Manager, Litigation Support

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Summary: The Manager, Litigation Support will lead a team of professionals (including paralegals) in all aspects of discovery and litigation support services for the Discovery Management Unit (DMU) and Litigation and Employment Department (LED). This role will carry out critical aspects of process development, management, knowledge-sharing/management, quality control, governance and training for the broader DMU team.

Reporting Relationships: Reports to Managing Counsel. Up to five legal support and/or process professionals may report to this position.

Core Duties and Responsibilities:

Develop and lead the team in all aspects to provide case management support for litigation, pre-litigation and regulatory matters Manage the litigation support team assertively to meet timelines and elevate productivity throughout the discovery process, including fact gathering, data/document collection, processing, review and production Oversee the management of third party subpoenas and related requests for corporate information and develop internal protocols/processes to increase efficiency and meet deadlines Provide case management support for litigation, pre-litigation and regulatory matters and assist with all other DMU projects and work to meet critical deadlines Ensure that quality control and oversight is built in to all aspects of litigation support work product Provide high quality and timely guidance (with appropriate consultation and supervision of a licensed DMU counsel) to support the team Lead process development/improvement for the DMU and approaches for auditing against internal process adherence Strategize with legal team on discovery plans, substantive motions and briefs, including the identification of relevant individuals to sign supporting affidavits and the preparation of such affidavits Draw upon or develop litigation expertise to drive internal consistency and external awareness related to discovery management and other legal standards or activities Oversee intake and assignment of new matters to all members of the Discovery Management Unit; ensure new matters are created, updated and closed in the matter management system Create dashboards of work in queue for the DMU and track assignment of team resources; proactively elevate when demand is not aligned with resource capacity; evaluate and shift resources to meet demand Facilitate directing people with questions to the people with answers; recognize trends in such questions and/or process gaps and recommend/implement solutions Lead the development and production of DMU monthly metrics and reports; analyze DMU data to tell a story that supports strategic planning Collaborate with Nationwide business partners to understand changes in the business that may impact the DMU’s workflows/processes and develop recommendations to prepare for and adapt to change Develop strong working relationships with other Nationwide functional areas (i.e., IT, Human Resources, Compliance, SMS, etc.) to effectively support the DMU in day-to-day operational matters In partnership with OCLO Operations and LED administration, oversee all onboarding for DMU associates (including securing equipment; access to systems/databases; delivering training on internal platforms, protocols and key resources for information (e.g. Workday, ClaimCenter, Workbench, etc.); and, updating knowledge management and knowledge sharing resources) Serve as the main point of contact for DMU legal hold governance and administration including maintaining strong subject matter expertise in the Legal Hold Pro platform (and/or any other technological tool or software later implemented) and training all litigation support team members on legal hold governance processes Lead and/or support implementation of new litigation support tools such as matter/document management systems Exercise accountability for knowledge transfer across LED and/or other components of Nationwide, as needed Execute strong decision-making and communication skills in the face of vague or conflicting information/direction; challenge team to reach the best solutions to issues Develop and update DMU internal operating procedures to incorporate evolution of best practices and continuous improvement of processes Support the DMU Project Manager in the selection, on-boarding and oversight of contingent legal professionals assigned to hosted review projects As needed, support the DMU Project Manager and Litigation Technology team with project management or other tasks as needed to meet critical deadlines Lead and/or participate in special projects

Typical Skills and Experiences:

Education: Bachelor’s Degree; J.D. or Master’s Degree preferred

License/Certification/Designation: Obtaining certification as an E-Discovery Specialist through the Association of Certified E-Discovery Specialists may be required within the first 12 months of employment.

Experience: Five or more years’ experience within law, technology, consulting or project management; one to three years of people leadership experience. Corporate legal department, law firm, or litigation processing/hosting environment strongly preferred.

Knowledge, Abilities and Skills:

Qualified candidates will possess a minimum of a Bachelor’s Degree (J.D. or Master’s Degree preferred) Five or more years’ experience within law, consulting, or project management Demonstrated leadership of people, preferably legal professionals focused on litigation support Experience and a passion for conducting investigations, problem-solving and improving processes for efficiency Knowledge, and preferably application, of project management principals and workflows Highly organized and detail oriented, but also adaptive and able to rise above the detail to see broader implications and anticipate both short and long-term consequences and/or cause and effect of decision-making Highly collaborative, credible, engaging and authoritative with an ability to build strong working relationships at all levels across the company and with external partners Ability to work with ambiguity in a highly matrixed organization Demonstrated comfort navigating through change and leading others through change Passion for building or enhancing process Strong time-management skills Self-starter/Pro-active Exemplary communication skills Willing to question assumptions and propose alternative solutions, including justifying recommendations and rationally handling objections and counter-proposals Ability to work extended hours, as needed

Job Description

Reporting Relationships:Director/AVP/VP; responsible for a team of business process professionals.

