The Chief Data Officer will serve as the Firm’s executive leader responsible for treating data as a strategic business asset. The role‑holder will establish and operate an enterprise data governance and data management program, delivering trusted reporting and analytics, and partnering across Practice, Business Services, and Technology to improve client service, matter outcomes, operational efficiency, risk management, and profitability. The individual will balance business stewardship—including governance, operating model, and adoption—with technology enablement across platforms, architecture, engineering, and AI to ensure Firm data is accurate, secure, accessible, and usable.
Main responsibilities:
Data Strategy & Business Value:
1. Define and execute the Firm-wide data strategy aligned to client service, practice growth, matter management, and financial performance
2. Translate strategic objectives into a multi-year data roadmap covering governance, master/reference data, analytics, AI readiness, and self-service enablement
3. Create and manage a portfolio of data products Client 360, matter profitability, pricing intelligence, conflicts analytics) with clear owners and measurable outcomes
4. Establish KPIs/OKRs to quantify impact
Business Data Governance (Operating Model):
5. Establish an enterprise data governance model with clear decision rights, accountability, and operating cadence, including councils, stewardship networks, and escalation paths
6. Define and enforce standards for data ownership, stewardship, business definitions (glossary), metadata/lineage, classification, and lifecycle/retention
7. Ensure consistent definitions for core Firm concepts, such as client, matter, engagement, timekeeper, rate, fee arrangement, practice group, and office
8. Enable governance that accelerates adoption while balancing controls with business agility and partner expectations
Data Management & Operations (Day-2 Excellence):
9. Build and run an enterprise data management function spanning data quality, master/reference data, metadata management, and data issue remediation
10. Implement data quality monitoring, controls, and remediation workflows with accountable stewards and measurable quality thresholds for critical data elements
11. Operationalize Master Data Management (MDM) and hierarchies client/matter, timekeeper, and practice/industry taxonomy)
12. Establish a data services catalog with SLAs, incident/problem management, and operational reporting for reliability and trust
13. Strengthen data integrity across critical processes, including conflicts checks, new matter intake, time entry, billing, collections, and reporting
Data Architecture, Platforms & Engineering (Technology Leadership):
14. Co-own with Technology Leadership the enterprise data platform strategy covering warehouse/lakehouse capabilities and integration patterns across core Firm systems
15. Lead delivery of data ingestion, transformation, orchestration, and API enablement to support scalable analytics and operational reporting
16. Develop a governed semantic layer and metrics framework to provide consistent, reusable measures realization, margin, and utilization)
17. Embed engineering best practices, including observability, automated testing, CI/CD for data pipelines, and resilient operations
Analytics, Insights & Decision Enablement:
18. Deliver trusted reporting and analytics across Practice and Business Services, prioritizing partner-facing insights that drive action
19. Enable data sets for analytics on matter profitability and realization, pricing and rate management, utilization and capacity planning, and client/industry insights for Business Development (BD)
20. Champion self-service analytics with guardrails using certified datasets, governed metrics, user enablement, and training
21. Create an insights operating model that moves beyond dashboards to measurable decisions and outcomes
AI & Data Readiness (Responsible Enablement):
22. Partner with Innovation, Knowledge Management, Technology, Functional Leaders, and Practice Leadership to enable responsible AI through high-quality, well-governed data
23. Define data readiness standards for AI use cases covering classification, consent, retention, auditability, bias, and explainability considerations where applicable
24. Ensure AI initiatives respect confidentiality, privacy, and client obligations, especially for sensitive client and matter data
Confidentiality, Privacy, Risk & Compliance (In Collaboration):
25. Partner with Information Security and Risk/Compliance to align data governance with client confidentiality obligations, privacy requirements, and retention policies
26. Implement role-based access, least privilege, segregation of duties, and auditability for sensitive datasets
27. Support incident response and investigations involving data access, integrity, or leakage risk
28. Ensure vendor and third-party data usage meets Firm risk standards, including data residency, contractual controls, and defensibility
Law Firm-Specific Data Domains & Use Cases:
