Principal of Discovery Services

Overview

A top-tier global law firm is seeking a Principal of Discovery Services to join its team. This senior, client-facing role requires a seasoned eDiscovery expert to lead early matter intake, advise on data collection strategies, and work hands-on with modern data sources such as Microsoft 365, Slack, and mobile platforms. The position combines strategic leadership with technical execution, collaborating closely with attorneys and clients to design defensible workflows, troubleshoot complex processing challenges, and promote best practices across large-scale litigation and investigations.

Responsibilities

• Lead early matter intake and consult with case teams, clients, and in-house legal and IT teams on discovery objectives.
• Develop and execute creative, defensible discovery strategies for high-stakes litigation, investigations, regulatory matters, and due diligence reviews.
• Direct, support, and participate in a team of advisors, project managers, and data science specialists focused on data preservation, collection consulting, and processing complex and modern data types.
• Spend over 50% of time on client matter work, providing hands-on expertise.
• Lead cross-functional teams and promote adoption of standard operating procedures to ensure consistency and quality across engagements.
• Contribute to firm-wide innovation initiatives and department efforts to assess emerging technologies and improve processes.
• Serve as a contributing member of the data processing team, defining and applying best practices for processing data, including modern data types.

Requirements

• 15+ years of consultative eDiscovery experience in law firms, advisory firms, service providers, or in-house legal teams.
• Extensive client interaction experience and strong familiarity with core discovery workflows, including data preservation, collection, and eDiscovery platforms such as Relativity and Reveal.
• Proficiency with analytics and TAR tools like BrainSpace and RevealAI.
• Knowledge of key eDiscovery rules including ESI Orders, FRCP, data privacy, and cross-border requirements.
• Hands-on experience preserving, collecting, and processing modern cloud-based data from enterprise platforms (Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Slack), including platform-specific eDiscovery capabilities, export mechanisms, and metadata requirements.
• Familiarity with forensic collection tools such as FTK, EnCase, and Cellebrite, and mobile device preservation and collection practices.
• Strong communication skills to engage effectively with clients, attorneys, and leadership.
• Exceptional organizational skills, good judgment, and ability to independently drive action items while fostering consensus.
• Bachelor’s degree.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in computer forensics supporting legal, compliance, and IT teams through digital evidence collection, forensic analysis, and documentation.
• 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.
• Quantitative skills with experience in Python, SQL, or similar tools.

Compensation & Benefits

• Expected salary range: $203,000 - $291,000, commensurate with experience, training, skills, qualifications, and market factors.

Location

Not specified.