Job Title: Director of Information Technology
Job Responsibilities:
The Director of Information Technology at the law firm will report to the CEO and is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the firm's technology systems. This includes ensuring seamless operations, cybersecurity, and strategic IT growth. The role requires a hands-on leader with expertise in legal technology, network management, and IT best practices to support the firm's attorneys and staff. Key responsibilities include:
- Managing the firm's network, servers, workstations, and cloud environments, including networks and firewalls, telephony, onboarding, equipment procurement, office setup, service desk, vendors, security operations, and business applications uptime.
- Stabilizing and optimizing current operations by overseeing the 24 × 5 Service Desk, incident response, change management, and SLA dashboards.
- Maintaining reliable networks, Wi-Fi, VPN, firewalls, cloud telephony, endpoints, and business apps, and efficiently onboarding and offboarding staff through automation.
- Leading the modernization roadmap by designing, budgeting, and executing a 12-month program covering identity/SSO, lifecycle automation, ITSM rollout, zero-touch endpoint management, cloud telephony migration, ERP integration, domain consolidation, and security uplift.
- Building and mentoring the IT team by hiring, coaching, and performance-managing Service Desk, NOC, endpoint, network, and security engineers, and defining clear roles, career paths, on-call rotations, and a continuous-improvement culture.
- Implementing automation-first processes, deploying zero-touch provisioning, join-move-leave workflows, self-service portals, and CMDB, and automating repetitive tasks.
- Ensuring security, compliance, and resilience by establishing SOC 2 (or similar) controls, conducting EDR, vulnerability management, log aggregation, backups, DR drills, and quarterly pen-tests.
- Owning vendor and budget management by leading RFPs, negotiating contracts, tracking OPEX/CAPEX, and managing renewals.
- Communicating and governing by chairing the Change Advisory Board, maintaining up-to-date diagrams and knowledge bases, publishing KPI dashboards, and presenting progress to executives.
- Collaborating with engineering and DevOps to align technology and infrastructure changes with CI/CD release calendars and platform architecture.
- Overseeing cybersecurity measures, including data protection, firewalls, and compliance with legal industry standards.
- Ensuring high availability, disaster recovery, and business continuity planning.
- Administering legal practice management software, document management systems, and billing tools.
- Providing technical support and training to attorneys and staff on firm systems.
- Troubleshooting hardware, software, and connectivity issues.
- Ensuring compliance with data privacy laws and ethical obligations related to client information.
- Conducting regular security audits and employee training on IT policies.
- Facilitating planning, moves, and logistics for expansion, and supporting hybrid on-shore/near-shore workforces and complex system migrations.
Education and Experience Information:
- A Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field is required, with a Master’s degree preferred.
- A minimum of 10 years in IT management, preferably in a large law firm or professional services environment.
- At least 7 years in corporate IT leadership with large-scale cloud migrations and MSP exits.
- Certifications such as CompTIA Security+, CISSP, CISM, ITIL, PMP, CISSP, AWS Solutions Architect, or equivalent are desirable.
- Expertise in legal software (., litigation support, timekeeping, e-filing) and strong knowledge of cybersecurity frameworks and compliance.
- Proficiency in Windows/Mac environments, Microsoft 365, VPNs, and VoIP systems.
- Project management skills with PMP or Agile certifications being a plus.
- Experience with facilities and space planning on a large scale.
- Strategic thinking capabilities, with the ability to transition from high-level vision to detailed troubleshooting.
- An automation-first, metrics-driven approach with a focus on documentation and process.
- A servant-leader mindset, earning trust across engineering, security, and operations.
- Ability to act as a change agent, comfortable with ambiguity, tight timelines, and high growth.
- Excellent communication and leadership abilities.
Salary Information:
The salary for the Director of Information Technology position at the law firm is between $150,000 and $180,000 annually.
Physical Demands and Working Environment:
Physical Demands:
- The role requires mobility to work in a standard office setting and use standard office equipment, including a computer. Vision to read printed materials and a computer screen, and hearing and speech to communicate in person and over the telephone are necessary.
- The position is primarily sedentary but may require standing in work areas and walking between work areas.
- Finger dexterity is needed to access, enter, and retrieve data using a computer keyboard or calculator and to operate standard office equipment.
- Occasionally, the role requires bending, stooping, kneeling, reaching, pushing, and pulling drawers open and closed to retrieve and file information.
- The ability to lift, carry, push, and pull materials and objects up to 50 pounds is required.
Working Conditions:
- Employees work in a traditional office environment with moderate noise levels and controlled temperature conditions.
- There is no direct exposure to hazardous physical substances.
Benefits:
- Firm-paid dental, vision, and life insurance after 60 days of employment.
- Medical insurance after 60 days of employment.
- 401(k) with 3% matching after one year of employment.
- Unlimited vacation policy, contingent on meeting performance goals.
- Onsite gym available at the Costa Mesa headquarters.
