Practice Support Lawyer

Job Description

At K&L Gates, we are looking for smart, imaginative and hard-working people with diverse backgrounds, experiences and ideas to join us. Perhaps our search for talented visionaries and your search for important and impactful work lead to the same place.

We are seeking an experienced Practice Support Lawyer (PSL) to support our Corporate M&A practice group. The PSL will be responsible for creating, maintaining, and updating the knowledge and practice innovation assets and services, as required by the Corporate Practice Area Leaders (PALs), Director of Practice Operations (DPO), and Director of Practice Innovation (DPI). Reporting to the DPI, the PSL will provide support to the Corporate M&A practice group on designated firmwide projects across a range of knowledge management (KM), innovation, generative AI, precedents, client growth, professional development and practice support initiatives.

Essential Duties:

PSL’s focus will vary depending on the needs of the Corporate M&A practice group. Core duties include:

• Develop, review, and manage precedent and intellectual property for the Corporate M&A practice group, which includes assisting practice area lawyers and PSLs to organize and facilitate knowledge, precedents, and innovation forums and projects;
• Applying and contributing to the development of a firmwide KM process to drive consistency, currency, and excellence in precedents and knowledge assets and systems within (and across) the practice area(s);
• Support the Corporate M&A practice group in implementation of generative AI and data strategy and deployment and adoption of AI tools and solutions;
• Build close working relationships with partners, lawyers, and allied professionals in the Corporate M&A practice group; maintain a good understanding of the legal services provided by the Corporate M&A practice group and their clients/industries; be proactive in finding opportunities to increase efficiency through process improvement or the application of legal technology including generative AI); and ensure KM, innovation, and precedents services meet the Corporate M&A practice group needs;
• Ensure compliance with firm policies, protocols, and standards relevant to KM and data governance, and that applicable policies and protocols are communicated in a clear and timely way;
• Drafting and editing precedents, guidance notes, checklists, client growth pitches and RFPs, training materials and presentations, legal updates, and any other communications;
• Use visual communication of legal advice and provide consultation to the Corporate M&A practice group on visual standards, where appropriate;
• Answer client growth and KM-related enquiries from partners, lawyers, and allied professionals, including client growth team members responding to client pitches and RFPs;
• Communicate with Corporate PAL(s) and other leaders on precedent, KM, and related legal technology developments;
• Keep up to date with legal developments in relevant to Corporate M&A practice group and help advance practice area innovation and professional development to reflect those advancements;
• Assist with the review and editing of pitch related materials for client proposals;
• Assist with developing and delivering training on legal and practical KM and innovation topics; and
• Keep abreast of legal technology available at the firm to drive productivity and help identify opportunities to apply solutions.

Additional Duties:

• Provide assistance to the Directors and other PSLs on compliance tasks as required by the Office of General Counsel, which may include researching, advising, and training on national and global policies and professional practice standards;
• As required, provide support for document automation and collaboration projects including design, analysis, mapping, testing, and training;
• Assist with facilitation of legal design sprints and hackathons and applying design thinking to legal problems;
• Proactively identify, communicate, develop, and implement new ways to improve KM and innovation services to K&L Gates, and promote opportunities for collaboration and innovation in delivering client services;
• Participate in and contribute to relevant global projects (multi regional or multi practice group) upon request;
• Participate in Corporate M&A practice group meetings, Practice Innovation team meetings, PSL meetings, and any relevant project meetings;
• Record time if required on approved matters and projects;
• Attend regular CLE/CPD sessions to maintain practicing certificate; and
• Maintain internal and external networks.

Experience and Skills Required:

• Qualified lawyer with at least 5 or more years post-admission experience;
• Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from an accredited law school;
• Admission to the state bar and in good standing;
• Must have previously worked as a lawyer in private practice and maintained up to date legal knowledge in relevant Corporate practice areas;
• KM, process improvement, and change management experience or qualifications preferred (or willingness to develop skills in these areas);
• Excellent drafting skills and a demonstrated understanding of/commitment to plain language drafting and visual communication of legal advice;
• Demonstrated interest in emerging legal technology—including generative AI—to assist the practice of law;
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision;
• Excellent problem solving, time management, and delegation skills; prepared to take on delegated tasks as needed;
• Excellent verbal and written communication and influencing skills, including presentation, training, and facilitation skills;
• Good relationship building and interpersonal skills, able to work across multi-disciplinary teams to achieve collective outcomes; sensitive to global cultural and diversity issues; and
• Creative and collaborative approach to innovation; willingness to explore options for improvement; openness to productive change.

Please contact Marley McLaughlin, Principal Legal Recruiter, at with any questions.

Base Compensation $200,000 - $300,000 / year

The compensation salary for this position will be determined during the interview process and will vary based on multiple factors, including but not limited to prior experience, relevant expertise, current business needs, and market factors.

In accordance with the Los Angeles Fair Chance Ordinance, San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, and the California Fair Chance Act, qualified applicants for our Los Angeles and San Francisco offices with arrest and conviction records will be considered.

ABOUT THE FIRM

K&L Gates is a fully integrated global law firm with lawyers located across five continents in more than 40 offices. We have experienced dramatic growth in the past decade and now rank among the largest U.S. based law firms in the world. We take pride in constantly striving for innovation, imagination and an entrepreneurial spirit. We come up with big ideas and then roll up our sleeves to get the job done, guiding our clients through their most complex issues in a variety of industry sectors and across multiple regions of the world.

The industry recognition the firm has garnered emanates from the foundation of a global community aligned on behalf of our clients. The people at K&L Gates are committed to working together to create a legacy for each other, the firm, our clients, and the communities in which we serve. We thrive in an inclusive and socially conscious environment that embraces diversity and takes a holistic approach to the career evolution of all our professionals.