Deputy Chief Information Officer

The role

The Deputy CIO serves as the operational anchor of the firm's Information Technology organization. This leader manages day-to-day technology operations and leads four director-led teams across 26 offices.

What you will do

• Exercise independent authority over IT operations across 26 firm offices.
• Serve as acting CIO in the CIO's absence.
• Establish and enforce operational standards, SLAs, and performance metrics.
• Drive IT incident response, business continuity planning, and disaster recovery.
• Provide direct leadership, mentorship, and performance management to four directors.
• Partner with HR on workforce planning, succession planning, and talent acquisition.
• Oversee the firm's legal technology ecosystem.
• Support IT operational budget development and management.
• Participate in vendor selection, contract negotiation, and relationship management.
• Coordinate with the Information Security function regarding client security and data privacy.

Required qualifications

• 20+ years of progressive IT leadership experience.
• At least 5 years in a senior director, deputy CIO, or equivalent operational leadership role.
• Demonstrated experience in an AmLaw 100 or 200 law firm, or a large professional services firm with comparable technology complexity.
• Hands-on familiarity with core legal technology platforms, including iManage or comparable DMS, Elite 3E or similar financial management systems, and supporting integrations.
• Proven track record managing multi-site, enterprise-scale IT operations.
• Experience directly managing a team of directors or senior managers across heterogeneous technology disciplines.
• Strong financial acumen with experience owning multi-million-dollar technology budgets.
• Excellent executive communication skills.
• Deep understanding of cybersecurity principles and legal industry-specific compliance requirements.

Nice to have

• Experience operating in an environment where IT has a formal AI or digital transformation initiative underway.
• Familiarity with AI-adjacent operational challenges, including data governance, model deployment infrastructure, and AI tool evaluation frameworks.
• Relevant certifications such as PMP, ITIL, CISSP, or equivalent.
• Experience with iManage Cloud, Intapp, or other leading legal SaaS platforms.
• Prior exposure to legal industry groups such as ILTA (International Legal Technology Association).

About the company

Barnes & Thornburg is committed to equal employment opportunity in principle and as a matter of policy.