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About the Role

The Chief Information Officer (CIO) is the firm's senior-most technology executive, responsible for establishing and executing the firm's technology, innovation, and information governance strategy. The CIO leads IT operations and an Innovation team focused on AI adoption, legal technology, and data analytics to enhance client service, increase efficiency, and drive competitive advantage. This role ensures technology investments and initiatives align with business objectives and client expectations, balancing operational excellence, security, risk management, and innovation.

Responsibilities

Develops and executes an integrated technology and innovation strategy aligned with the firm's business objectives.
Acts as a strategic advisor to firm leadership on technology investments, operational effectiveness, and risk management.
Represents IT and Innovation on firm governance bodies and with executive leadership.
Tracks market trends and emerging technologies to position the firm at the forefront of innovation.
Anticipates and monitors the impact of generative AI on the legal industry.
Leads the firm's Innovation function, overseeing AI strategy and technology evaluation, piloting, and adoption.
Participates in the AI Governance Committee, ensuring responsible AI deployment and compliance.
Drives attorney-facing AI adoption to improve matter quality, reduce cycle times, and lower cost-to-serve.
Oversees the evaluation, procurement, and performance management of legal AI tools and legal research platforms.
Develops and maintains an AI usage governance framework.
Promotes a culture of innovation and technology adoption across attorneys and business professionals.
Aligns technology capabilities to Practice Group needs.
Oversees legal research platform strategy, including vendor selection and integration.
Leads the firm's data analysis and legal analytics capabilities.
Governs the firm's data integration architecture.
Provides strategic oversight of the firm's intranet platform.
Oversees the firm's technology training function, ensuring effective onboarding and adoption.
Designs training programs tailored to attorneys' time constraints and learning preferences.
Leads change management strategy for major technology deployments.
Measures and reports on technology adoption metrics.
Oversees the design, delivery, and reliability of LAN, WAN, cloud, and AI infrastructure.
Owns the firm's Azure cloud environment, including governance and cost optimization.
Ensures high availability and performance of core legal applications.
Directs enterprise audio-visual and conferencing infrastructure.
Leads Windows desktop engineering, application deployment, and lifecycle management.
Oversees Mobile Device Management (BYOD) programs.
Drives a disciplined system patching and vulnerability remediation program.
Provides oversight of the information security function through the CISO.
Fosters a risk-aware culture, with sensitivity to legal client data confidentiality and AI risks.
Ensures best practice positions on data retention, e-discovery readiness, and breach response preparedness.
Provides cybersecurity reporting and risk narratives to firm leadership.
Oversees all user support, helpdesk, and onboarding functions.
Defines service level expectations and continuous improvement programs for end-user support.
Ensures a high-quality IT and technology onboarding experience for new hires.
Maintains an environment that supports attorney productivity in various scenarios.
Manages the firm's technology vendor portfolio.
Leads technology budget development, spend planning, and variance accountability.
Drives portfolio rationalization to reduce redundancy and optimize licensing costs.
Evaluates and manages strategic vendor relationships.
Oversees the IT PMO, ensuring consistent methodology and resource planning.
Prioritizes and sequences infrastructure, application, security, and innovation projects.
Leads complex program delivery including platform migrations and M&A integration.
Builds, leads, and retains a high-performing team spanning IT operations and Innovation.
Fosters a culture of accountability, curiosity, and service excellence.
Defines org structure, role clarity, and career development frameworks.
Designs and executes structured development programs for direct reports.

Requirements

15+ years of progressive technology leadership experience, including at least 5 years in a senior executive technology role.
Demonstrated success leading both enterprise IT operations and innovation functions within a legal, professional services, or similarly complex client-service environment.
AmLaw 100 experience strongly preferred.
Deep expertise in enterprise infrastructure, cloud technologies (Azure preferred), endpoint management, and business-critical applications.
Proven ability to deploy and scale AI technologies responsibly.
Strong financial acumen with experience managing multimillion-dollar technology budgets and complex vendor portfolios.
Exceptional communication and influencing skills with experience engaging executive leadership, boards, and partnership organizations.
Experience with iManage, Aderant/Elite or similar legal platforms, and Microsoft 365 at enterprise scale.
Hands-on experience with legal AI platforms (Harvey, Copilot, Claude, Legora) and legal research tools (Westlaw, Lexis+, vLex).
Experience designing data lake architectures and managing data integration programs.
Familiarity with legal analytics, practice intelligence platforms, and business development technology.
Experience managing office expansions.
Experience with the IT challenges and opportunities of international organizations.
Experience with Azure cloud operations, services, and cost optimization.
Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, or a related field.
MBA or advanced degree a plus.
Relevant certifications (CISSP, CISM, ITIL, PMP, or equivalent) a plus.

Skills

AI adoption
Legal technology
Data analytics
Information governance
Infrastructure
Cybersecurity
Cloud platforms
Enterprise applications
End-user services
AI Governance
Practice group enablement
Client service enhancement
Operational excellence
Risk management
Vendor management
Financial management
Project management
Change management
Team leadership
Strategic planning
Communication
Influencing
Azure cloud
Windows desktop engineering
Mobile Device Management (BYOD)
System patching
Vulnerability remediation
Data retention
E-discovery
Breach response
Service Level Agreements (SLAs)
IT PMO
M&A integration

Location

Hybrid

Work Type

Hybrid
Full-time

Experience Level

Senior executive
15+ years of progressive technology leadership
5+ years in a senior executive technology role

Education Level

Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, or a related field
MBA or advanced degree a plus
Relevant certifications (CISSP, CISM, ITIL, PMP, or equivalent) a plus

Salary/Compensations

$575,000 - $750,000

Benefits

Healthcare
Paid time off
Discretionary merit bonuses
Life insurance
Disability insurance
Retirement plans
Tailored learning opportunities

About the Company

Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP is a global law firm committed to promoting diversity and inclusion within the Firm and the legal profession.

Equal Opportunity

Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP is committed to promoting diversity and inclusion within our Firm and in the larger legal profession. We believe that diverse skills, knowledge and viewpoints make us a stronger firm. Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP maintains a policy of affording all employees and applicants equal employment opportunities without regard to actual or perceived race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, lactation and related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender (including gender identity or expression or transgender status), national origin, age, disability, genetic information, marital or familial status, domestic violence victim status, ancestry, amnesty, citizenship status, ethnicity, military and veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. Unlawful discrimination, harassment and retaliation will not be tolerated in any of the Firm’s offices or any other work-related setting. Qualified individuals with a disability may request a reasonable accommodation in order to apply for a position or to enable them to perform the essential functions of a position for which they are otherwise qualified. EEO.