Associate Director, Global Enterprise Application Solutions (EAS)

Job Summary

Gibson Dunn is a leading global law firm, advising clients on significant transactions and disputes. Our exceptional teams craft and deploy creative legal strategies that are meticulously tailored to every matter, however complex or high-stakes. The firm’s work is distinguished by a unique combination of precision and vision.

Based in any US office, the Associate Director will be responsible for overseeing the global operational management of all enterprise applications. This role ensures the stability, performance, and scalability of business-critical applications and leads a team of application specialists to provide 24/7 support across multiple time zones.

The successful candidate will work closely with cross-functional teams, including IT infrastructure, software development, Information Security (InfoSec) and business units across the firm, to deliver seamless application operations and support business objectives.  In particular, the position will be required to form a seamless working relationship with the Global Director of Application Architecture to execute on the overall Enterprise Application vision

This role reports to the Chief Technology Officer (CTO).

 

Responsibilities include:

Information Security:

• Following the direction and strategy of the Director of Global Enterprise Applications Architecture, CISO and the Office of the General Council (OGC), collectively known as the “Data Protection” team, the Global EAS will be responsible for building a seamless partnership between all Application Operations team members and the Data Protection team. This crucial partnership will be focused on building best practice for:
• Enhanced Security Posture: By working together, these teams can ensure that security measures are integrated into the application lifecycle from development to deployment and maintenance. This proactive approach helps in identifying and mitigating security vulnerabilities early on.
• Compliance and Legal Requirements: Law firms handle sensitive client information and must comply with various regulations such as GDPR, HIPAA, and others. Collaboration between these teams ensures that applications are designed and operated in compliance with these regulations, reducing the risk of avoidable legal issues.
• Incident Response and Management: In the event of a security breach, having a coordinated approach between the application operations and information security teams ensures a swift and effective response. This collaboration helps in minimizing the impact of the breach and facilitates a quicker recovery.
• Continuous Monitoring and Improvement: The Enterprise Application Solutions team can provide valuable insights into the performance and behavior of applications, which the information security team can use to identify potential security threats. This continuous feedback loop helps in improving the overall security posture of the firm.
• Risk Management: By working together, these teams can conduct thorough risk assessments and implement appropriate security controls to protect the firm’s applications and data. This collaborative approach helps in identifying and addressing potential risks before they can be exploited.
• Efficient Resource Utilization: Collaboration between these teams ensures that resources are used efficiently, avoiding duplication of efforts and ensuring that security measures are implemented effectively across the organization. 

• Working closely with the Global Director of Enterprise Applications Architecture, build, nurture, govern and continually improve the relationship with core (Gold and Silver rated) application vendors of the firm.
• Understand the growing importance of the emerging “frenemy” business model taking root in the legal services industry and its coming impact on the EAS team.
• Ensure that the EAS team remains abreast of the changing Application landscape, with a particular focus on Application Life Cycle Management and how Artificial Intelligence (AI) is impacting this field. 

• Oversee the day-to-day operations of global business applications, ensuring high availability, performance, and reliability.
• Oversee the identification, investigation, and resolution of application-related incidents.
• Implement root cause analysis processes and ensure that permanent solutions are put in place to prevent recurrence.
• Coordinate with other IT teams to resolve complex issues and minimize downtime. 

• Managing the team of 35 Enterprise Application Solutions personnel. The team comprises of application analysts, application analysts/programmers, SharePoint admins, programmers, cloud admins, and database administrators.
• Foster a culture of continuous improvement (Kaizen) within the team, encouraging innovation and process optimization.
• Working with the Director of User Experience (UX) and the IT Ops Architect & Asset Manager, develop and implement standardized ITSM processes for application monitoring, incident management, and problem resolution.
• Lead the team in managing application deployment, patching, and upgrades across global environments.
• Manage to-be-determined internal SLAs for application availability, ensuring targets are consistently met or exceeded.
• Partnering with U.S. and non-U.S. office directors to ensure technology aligns with each office’s needs.
• Escalating, or solving infrastructure issues with the various IS support teams or vendors.
• Testing security, image updates, and software patches for various applications and appliances.
• Communicating project status to various levels of management.
• Work closely with the Chief Legal Operations Officer and the Data Governance team to ensure all technology solutions adhere to the rapidly changing governance landscape.
• Work closely with the Marketing, HR, Procurement, Finance teams to ensure their requirements are understood and they in turn understand the role of the EAS team.
• Work closely with the Global Director of Enterprise Applications Architecture, the CTO and Chief Legal Operations officer to help deliver on the legal technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI) strategy of the firm.
• Oversee all IS team member development, retention, and performance issues in real time and conduct annual reviews for team members.