Core Duties and Responsibilities:

1. Manages all activities and functions of a staff involved in the design, development configuration, customization, deployment, maintenance and updating of business and system processes and procedures. Ensures processes are followed within business organizations. Manages customer communication and the process results to a satisfactory level.

2. Manages the day-to-day staff operations of business and systems processes with recognized expertise, including the operation of process-related tools. Manages key process events and the fulfillment of customer requests and process deliverables through all phases of the process lifecycle.

3. Manages a staff who consults and provides expertise to executives, customers and core business functions on process redesign and/or re-engineering initiatives and projects through continuous process improvements. Identifies and implements new and creative business process redesigns and strategies through facilitation and marketing.

4. Manages a staff of process experts on evaluations and developing recommendations by use of benchmarks, pilots, prototyping and modeling to assess potential use of new methods and workflows within a business process. Participates and leads a staff who engages in the evaluation of business processes for design effectiveness and resource utilization to ensure process performance meets targeted service levels.

5. Manages a staff responsible for analysis and alignment of customer business strategic requirements including process design, product delivery, systems, organizational functions and overall business structure. Through staff and team members, develops and provides recommendations on possible process, tool and control enhancements to increase the quality and optimization of business services and resources. Leads ongoing process design activities for a given set of customers as an expert process consultant.

6. Manages a staff who consults with executives, customers, peers and core business partners to develop business cases, comprehensive project plans and strategies to identify, quantify and deliver process design efforts in support of business objectives and strategies. Manages and monitors resources engaged in process design project plans.

7. Manages and negotiates timelines and purpose of process design projects. Manages a staff who serve as subject matter experts on a project team involved with the development, implementation, administration and operation of new business and system processes and strategies, which may include multiple functions, product lines and business activities. Serves as a resource on post-implementation and conformance reviews for complex processes to ensure conformance to process requirements.

8. Leads a staff who provide consultation for complex process tools and methods in order to develop, design, implement, monitor, maintain, operate and improve business processes. Mentors, educates and trains others on the use of process design techniques, methods and tools as well as on the use of and execution of business processes and tools.

9. Initiates, develops, and maintains collaborative relationships with vendors, partners and suppliers to support customer plans. Manages service evaluations regarding outside consulting service vendors.

10. Manages resources that act as a source of process expertise for direction, training and guidance for less experienced staff. Recognized across the organization for process design, support and operational expertise and sought as a resource for resolution of complex design, implementation, support and operational problems.

11. May help manage activities for a process project team and assist in managing project schedules and costs.

12. Manages a staff, and participates in, awareness campaigns to help customers increase their awareness of process techniques, methods and tools to identify opportunities for performance improvements. Advises business and systems partners on the issues and problems that they will face as process implementation activities unfold. Selects process design or operations team members. Facilitates the development of office-wide vision and strategies for processes.

13. Position is a first level manager and has direct responsibility for people management. In addition to project deployment, responsibilities include: career development, performance management and pay determination and communication. .

14. Contributes to the overall strategic vision and provides a broad range of ideas regarding process design, implementation, support and operation initiatives. May serve in an operational authority or approval role in the execution of processes.

15. Performs other duties as assigned.

Typical Skills and Experiences:

Education: Undergraduate degree in areas related to Business or Mathematics related field preferred.

Licenses/Certifications/Designations: Process-related certifications preferred. Product-related technical insurance course work (CPCU, CPU, LOMA) preferred.

Experience: Eight years minimum experience in business process design or operations. Supervisory or management experience preferred.

Knowledge: Maintains and comprehends business process operations or redesign techniques, methods and tools. Maintains current understanding of business trends to support process design and operations to improve performance. Maintains current understanding of insurance and financial services industry, focusing on the Nationwide enterprise and key competitors.

Skills/Competencies: Must have demonstrated expertise in process analysis, process design, and process implementation. Working knowledge of insurance or financial business processes required. Demonstrated knowledge of project management concepts and techniques required. Must have an understanding of customer business environment. Competency in process development or process operations preferred. Proven leadership skills with the ability to work with business teams including virtual teams. Must have the ability to work with process vendors in the delivery of project solutions. Must have strong verbal and written communication skills. Must have the ability to make decisions and recommendations on process strategies. Other criteria, including leadership skills, competencies and experiences may take precedence.

Staffing exceptions to the above must be approved by the hiring manager’s leader and HR Business Partner.

Values: Regularly and consistently demonstrates the Nationwide Values and Guiding Behaviors.

JOB CONDITIONS:

Overtime Eligibility: Not Eligible (Exempt)

Working Conditions: Normal office environment. Occasional travel. Non-standard or extended work may be required based on project needs.

ADA: The above statements cover what are generally believed to be principal and essential functions of this job. Specific circumstances may allow or require some people assigned to the job to perform a somewhat different combination of duties.

Job Evaluation Activity: 9/2014 CAH

Additional Job Description

Job ID: 54060

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