- Manage all aspects of litigation operations, including legal holds, document preservation, discovery, outside counsel coordination, communication with insurance companies, and litigation matter budgets.
- Support key litigation activities such as deposition preparation, witness coordination, and compliance with litigation deadlines.
- Oversee outside counsel engagement for litigation matters, including establishing billing guidelines, monitoring performance and spend against matter budgets, and conducting regular case assessments with external counsel.
- Coordinate due diligence for corporate transactions, including organizing materials and ensuring internal compliance with diligence requirements.
- Conduct legal research in support of the legal team, company directives and industry developments.
- Provide legal support for real estate transactions.
- Support the General Counsel and Deputy General Counsel in managing the legal department budget, including forecasting, accruals, outside counsel spend analysis and regular reporting to identify cost-saving opportunities.
- Evaluate, implement, and manage technology solutions to improve efficiency while maintaining and enhancing existing technology platforms, including support the adoption of AI-powered legal tools to enhance department workflows.
- Manage legal department projects from intake to completion, developing workflows, tracking tools, and cross-functional reporting.
- Foster a collaborative and high-performing legal team environment.
- Remain current on all policies, procedures, and strategic plans of Sargento as they relate to the area(s) supported by the corporate legal and compliance departments.
- Perform other duties and special projects as assigned.
SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIESDirectly supervise paralegals and other legal support staff. Carry out supervisory responsibilities in accordance with the organization's policies and applicable laws. Responsibilities include interviewing, hiring, training employees, and employee development; planning, assigning, and directing work; appraising performance; rewarding and disciplining employees; addressing complaints and resolving problems.
Your Education and Experience.- Bachelor's degree in business administration, legal studies, or a related field required; advanced degree (JD or MBA), CLOC, PMP, CLM, paralegal certificate from an ABA- or NLA-approved program, or other professional certification preferred but not required.
- 5-10 years of legal experience, preferably in an in-house legal department or law firm setting.
- Supervisory experience with legal support staff preferred.
- Experience overseeing litigation operations, including managing legal holds, discovery, and outside counsel communication preferred.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to collaborate across departments and convey legal and compliance information clearly to all levels of staff and management.
- Strong problem-solving, facilitation, and consensus-building skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
- Demonstrated experience implementing or managing legal technology platforms (e.g., e-billing, matter management, document management systems).
- Experience leading change management initiatives and driving adoption of new tools, systems and processes across teams.
- Familiarity with data analytics and reporting, including the ability to develop KPIs, dashboards and data-driven insights for legal department performance.
