Practice Innovation Lawyer
- Full-time
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.
POSITION SUMMARY
The Practice Innovation Lawyer focuses on implementing innovation, technology, and AI solutions to enhance legal workflows and client service. This role collaborates with lawyers to identify AI opportunities, configure tools, test systems, and ensure successful technology adoption. Responsibilities include developing AI use cases, supporting partners and clients, and managing change enablement for improved efficiency and service delivery. The position requires hands-on problem-solving and practical application of technology in legal practice. By integrating legal, business, and technical expertise, the Lawyer ensures effective, compliant tool implementation to maintain competitiveness and deliver measurable results.
We are seeking four Practice Innovation Lawyers to support each of the following practice areas: Finance, Intellectual Property, Litigation, and Policy & Regulatory.
REPORTING TO
Director of Practice Innovation & Knowledge Management
KEY RELATIONSHIPS
Director of Practice Innovation & Knowledge Management, Practice Innovation Attorneys, Practice Area Leads, Practice Group Coordinators, Directors of Practice Operations, members of the global technology, research and AI solutions teams.
Base Compensation $180,969.00 - $316,695.00/year
ESSENTIAL DUTIES
• Collaborating with legal professionals to discover opportunities for enhancing workflows and client service through AI-driven advancements.
• Translating legal professional needs into practical artificial intelligence use cases, focusing on simplicity and feasibility for immediate application.
• Collaborating with the AI Solutions Lead to refine and develop intricate use cases requiring advanced technical expertise and specialized input.
• Utilizing existing AI tools like Copilot, Legora, CoCounsel, Vincent, and similar platforms to design and implement solutions for identified use cases.
• Coordinating with AI developers to design tailored solutions for complex scenarios when existing tools prove inadequate, utilizing platforms such as AI Foundry.
• Conducting testing and validating AI solutions to ensure accuracy, compliance, and usability within legal workflows.
• Providing training and guidance to legal professionals and staff on implemented AI tools and workflows to ensure effective adoption and utilization.
• Documenting use cases, requirements, and implementation steps to support repeatable processes and knowledge sharing across practice groups.
• Monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of deployed AI solutions, using key metrics to measure impact, identify improvements, and support planning discussions.
• Staying informed and connected to professional networks on emerging AI technologies and legal tech trends to share insights and recommend innovative tools.
• .25 FTE annual billing requirement
ADDITIONAL DUTIES
EXPERIENCE SKILLS REQUIRED
• Hold Juris Doctor (JD) or equivalent law degree; admission to state bar strongly preferred
• Demonstrate understanding of regulatory, privacy, data protection, and professional conduct obligations in legal practice
• Understand product development and solution design principles, including user requirements, testing, and iteration
• Demonstrate the ability to design, develop, and deploy AI use cases tailored to legal workflows and client requirements.
• Possess project and program management skills, with the ability to manage and run multiple initiatives and handle competing priorities successfully.
• Be proficient with Microsoft 365 and related platforms, including Copilot, Power Platform, PowerPoint, Excel, and Power Automate
• Experience with CoPilot Studio or other Citizen Developer tools strongly preferred.
• Demonstrate the ability to define, measure, and evaluate key performance indicators using data-focused methods and analytical approaches.
• Demonstrate exceptional communication and stakeholder engagement skills, ensuring technical concepts are effectively translated for non-technical audiences.
• Adopt a growth mindset while demonstrating sound judgment, discretion, and the ability to navigate complex law firm operations and dynamics.
• Have 4+ years’ experience as a practicing lawyer, legal operations professional, or in a comparable law firm role. Practice experience strongly preferred.
• Possess practical experience with generative AI, legal research platforms, document review drafting and automation, and workflow orchestration tools.
• Show experience deploying legal technology, AI tools, or workflow automation within professional services settings.
ADDITIONAL ABILITIES REQUIRED
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.