Director of Data Services

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP; Los Angeles (CA); Hybrid; USD 300,000 - 380,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health care

Retirement benefits

Paid time off

Parental leave

Life insurance

Flexible spending accounts

Job summary

Gibson Dunn in Los Angeles seeks a visionary Director of Data Services to build the firm’s first enterprise-grade data architecture and governance program that powers AI, BI, and strategic decisions. You will lead data strategy, governance, and analytics product delivery across multiple systems and leadership levels.

You will partner with Finance, IT, and practice groups to deliver self-serve analytics, ensure data quality, and establish a data culture that enables data-driven decision making

Qualifications

• 15+ years of progressive experience in data engineering, data architecture, analytics, or enterprise data strategy; at least 5 years in a Director, VP, or executive director-level role.
• Deep expertise in modern data stack technologies: cloud data warehouses, orchestration tools, data catalog and lineage platforms, and BI visualization tooling.
• Proven experience developing and implementing data governance frameworks with lasting adoption.
• Exceptional executive presence: translate data complexity into strategic insight for partners and leadership.

Responsibilities

• Own and continuously evolve the firm’s enterprise data strategy and multi-year roadmap with leadership alignment.
• Lead the design and build of enterprise data architecture integrating core systems (DMS, ERP, CRM, HR).
• Oversee data standards, taxonomies, metadata policies, and master data management.
• Establish and chair the Data Governance Council and collaborate on AI data enablement and risk governance.
• Partner with Finance, IT, and business functions to deliver self-serve analytics and advanced insights.
• Build and lead a high-performing data organization with a focus on talent development and succession planning.

Skills

Data governance

Data architecture

Executive leadership

Legal industry experience

AI data enablement

Education

Advanced degree or JD/MBA

Tools

Snowflake

Azure Synapse

Databricks

Power BI

Tableau

ETL/ELT

Job description

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 Los Angeles, New York or Washington, D.C., the Director of Data Services will be responsible for managing the way Gibson Dunn captures, governs, integrates, and activates its data across every financial system, matter, client relationship, and AI model that the firm deploys. This role will establish the data foundation upon which the firm’s AI program, business intelligence capability, and operational decision-making rest. This executive-level role will build the firm’s first enterprise-grade data architecture, create a lasting data governance culture, and deliver analytics products that give firm leadership and practice group heads a level of strategic intelligence the firm has never had before.

This role reports to the Chief Legal Operations Officer.

Responsibilities include:

Enterprise Data Strategy

• Owning and continuously evolving the firm’s enterprise data strategy and multi-year roadmap approved by firm leadership, integrating with the AI strategy, and aligning to the firm’s financial, operational, and competitive priorities.
• Advising the CLOO on data’s strategic implications including: the value of data assets the firm already holds, the investments required to realize that value, and the risks of continued data fragmentation.
• Establishing Gibson Dunn’s data vision by articulating what the firm’s data estate will look like at full maturity, what decisions it will enable, and how it will position the firm competitively.
• Building and chairing the firm’s Data Governance Council.
• Leading annual data strategy reviews with firm leadership presenting progress, ROI, and updated priorities against the multi-year roadmap.

Data Architecture & Engineering

• Designing and overseeing the build of the firm’s enterprise data architecture, creating a unified, governed data layer integrating Aderant (financial/billing), iManage (document management), Intapp (conflicts, NBI, risk), CRM, HR systems, and operational platforms.
• Leading the selection and implementation of modern data infrastructure tools and platforms including cloud data warehouse (Snowflake, Databricks, Azure Synapse, or equivalent), ETL/ELT orchestration, data catalog, and lineage tooling.
• Establishing and enforcing enterprise data standards, taxonomies, and metadata policies, resolving the multi-definition problem affecting key firm metrics such as realization rate, utilization, and client revenue.
• Owning the firm’s master data management (MDM) program, establishing authoritative systems of record for clients, matters, attorneys, rates, and timekeeper hierarchy.
• Overseeing the data engineering team and setting technical standards for pipeline development, data quality testing, schema design, and system integration architecture.
• Owning a Practice Intelligence platform providing firm leadership, practice group co-chairs, and administrative leaders with self-serve access to matter pipelines, utilization, realization, client revenue, lateral productivity, and workforce analytics.
• Partnering with Finance to deliver analytics beyond standard reports, providing partner-level, matter-level, and client-level economic insight that informs compensation, pricing, and staffing decisions.
• Partnering with Business Development to build client intelligence products including relationship analytics, cross-sell opportunity modeling, client revenue trend analysis, and competitive positioning data.
• Partnering with Human Resources to provide workforce analytics including staffing models, associate advancement tracking, DEI reporting, and lateral hiring ROI analysis.
• Establishing a BI Center of Excellence, selecting, governing, and supporting firm BI and visualization tooling (Power BI, Tableau, or equivalent); building a community of data users; and expanding self-serve analytics capability across the firm.

