote adoption of standard operating procedures to ensure consistency and quality across all engagements.

Department Initiatives. You will lead efforts to raise awareness of team services across the firm and support team initiatives focused on emerging technology assessment and process improvements that strengthen the department's overall capabilities. The Principal will also serve as a contributing member of the firm's data processing team, responsible for defining and applying best practices when processing data, including modern data types.

What You'll Bring

* 15+ years of experience delivering consultative eDiscovery services across one or more settings such as a law firm, advisory firm, service provider, or in-house legal team.

* Significant client interactions and strong familiarity with core discovery workflows, including data preservation and collection, eDiscovery platforms (Relativity, Reveal), analytics and TAR tools (Brain Space, Reveal

AI), and key eDiscovery rules (ESI Orders, FRCP, data privacy and cross-border requirements).

* Hands-on proficiency with the preservation, collection, and processing of modern, cloud-based data across enterprise platforms (Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Slack) including knowledge of platform-specific eDiscovery capabilities, export mechanisms, and metadata requirements.

* Familiarity with leading forensic collection tools (e.g., FTK, EnCase, Cellebrite) and common practices in mobile device preservation and collection.

* Strong communication skills with the ability to engage with clients, attorneys, and firm leadership at all levels with accuracy, professionalism, and accountability.

* Exceptional organizational skills, good judgment, and the ability to independently drive action items, with a commitment to consensus building.

* Bachelor's degree.

* Computer forensics experience supporting legal, compliance, and IT teams through digital evidence collection, forensic analysis, and clear documentation of investigative findings is preferred.

* Deep technical expertise in processing and normalizing non-traditional data formats, including JSON exports from Slack and Teams, cloud-native file types, and modern attachment structures is…