Staff Attorney, E-Discovery

Butzel Long

LOCATION: Detroit (Hybrid or Remote considered for exceptional candidate)

ABOUT THE FIRM

With headquarters in Detroit and offices throughout Michigan, our firm has built a longstanding reputation for providing sophisticated legal counsel to businesses, institutions, and individuals across a wide range of industries. We combine the resources of a large regional law firm with a collaborative culture focused on client service, innovation, and professional growth.

POSITION SUMMARY

We are seeking a talented, motivated Staff Attorney to join our growing E-Discovery Team. The ideal candidate is a well-rounded E-Discovery practitioner with a strong command of discovery law and supporting technology, stays current on emerging data sources and evolving caselaw, and can manage discovery workflows from start to finish.

This attorney will work closely with litigation teams, in-house counsel, clients, vendors, and technology professionals to resolve complex ESI issues, design collection and review workflows, negotiate and draft ESI protocols, and ensure discovery practices are defensible, proportionate, and cost-effective. Because the role spans the full discovery lifecycle, candidates whose experience is limited to document review alone will not be a fit.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• E-Discovery and Litigation Support

• Advise litigation teams and clients on discovery obligations, litigation holds and preservation strategy, ESI protocols, proportionality, and form of production.

• Support negotiation of ESI stipulations, discovery plans, Rule 502(d) and clawback agreements, and protective orders; participate substantively in meet-and-confer discussions.

• Independently analyze discovery requests and develop defensible response strategies; identify and escalate collection gaps, data loss, and spoliation risk.

• Document Review

• Design, implement, and refine review protocols, coding structures, quality control measures, and end-to-end review workflows.

• Assist with the development and supervision of large-scale review projects involving firm attorneys, contract reviewers, and vendors, including staffing, training, and performance management.

• Perform substantive, privilege, and quality-control review where strategically warranted.

• Oversee privilege logs, redactions, and production sets; monitor review metrics against deadlines and budgets.

• Technology Knowledge

• Serve as a power user and internal project administrator for Everlaw, Relativity, and comparable review and analytics platforms, building searches, workflows, tagging protocols, and reporting.

• Apply advanced capabilities, including TAR and predictive coding, clustering, email threading, near-duplicate detection, and generative AI review tools, and advise on when their use is appropriate and defensible.

• Supervise data collection, including through Microsoft Purview and other common compliance and collection tools.

• Coordinate with forensic experts as needed.

• Internal Firm Support

• Serve as a go-to internal resource on discovery law, ESI strategy, and legal technology, including training and mentoring attorneys and staff.

• Assist with the development of firm-wide E-Discovery processes, playbooks, templates, and policies.

• Support internal investigations, regulatory matters, and litigation involving firm data.

• Client Service and Project Management

• Work directly with clients to design defensible, proportionate, and cost-effective discovery solutions suited to their data environments, including preservation readiness and early case assessment.

• Prepare and manage E-Discovery budgets and cost forecasts; coordinate with outside vendors and hold them accountable.

• Maintain project documentation sufficient to defend process decisions if challenged.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Required

• Juris Doctor from an accredited law school and active admission to practice in at least one U.S. jurisdiction.

• 2+ years of substantive litigation and E-Discovery experience. Review experience alone is not sufficient. Candidates must have hands-on experience in at least one other phase of the EDRM lifecycle.

• Working knowledge of the Federal Rules governing discovery (including Rules 26, 34, 37(e), and 45) and current caselaw on ESI and preservation obligations.

• Experience drafting ESI protocols and E-Discovery motion papers.

• Demonstrated commitment to staying current on developing data sources and their preservation, collection, and production implications.

• Hands-on experience with review platforms such as Everlaw, Relativity, DISCO, or similar systems beyond reviewer-level use.

• Strong organizational, analytical, and communication skills, and the ability to work autonomously and exercise independent judgment with limited supervision.

• Preferred

• The following are preferences, not requirements. We do not expect any candidate to bring all of them, and we encourage applicants who meet the required qualifications to apply even if they do not meet the preferences below.

• Experience designing and managing large-scale review projects, including workflow development and protocol drafting.

• Familiarity with collection from emerging and non-traditional sources — collaboration platforms, ephemeral and mobile messaging, cloud and SaaS applications, and structured data.

• Experience supporting investigations, regulatory enforcement matters, and complex commercial litigation.

• Knowledge of StoryBuilder by Everlaw, Relativity aiR, or comparable generative AI and case-development tools.

• Relativity Certified Administrator (RCA), Everlaw certification, ACEDS certification, or other relevant credentials.

• SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES

• Substantive command of discovery law paired with strong technical aptitude.

• Self-direction and ownership, with the ability to identify what a matter needs and move it forward independently.

• Strong attention to detail and excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain technical concepts to attorneys, clients, and courts.

• Project-management and workflow-design skills.

• Ability to collaborate effectively across legal, technical, and vendor teams.

• Intellectual curiosity and commitment to continuous learning as data sources, tools, rules, and caselaw evolve.

• WORK ENVIRONMENT

• The firm is headquartered in Detroit and maintains offices throughout Michigan. Candidates located near one of our offices are preferred, though remote arrangements will be considered for highly qualified candidates. Periodic travel for team meetings, training, client needs, or litigation support may be required.

• WHY JOIN US?

• Sophisticated litigation, investigation, and regulatory matters with significant data complexity.

• Hands-on exposure to cutting-edge legal technology, including AI tools.

• Real autonomy and ownership over matters and firm-wide initiatives.

• Flexible work arrangements and competitive compensation.