Litigation Practice Innovation Lead

Jackson Walker LLP; Houston (TX); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Jackson Walker LLP is seeking a Litigation Practice Innovation Lead in Houston to drive workflow innovation across litigation practices. This role involves designing and measuring pilot initiatives and transitioning successful workflows into firmwide production.

The ideal candidate will have 8+ years of experience in litigation and a J.D. from an accredited law school, alongside strong communication skills and a proven record in technology-driven process improvements.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience practicing litigation or leading litigation knowledge management.
• Active license and good standing with a U.S. state bar.
• Familiarity with retrieval-assisted drafting and citation validation.

Responsibilities

• Drive workflow innovation across litigation practices.
• Partner with practice leaders to identify high-volume work.
• Develop training programs and change management initiatives.

Skills

Litigation knowledge management

Technology-driven workflow improvements

Strong communication skills

Project management

Education

Doctor (J.D.) from an accredited law school

Job description

Department: JW Innovation Foundry

Reports To: Chief Innovation Officer

Location: This role can sit out of the following Jackson Walker office locations: Houston, Dallas, or Austin.

FLSA: Exempt

Position Summary

The Litigation Practice Innovation Lead drives workflow innovation across litigation practices from motions through trial preparation. This role partners with practice leaders and cross-functional teams to identify high-volume work, design and measure pilot initiatives, and transition successful workflows into firmwide production. The position focuses on developing repeatable toolkits, optimizing drafting and review processes, and improving quality and efficiency using technology enabled solutions.

Key Responsibilities

Practice Innovation & Workflow Design

• Lead the development and execution of workflow innovations for litigation, appellate, and trial support activities.
• Identify high-volume litigation tasks suitable for automation, standardization, or retrieval-assisted drafting.
• Build motion packs, judge and opponent profiles, local-rule checklists, jury instruction starters, and deposition kits.
• Design and run pilot projects to improve drafting speed, accuracy, and consistency for motions and other filings.

Pilot Development & Measurement

• Define clear success metrics, including time-to-draft, revision rounds, and accuracy rates.
• Measure results and publish findings to firm leadership, practice sponsors, and the Executive Committee.
• Document workflows, prompts, and risk standards in coordination with KM, IT, and Security.
• Manage pilot evaluations, change logs, and rollout strategies for high-performing initiatives.

Training, Adoption & Change Management

• Develop and deliver training programs, quick-start guides, and office hours for attorneys and professional staff.
• Lead change management initiatives tied to new workflow rollouts, including communication plans, champion networks, and adoption strategies.
• Ensure prompt updates to model documentation, QA notes, and release summaries following enhancements or revisions.

Stakeholder Collaboration & Reporting

• Partner with KM, Research, LPM, Pricing, IT, and Security to ensure integration with firm systems and compliance protocols.
• Collaborate with practice leadership to align innovation initiatives with client service and matter management goals.
• Present findings and progress reports to the Chief Innovation Officer, COO, and other leadership stakeholders.

Qualifications

• Doctor (J.D.) from an accredited law school required.
• Active license and good standing with a U.S. state bar.
• 8+ years of experience practicing litigation or leading litigation knowledge management or innovation initiatives.
• Demonstrated experience leading technology-driven workflow improvements, pilot design, and data analysis preferred.
• Licensed litigation attorney or litigation knowledge management leader with strong motion practice and writing credentials.
• Proven experience leading technology-driven process improvement in litigation workflows.
• Familiarity with retrieval-assisted drafting, citation validation, judge preference research, and local-rule compliance.
• Ability to define and measure key performance indicators tied to workflow efficiency, accuracy, and quality.
• Strong communication and presentation skills with the ability to engage partner, associate, and business professional audiences.
• Experience training attorneys on technology adoption preferred.
• Published work or conference presentations on legal AI, drafting quality, or litigation innovation a plus.

Work Conditions

Hybrid position within Jackson Walker offices with limited travel for trainings and client showcases. The role collaborates daily with the Chief Innovation Officer, Knowledge Management, Research, Legal Project Management, Pricing, IT, Security, and practice leadership.

We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability. It is our intention that all qualified applicants are given equal opportunity and that employment decisions be based on job-related factors.