Legal operations director

Location: Atlanta, San Francisco, New York, or Remote

Employment Type: Full-time

Compensation: Competitive base salary + performance bonuses based on credit-hour productivity, quality of work, and great customers interaction.

Reports to: Managing Partner

About Us

aiLegal is an immigration law firm powered by AI technology with a strong reputation for delivering excellence, efficiency, and client-centric service. We handle a wide spectrum of immigration cases including family immigration, humanitarian matters, business immigration, consular processing, removal defense, and federal litigation. We operate on a flat rate model with assigned credit hours per case type and enforce high accountability in meeting deadlines and productivity benchmarks. Each team member is expected to deliver at least 100 credit hours per month. Our unique service model ensures speed, standardization, and client satisfaction by structuring every case into a clear assembly-line pipeline.

We are seeking experienced and self-driven Legal Operations Director. This role exists for one reason: ensure every case manager consistently delivers required billing hours with high quality, predictable timelines, and zero operational chaos. You are the operator who turns strategy into execution. You build systems. You enforce standards. You drive accountability. Your success is measured directly by legal output.

This role is not for candidates who:

• ✘ move slowly
• ✘ resist using technology and/or is not tech savvy
• ✘ require handholding
• ✘ cannot manage deadlines
• ✘ dislike KPIs
• ✘ lack ownership, accountability, or flexibility
• ✘ can not produce results within defined timelines
• ✘ brings drama or an ego that requires its own parking space

This role is for candidates who:

• ✔ disciplined high-performers
• ✔ outstanding writers and strategists
• ✔ tech-comfortable professionals
• ✔ deadline-sensitive professionals
• ✔ professionals who can take full ownership of job responsibility
• ✔ professionals who thrive in well-structured, high-accountability environments
• ✔ professionals who bring curiosity, humility, and professionalism

Position Review Within 90-180 days, this role must achieve:

• ≥90% of case managers meeting or exceeding monthly credit-hour targets
• On-time deliverables ≥95% across all active matters
• Measurable reduction in backlog and stalled cases
• Clear KPI dashboards adopted firmwide
• Daily operational cadence fully implemented
• Managers actively coaching to performance using your system

If these aren’t happening, the role isn’t succeeding.

Key Responsibilities

Legal Delivery Management

Own end-to-end case execution across all practice areas

Monitor daily progress of every active matter

Identify stalled files, overdue tasks, and underperforming staff in real time

Reallocate workload dynamically to protect deadlines and utilization

Run weekly delivery reviews with attorneys and case managers

You are the control tower of legal operations.

KPI Design & Enforcement

• Credit hours per person (monthly/weekly/daily)
• Case cycle time by case type
• On-time task completion %
• Rework/correction rate
• Client response SLAs
• Utilization rate per role
• Backlog aging

Create dashboards, publish scorecards. Run performance meetings. Metrics must be visible, unavoidable, and acted upon.

SOP + Workflow Standardization

Document and enforce SOPs for each case type

Implement standardized task sequences per matter

Reduce vibration between case managers

Partner with tech team to embed workflow into systems.

Continuously refine processes based on data.

Team Performance Management

Run weekly performance reviews with case managers.

Coach underperformers with concrete improvement plans.

Recommend corrective action when KPIs are missed.

Partner with HR on PIPs and exits when needed.

Build a culture of ownership, not excuses.

Capacity Planning & Hiring

Input Forecast staffing needs based on caseload and credit-hour demand

Advise leadership on hiring timing and role mix

Support onboarding with productivity ramp plans.

Qualifications

Must-Have

• 5+ years in legal operations, professional service operations, or delivery management.
• Proven ownership of KPI-driven teams (law firm, consulting, healthcare, or similar)
• Direct experience managing production staff (case managers, legal assistant, analysts, etc.)
• Strong data fluency: dashboards, metrics, operational reporting
• Experience implementing SOPs and performance systems.
• Comfortable holding professionals accountable.

Strongly Preferred

• Immigration law or high-volume legal services background
• Experience with flat-rate or production-based models
• Familiarity with Jira / Case management platforms
• Lean/Six Sigma/Process optimization experience
• Remote + Hybrid team management

Personal Attributes

You are:

• Operationally ruthless (about process, not people)
• Data-driven
• Calm under pressure
• Direct communicator
• Systems thinker
• Execution obsessed
• Comfortable saying “this is not acceptable”. You don’t avoid performance conversations.

KPI Framework

Firm-Level KPIs owned by Legal Operations Director

• Case Manager Credit Hour Compliance - ≥90% hitting monthly target
• On-time deliverables - ≥95%
• Backlog >30 Days - <5% of active matters
• Average Case Cycle Time - Reduced quarterly
• Rework / Correction Rate - <3%
• Client SLA Response - ≥95% within 24 hours
• Internal SLA Response - ≥95% within 1 hour

Individual Performance KPIs Implemented by Legal Operations Director

• Each case manager tracked on Monthly credit hours
• Task completion rate
• Quality score (attorney review)
• Responsiveness
• Case aging
• SOP adherence

Published weekly. Reviewed monthly. Consequence enforced.

Operations Maturity KPIs (First 6 Months)

• KPI Dashboard Live
• SOP coverage ≥95% of workflows
• Weekly delivery Cadence established
• Performance coaching system running
• Capacity planning model operational

Compensation and Benefits

Competitive base salary + performance-based bonuses

Health, dental, vision, and life insurance

401(k) with employer contribution

Paid time off

Career growth opportunity in a fast-scaling, and technology driven practice.

Why Join aiLegal

Be part of a visionary firm revolutionizing immigration law through AI and automation. Collaborate with a high-performing, mission-driven team. Enjoy a culture of transparency, innovation, and recognition. Gain opportunities for career growth and leadership advancement. Competitive pay structure with performance incentives and bonuses.