The Information Governance Manager-U.S. is responsible for leading a team of professionals to implement and manage Information Governance (IG) operations across the information lifecycle. This role will take lead in shaping the firm’s IG technology solutions and systems, facilitating data handling and movement across the information lifecycle.
This role partners closely with practice groups, leadership, and administrative departments to both implement and continuously improve information governance capabilities and offerings that enable the firm’s strategic objectives and uphold legal, regulatory, ethical, and client obligations.
This role is based out of our offices located in Washington, DC, New York, or Boston.
Duties & Responsibilities:
Works closely with the administrative support teams, attorneys, and technical leads to design, implement and continuously improve the firm’s technology systems capabilities across the information lifecycle
Collaborates with firm personnel to identify and implement improvement opportunities to uphold operational best practices
Applies industry best practices for data protection, privacy and business confidentiality to the records and information management offerings in coordination with cross-functional stakeholders (e.g., conflicts, compliance, data privacy)
Partners with engineering leads to design information governance processes and solutions for the handling of highly sensitive, confidential, privileged, financial, and/or proprietary information
Oversees matter mobility and maintenance operations to safeguard the consistency of data between record sources and databases
Oversees the client records onboarding and offboarding process including daily work intake, assignment, quality review, and delivery of work product to ensure successful transfer of client files
Manages the disposition process of eligible documents and data in all forms, including: reporting of retention eligible boxes and folders, oversight of the approval process, tracking client notifications, and coordinating destruction of approved client matter records
Oversees the archival and restoration of electronic matter files as designated by firm policy and/or the direction of the Director of Information Governance
Reviews and enhances information governance policies, records retention schedules and legal hold strategies for active storage of records across the firm’s repositories
Ensures client-request file transfers are managed in compliance with firm policies
Ensures secure handling and timely destruction of sensitive information in compliance with the Firm’s Retention Schedule and Outside Counsel Guidelines
Liaises with attorneys and administrative departments to administer legal holds as directed
Identifies and leverages technology to support records management objectives and achieve operational efficiency
Uses data to analyze and optimize information governance processes to improve retention and disposition of records in alignment with firm information governance policies
Contributes to ongoing requirement definition and design of the firm’s information governance management system(s) and solutions
Ensures requests received by IG team are processed efficiently and accurately by the IG staff
Ensures quality control metrics on daily work performed by the IG team and measures against goals
Conducts periodic audits of IG processes and systems to ensure compliance and identify potential enhancements.
Develops training programs and serves as a subject matter expert for IG education and awareness
Manages IG management vendor relationships and invoices
Ensures timely completion of necessary administrative duties, procedures, and preparation of management reports as required
Prepares and manages relevant portions of the IG department budget
Supervises the day-to-day work of IG direct reports
Travels to all office locations to provide oversight and training on IG procedures as needed
Performs other duties as assigned
Uphold high standards of confidentiality, discretion, and integrity, particularly with respect to all sensitive and/or confidential firm and client information to which this position will have access.
Qualifications:
Education & Credentials
Bachelor’s degree is preferred
Appropriate certification(s) are preferred (e.g., CRM, CIP, ICP)
Knowledge & Experience
7+ years of relevant experience, ideally in a large Law Firm setting, a comparable professional services organization, or a legal information services provider
Demonstrated experience with leading information management technologies and their integration with each other (e.g., document management systems, security / access management tools, records management systems, litigation support tools, M365 suite)
Demonstrated experience with the execution of large-scale data remediation projects
Demonstrated experience developing and implementing IG workflows
Demonstrated experience in identifying and executing process improvements
Demonstrated experience supervising, developing, and training staff
Demonstrated experience with data import/export tools and file sharing tools
Experience with enterprise technology solutions used for the management of both physical and electronic information
Experience with industry best practices for electronic and physical data retention, organization, and discovery
Experience with privacy regulations as it pertains to information governance (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA, CPRA)
Skills & Expectations
Ability to work in a demanding environment where priorities change frequently
Ability to serve as a change agent, leading and inspiring others to act, especially under circumstances when change is unpopular
Ability to establish rapport and elicit cooperation across the firm, including practice areas and administrative departments
Ability to establish clear priorities and orchestrate resources across multiple functions and firm business units in an organized manner
Ability to translate strategy into day-to-day operational execution
Ability to develop and motivate teams, inclusive of staff and 3rd party vendors/consultants
Highly motivated, analytical, organized, and efficient
Strong technical skills relevant to IG operations including data mapping, metadata management (classification, coding and security), data protection, privacy and confidentiality, and data loss prevention
Excellent independent, decision-making capabilities and a solution-oriented attitude
Excellent verbal and written communication skills
Exceptional customer service and people skills
Work Conditions
Core hours of 9:00 am – 5:30pm, Monday – Friday; hybrid in-office, which will be a combination of onsite, and remote work with occasional on-call availability
Salary range of $134,000- $188,500
Position requires access to equipment, software, or technology that is subject to U.S. export controls. To be granted access pursuant to US Export Control laws, candidate must be either (a) a United States citizen or national; (b) a person lawfully admitted for permanent residence of the United States (i.e., “Green Card” holder); or (c) an INS-approved refugee or asylum holder who has applied for naturalization within six months of the date the individual first became eligible; and if not yet naturalized, is still actively pursuing naturalization if 2 years have passed since the date of application to be granted access pursuant to US Export Control laws. Candidates will be required to submit appropriate documentation to determine whether access can be granted before proceeding further through the application process.
Covington & Burling LLP is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate in any aspect of employment, including hiring, salary, promotion, discipline, termination, and benefits, on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, religion, national origin, gender, gender identity or expression, age, marital status, sexual orientation, family responsibility, disability (including physical handicap), or any other improper criterion.
Covington will consider qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records for employment in accordance with applicable laws, including the California Fair Chance Act, the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Fair Chance Ordinance, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance, and the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance.