Qualifications

Technical:

• Familiarity with deploying standard best practice Development Operations (DevOps) tools prevalent across most professional services verticals to manage and automate on premise and cloud platforms. For example:
  • Application development: i.e. Atlassian
  • Deployment automation and self-healing: i.e. Puppet, Chef, Jenkins.
• Familiarity with Active Directory, Azure Active Directory, and various cloud technologies.
• Familiarity with Microsoft SQL, SharePoint, and their cloud equivalents.
• Knowledge of the iManage & Litera product lines.
• Good understanding of network communication protocols. Strong knowledge of the Windows Operating System (including Windows 10-11, Windows Server 2012 R2 – 2022) and Office technologies.
• Knowledge of PowerShell, programming, and scripting languages.
• Experience supporting client/server-based applications. Must be able to diagnose problems via system and application logs.
• Experience supporting macOS with Jamf Pro, iOS with MobileIron/Intune
• Familiarity with F5 load balancers.
• Familiarity with MEMCM/Intune application package and deployment.
• Knowledge of NetApp storage and VMware technologies
• Proven track record of delivering complex technology solutions in a fast-paced environment.
• An understanding of the importance that data collection and metrics plays in every part of an IT operation.
• An ability to surface important data and visualize it for the IS leadership team to make critical decisions on how to continually improve operations.
• The ability to demonstrate an understanding of “cabinet responsibility”. e. an understanding that not all decisions and initiatives are going to be the ones the Director would have necessarily made.  In such circumstances, the Director will need to see the big picture and visibility support the consensus decision of the IS leadership team.
• A visible desire to gain an understanding of the legal services world, the forces at work within it and the unfolding roles of legal tech, Artificial Intelligence (AI), process reengineering and data science.

Other:

• Experienced and skilled people manager with cultural sensitivity and expertise in recruitment, professional development, performance management, conflict resolution, and motivating diverse and inclusive global teams.
• An understanding of the project sponsorship and stakeholder management, portfolio governance and associated processes that review, accept and promote project work.
• An ability to develop trust, encourage and promote teamwork between local and global IS team members.
• An ability to delegate efficiently and support team members in their professional development.
• An ability to quickly pivot and proactively introduce change and make key decisions in fast-paced and dynamic work environment.
• An ability to act as a leadership role model and inspire confidence in team members and other firm personnel.
• An ability to elaborate critical strategies, often under compressed deadlines.
• An ability to maintain confidentiality in all needed matters.
• An ability to understand and operate in grey areas and not just, see black and white.
• A positive, “can do” attitude.
• An ability to work effectively under pressure.
• An ability to visibly demonstrate passion for the work they perform.
• An ability to actively listen and propose solutions that meet both the firm’s global technology strategies while meeting the local end-user needs.
• An ability to inspire colleagues’ respect, engagement, and teamwork.
• A proven influencer with drive and vision.
• A track record of achieving strong stakeholder engagement with change management strategies.
• A track record of demonstrating credibility and gravitas to collaborate effectively with upper management.

 

Experience

• University degree, preferably in Computer Science or related field preferred.
• ITIL certification or equivalent is a plus.
• Minimum of six years of senior-level IT experience in a professional services environment, preferably in the legal industry.

 

 

Gibson Dunn will consider for employment qualified Applicants with Criminal Histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of local law.

Compensation & Benefits:

The annual compensation range for this position is $225-275k. The salary offered within this range will depend upon qualifications and other operational considerations.

Benefits offered for this position include health care; retirement benefits; paid days off, including sick time, and vacation time; parental leave; basic life insurance; Flexible Spending Accounts; as well as discretionary, performance-based bonuses.

This application window will close on Tuesday, February 18th, 2025.

Locations:

Century City, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, Houston, Orange County, Palo Alto, New York, San Francisco, Washington, D.C.

EEO Statement

Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP is committed to the principles of equal employment opportunity for all partners, employees and applicants and, in accordance with the applicable federal and state laws, does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, creed, color, religion, matriculation or political affiliation, national origin, alienage or citizenship status, ancestry, age, marital status or partnership status, family responsibilities, disability, medical condition, personal appearance, genetic information, predisposing genetic characteristics, sexual orientation, military status, status as a victim of domestic violence, stalking and sex offenses, arrest or conviction record, or on any other basis prohibited by law.