Legal Solutions Architect

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer; Abu Dhabi; On-site; AED 698,000 - 955,000; Full time

Job summary

Freshfields US LLP invites talent to help shape AI-enabled legal solutions across the firm. You will design, prototype, and deliver AI-powered workflows that enhance knowledge management, research, drafting, and operational efficiency.

You will collaborate with lawyers, product managers, and engineers to translate business needs into scalable architectures while ensuring security, governance, and compliance. This role emphasizes rapid prototyping, adoption, and continuous improvement.

Qualifications

• Hands-on experience integrating LLM APIs across enterprise providers.
• Proficient in Python in a professional environment.
• Experience with Git/Git-flow, Docker, and CI/CD pipelines (Azure DevOps).
• Strong English communication skills for cross-functional collaboration.
• Experience with retrieval-enabled/document workflows, RAG, OCR, and tool use.
• Experience building production services with Python and Django or similar frameworks.
• Familiar with PostgreSQL schema design, migrations and performance.
• Prior work in legal tech or professional services preferred.
• Knowledge of Azure Cloud services (AKS, Service Bus, OpenAI, Form Recognizer) and Terraform.

Responsibilities

• Partner with lawyers and stakeholders to identify AI and legal tech opportunities.
• Translate requirements into solution designs with architecture, security, governance reviews.
• Design end-to-end AI-enabled solutions to enhance legal services and efficiency.
• Build prototypes and PoCs to validate designs before engineering effort.
• Collaborate with Product Managers and Engineers to define requirements and guide delivery.
• Evaluate emerging AI capabilities and practical applications for the firm.
• Ensure solutions meet security, governance, privacy, and compliance standards.
• Lead workshops and user testing to drive adoption and scale solutions.
• Drive continuous improvement to standardize and expand legal tech usage.

Skills

LLM API integration

Python

DevOps

English communication

Retrieval-enabled workflows

PostgreSQL

Agile

Security & compliance

Azure OpenAI

Docker

Git / Git-flow

CI/CD (Azure DevOps)

Terraform

Azure Cloud AKS / Service Bus

Form Recognizer

Tools

Azure OpenAI

Docker

Git

Azure DevOps

Terraform

AKS

Service Bus

Form Recognizer

Job description

At Freshfields, technology and innovation are embedded into how we work with our clients. We’re a global law firm with more than 5,500 people across 33 offices, and we are continuing to advance our innovation strategy including investment in key technology. Our partnerships with Anthropic and Google as well as the investment in Freshfields Lab and AI Academy are but a few examples.

Join us to work on some of the most exciting challenges at the intersection of law, technology and business.

Key Responsibilities

• Partner with lawyers, practice groups, and business stakeholders to identify and prioritize AI and legal technology opportunities.
• Translate legal workflows and business requirements into solution designs, and author technical design documents that carry them through architecture, security, and governance review.
• Design end-to-end AI-enabled solutions that enhance legal service delivery, knowledge management, research, drafting, and operational efficiency.
• Build prototypes and proofs of concept to validate solution designs before committing engineering resources.
• Collaborate with Product Managers and Engineers to define requirements, prioritize features, and guide delivery.
• Evaluate emerging AI, legal technology, and automation capabilities and recommend practical applications for the firm.
• Ensure solutions align with architecture, security, governance, privacy, and responsible AI standards.
• Lead workshops, discovery sessions, and user testing to validate requirements and drive adoption.
• Drive continuous improvement by identifying opportunities to scale, standardize, and enhance legal technology solutions.

Experience and Skills

• Hands-on experience integrating LLM APIs across one or more enterprise providers, such as Azure OpenAI, Google Vertex AI or Anthropic, including structured outputs, tool use, streaming, retries, rate limits, model versioning and cost controls.
• Understanding of traditional ML models and algorithms
• Hands-on track record working with Python in a professional environment
• Development & DevOps: Hands-on experience with git/git-flow, containerization (Docker) and CI/CD pipelines (ideally Azure DevOps)
• Communication: Strong English communication skills to engage with cross-functional stakeholders
• Experience with retrieval-enabled and agentic document workflows, including repository navigation, hybrid search and RAG, metadata, OCR, chunking, source citation, tool use, structured outputs and document generation.
• Experience building production services with Python and Django or comparable web frameworks, including APIs, streaming interfaces and asynchronous or background job processing.
• Experience working with relational databases, ideally PostgreSQL, including schema design, migrations, and query performance.
• Prior experience working in legal tech or professional services firms.
• Knowledge of Azure Cloud, including AKS, Service Bus, Azure OpenAI and Form Recognizer
• Experience with infrastructure-as-code tools (Terraform)
• Experience in agile, fast paced environments
• Understanding of the security and compliance requirements of a professional services firm.

For individuals assigned and/or hired to work in New York and California, Freshfields is required by law to include a reasonable estimate of the compensation range for this role. This compensation range is specific to the States of New York and California and takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to skill sets; experience and training; licensure and certifications; and other business and organizational needs. The disclosed range estimate has not been adjusted for the applicable geographic differential associated with the location at which the position may be filled, and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. A reasonable estimate of the current range is $190,000 to $260,000.

EEO Statement

Freshfields US LLP is proud to be an equal employment employer. Our policies and practices will be free from unlawful discrimination based upon race, color, ethnicity, religion, creed, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions), national origin, citizenship, immigration status, ancestry, age, marital status, protected veteran status, military service, disability, medical condition, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any basis prohibited under federal, state or local law. We strive to promote an atmosphere that encourages equal opportunities and prohibits discriminatory practices, including sexual harassment.

Disability Accommodation for Applicants to Freshfields US LLP Freshfields US LLP is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer and provides reasonable accommodation for qualified individuals with disabilities and disabled veterans in job application procedures. If you have any difficulty using our online system and you need an accommodation due to a disability, you may use the alternative email address below to contact us about your interest in employment at [e-mail] , or you can send your resume to [e-mail] , or you can call us at [phone].

UK Inclusion

Freshfields is an equal opportunities employer and all applications received by the firm will be considered by the firm on the basis of their merit alone and we welcome applications from all suitably qualified individuals regardless of background. All offers of employment will be conditional on the candidate having/securing the right to work in the UK and providing the firm with evidence of that right (as required by the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006) prior to employment commencing.

Freshfields is a Ban the Box employer. We ask applicants to disclose criminal convictions only when a conditional job offer is made. A conviction does not automatically lead to withdrawal of the offer: we make decisions on a case by case basis and take a number of factors into account (eg the role you are applying for and the circumstances of the offence). You would have the opportunity to discuss the matter with us before we make a decision.