Legal AI Solutions Lead

McGuireWoods LLP; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

McGuireWoods LLP is advancing AI-driven legal services through its Innovation and AI Department. The Legal AI Solutions Lead will spearhead AI initiatives across practice groups, working closely with the Assistant Director to deliver firmwide AI value.

The role fits a hybrid work model across multiple offices in major cities and requires strong PM, legal and AI experience. Ideal candidates bring 4+ years in law firms or in-house settings and 2+ years in AI, with excellent communication and

Qualifications

• Requires 4+ years law firm or in-house legal experience.
• Requires 2+ years of AI experience.
• Experience working with attorneys and familiarity with legal work, plus strong tech/ AI understanding.
• Ability to collaborate across IT, legal groups, general counsel and admin teams.
• Ability to multitask and work in a fast-paced environment.
• Excellent communication, customer service and organizational skills.
• Growth mindset with willingness to learn and take direction.

Responsibilities

• Identify workflows that can be enhanced by AI and build agents for attorney and business teams.
• Evaluate AI use cases and advise on firm AI strategy and implementation.
• Collaborate with practice leads to design, build and deploy AI solutions within their fields.
• Lead regular meetings with attorneys to scope AI challenges and develop tailored solutions.
• Communicate with attorneys, vendors, and IT to diagnose use case performance and address issues.

Skills

Communication

Problem solving

Team player

Detail oriented

Multitasking

Travel flexibility

Education

Bachelor’s degree

JD or advanced degree preferred

Tools

Harvey AI

Copilot

Job description

McGuireWoods is at the forefront of piloting cutting-edge AI technology that is already impacting law firms in meaningful ways. Our Innovation and AI Department is dedicated to implementing new, powerful AI solutions that enhance our services and deliver value to our clients.

We are seeking a highly motivated and skilled Legal AI Solutions Lead to join our Innovation and AI Department. The ideal candidate will possess strong project management skills, excellent communication abilities, experience with AI, and a solid understanding of the legal industry and law firms. This role will report to and work closely with the Assistant Director on these AI initiatives to accomplish firmwide initiatives. This position is available in the following offices: Charlotte, Richmond, Tysons, Washington DC, New York, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Dallas, Houston.

McGuireWoods, one of the world’s leading law firms, has provided legal solutions to corporate, individual and nonprofit clients since 1834. Along with excellent benefits, McGuireWoods offers most employees a hybrid remote option allowing flexibility and work-life balance. Our Applicant Disclosures describe your rights. Our Privacy Statement describes how we will process and safeguard your personal data.

Responsibilities

• Identifies existing work processes that would benefit from AI enhancement and builds agents for use by attorney and business professional teams directly.
• Evaluates AI use cases and makes recommendations in support of firm AI goals that will influence the strategy of the Innovation & AI department.
• Collaborates with practice leadership to identify areas within their practice where AI would be particularly useful and designs, builds, and implements those AI solutions.
• Conducts regular meetings with attorneys to scope complex AI-related challenges and develop tailored solutions for them.
• Proactively communicates with attorneys, vendors, and the IT department to understand and diagnose use case successes and shortcomings, resolve technical issues related to AI use cases, and deliver constructive feedback to align with firm AI strategy.
• Anticipates and addresses potential technical challenges around attorney use cases.
• Develops and executes strategies for driving AI adoption, addressing technical barriers and user experience challenges. Facilitates the continuous improvement of training techniques based on lessons learned.
• Analyzes new AI functionalities, assessing their technical implications and compatibility with firm systems, and educates attorneys on their use.
• Creates and delivers short-form content addressing common issues, advanced use cases, and frequently asked questions.
• Oversees AI pilot onboarding and offboarding of attorneys and business professionals when evaluating new AI technology. Prepares recommendations following pilot evaluations for senior leadership.
• Ensures that use case information is well documented, including technical specifications and limitations, and escalates findings at team meetings.
• Manages tasks related to use case testing under project and milestone deadlines.
• Manages and executes processes pertinent to assessing trends, themes, and issues across use cases, and escalates observations during team meetings.
• Researches enterprise, specialized, and emerging AI solutions on the market to compare/contrast functionalities and suitability.
• Provides input and experience to guide firmwide AI decision making, raising awareness of potential technical limitations and risks, as well as opportunities.
• Assists in collecting information needed to respond to client AI inquiries.
• Prepares summaries of work that the team has performed, including qualitative and quantitative data.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; JD or other advanced degree preferred. Equivalent combination of education and legal experience may be considered.
• Requires 4+ years law firm or in-house legal experience.
• Requires 2+ years of AI experience
• Experience working with attorneys and familiarity with legal work, combined with a strong understanding of technology, AI, and its applications in the legal field.
• Ability to establish effective working relationships across organizational boundaries, to include the IT department, legal groups, general counsel and other administrative teams.
• Ability to multi-task and work in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to work under high pressure with tight schedules and deadlines.
• Excellent communication, customer service and organizational skills.
• Excellent problem-solving skills and ability to see problems in larger organizational context.
• Goal oriented and motivated team player with strong conflict resolution skills.
• Growth mindset with willingness to learn and take direction.
• Detail oriented.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and patience working with others.
• Ability to travel or work evenings and weekends when necessary.
• Capable of grasping new concepts without prior experience.
• Interest in using innovative AI technology, including Harvey and Copilot, to support efficient high-impact work.