Data Governance & Compliance

• Developing and owning the firm’s comprehensive Data Governance Policy, covering data ownership, access controls, classification, retention, lineage, quality standards, and AI training eligibility, reviewed and approved by firm leadership, IT Security, and General Counsel.
• Managing the firm-wide Data Stewardship Program.
• Working with OGC, ensure all data practices comply with GDPR, CCPA, applicable bar confidentiality rules, client contractual data obligations, and the firm’s information security policies; serving as the firm’s data compliance authority.
• Representing the firm’s data interests in enterprise technology decisions, ensuring architecture, security, and governance requirements are built into every major system procurement.

AI Data Enablement

• Serving as an essential executive business partner on AI infrastructure: owning the data layer that powers all firm AI programs, including retrieval-augmented generation pipelines, vector databases, embedding workflows, and the knowledge retrieval infrastructure attorneys use to surface precedents and work product.
• Defining and enforcing data quality, classification, and access-control standards governing which firm data is eligible for AI retrieval, training, or fine-tuning, ensuring all AI use of firm data meets confidentiality, privilege, and security requirements.
• Building and maintaining AI-ready data infrastructure at the pace the AI Team program requires, coordinating with IT to remove data blockers for every AI deployment.
• Owning the firm’s data audit logging infrastructure (Harmonic) for AI tools, ensuring complete, auditable records of what data AI tools accessed, when, and by whom.
• Building, leading, and developing a high-performing organization of professionals across data governance, analytics, records, and governance, with deep commitment to talent development and succession planning.
• Serving as an executive sponsor for data literacy and data culture initiatives across the firm, demonstrating personally that data-driven decision making is how Gibson Dunn’s leadership operates.
• Maintaining a strong external network with data leaders in professional services, technology, and financial services to continuously benchmark the firm’s data maturity and import relevant innovations.

Qualifications:

• 15+ years of progressive experience in data engineering, data architecture, analytics, or enterprise data strategy; at least 5 years in a Director, VP, or executive director-level role.
• Proven track record building enterprise data infrastructure from the ground up in a complex, multi-system environment, including data warehouse architecture, ETL/ELT pipeline development, and enterprise data governance.
• Deep expertise in modern data stack technologies: cloud data warehouses (Snowflake, Azure or equivalent), orchestration tools, data catalog and lineage platforms, and BI visualization tooling.
• Proven experience developing and implementing data governance frameworks that achieve lasting organizational adoption, including data ownership models, classification schemas, and stewardship programs.
• Exceptional executive presence: ability to translate data complexity into strategic insight for partners, managing partners, and peers.
• Strong track record building and leading multidisciplinary data organizations spanning engineering, analytics, and governance.
• Professional services, legal, financial services, or other highly regulated, data-sensitive industry experience.

Experience:

• Prior experience at a law firm, in-house legal department, or legal technology company.
• Familiarity with legal systems: Aderant (financial/billing), iManage (DMS), Intapp (conflicts/risk/NBI), or comparable platforms.
• Experience building AI data infrastructure: RAG pipelines, vector databases, embedding workflows, and LLM evaluation data architectures.
• Understanding of attorney-client privilege, confidentiality rules, and professional responsibility as applied to data management and AI.
• Experience with master data management (MDM) in a multi-entity, multi-jurisdictional environment.
• Advanced degree in Data Science, Computer Science, Information Management, Statistics, or related field; or JD/MBA with strong quantitative background.
• Professional certifications in data governance, architecture, or cloud platforms (CDMP, TOGAF, Snowflake SnowPro, AWS/Azure data certifications).

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

The annual compensation range for this position is $300k – 380k. 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.

Gibson Dunn is committed to ensuring equal employment opportunities for all qualified applicants, including individuals with disabilities. We strive to ensure an inclusive and accessible hiring experience. The Firm will provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities to enable participation in the application and recruitment process, unless doing so would impose an undue hardship, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. If you require a reasonable accommodation to complete an application, participate in an interview, or otherwise take part in the recruitment process, please contact us at [e-mail]. Please note, this is a dedicated email inbox established exclusively to assist applicants with accommodation request related to the recruitment process. Inquiries about the status of an application or other non-accommodation matter will not receive a response.