29. Strengthen data across Firm-critical domains, including matter lifecycle, conflicts and intake, time entry, billing and collections, pricing/AFAs, client relationship data, and knowledge/document metadata
30. Partner with Pricing, Finance, and Practice Leaders to improve budgeting discipline, forecasting, and post-matter profitability analysis
31. Enable client and matter insights for relationship partners, including cross-selling opportunities and client experience analytics
32. Collaborate with eDiscovery/Litigation Support to improve cost, vendor, and cycle-time analytics where data enables defensible outcomes
Leadership, Change Management & Culture:
33. Lead and develop a high-performing data organization by defining roles, career paths, and training plans
34. Drive adoption through stakeholder engagement, communications, and change management; embed a “data as a product” mindset
35. Build a culture of accountability and data-driven decision making that respects the Firm’s partnership model and time constraints
Budget, Vendor & Performance Management:
36. Manage the data function budget and vendor relationships for data platforms, integration, analytics, and governance tooling
37. Track program performance using executive-ready dashboards covering data health, adoption, and outcomes, and regularly report to senior leadership
38. Ensure solutions meet confidentiality, security, resilience, and supportability requirements
Skills and experience:
39. An advanced degree in Information Systems, Data/Analytics, Business, or a related field is preferred (or equivalent experience)
40. Extensive experience with progressive leadership in data governance, data management, analytics, and/or data engineering and platforms, including leading enterprise teams and functions
41. Proven track record establishing enterprise data governance and operationalizing data quality, master/reference data, and metadata management
42. Experience in translating business priorities into a measurable data roadmap and delivering outcomes in complex, stakeholder‑rich environments
43. Strong executive communication, influencing, and change‑leadership skills, able to partner effectively with senior lawyers, Practice Leaders, and Business Services Leaders
44. Working knowledge of information security, privacy, and risk principles as they apply to confidential client and matter data
45. Experience in a law firm or professional services environment with matter‑centric financials, including profitability, realization, pricing, and utilization is preferred
46. Familiar with typical law‑firm platforms, including practice‑management and billing systems, CRM, DMS/KM, eDiscovery, and HRIS, as well as integration patterns
47. Experience enabling AI/ML responsibly in a high‑confidentiality or regulated environment is preferred
48. Core Competencies:
Enterprise data‑governance and stewardship operating models Data quality, controls, and master/reference data management Data architecture, integration strategy, and platform modernization Data‑product management and value realization Analytics enablement and self‑service with guardrails Risk‑based decision‑making and confidentiality‑first approaches Change management and stakeholder influence in a partnership environment
About us
At Baker McKenzie we are different in the way we think, work and behave. With our team of 13,000 people, including over 6,500 locally admitted lawyers, in over 70 offices worldwide, we have a passionately collaborative community of 60 nationalities and are committed to world-class career development to everyone in every job at every level. Baker McKenzie can offer you both the uncompromising commitment to excellence expected of a top firm paired with a passionately global and genuinely collaborative working environment.
Additional Information
Baker McKenzie is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to promoting diversity and inclusion for all. Our unique international culture is reflected in the drawing together of a worldwide family of individuals from diverse cultures and backgrounds in all of our offices. We are committed to providing an inclusive and accessible recruitment process. We encourage applications from individuals of all abilities and backgrounds. If you require accommodations at any stage of the application or interview process, please contact us at and we will work with you toward reasonably accommodating your needs.
Pay Transparency
49. This position is bonus eligible and includes benefits such as medical, dental, vision, and 401(k) based on number of hours worked.
50. The US compensation rate for this position is expected to be $500,000 to $650,000 (annually or hourly) if located in an office in the state of New York, Illinois, California, or in Washington, DC.
51. Within the range, individual pay is determined by work location and additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for your preferred location during the hiring process.
52. California notice: We will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories (arrest and conviction records), in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and local laws.