Senior Counsel - Legal Domain Expert

Weekday AI; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 117,000 - 165,000; Full time

Job summary

Weekday AI seeks an experienced counsel-level legal professional to collaborate with research and program teams in the Bay Area. The role focuses on improving how advanced AI systems understand and perform real-world legal tasks, including reviewing AI-generated outputs and developing benchmarks.

You will define high-quality legal reasoning, draft task specifications, and contribute to evaluation standards, with on-site collaboration required several days per week.

Qualifications

• JD from an accredited law school; a degree from a highly regarded institution preferred.
• 8–15 years of substantive post-qualification legal experience in a leading firm, corporate legal dept, regulator, court, or similar.

Responsibilities

• Legal Quality Review: assess legal tasks and AI outputs for accuracy and reasoning.
• Instruction & Benchmark Development: craft task specs and high-quality reference solutions.
• Evaluation Frameworks: develop criteria, scoring guidelines, and benchmarks for AI evaluation.
• Domain Expertise: identify missing considerations, flawed reasoning, unsupported conclusions.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: work with researchers, program managers, engineers, and other lawyers.
• Calibration & Standards: translate legal judgment into clear evaluation standards.
• Written Feedback: provide precise, structured feedback on AI work.

Skills

Experience: 8–15 years

Education

Juris Doctor (JD)

Job description

Compensation: $85-$120 per hour

We are seeking an experienced counsel-level legal professional to work with a leading AI research organization’s research and program management teams to improve how advanced AI systems understand, reason about, and perform real-world legal work.

Your legal expertise will play a central role in defining what high-quality legal reasoning looks like. You will review legal knowledge-work tasks and AI-generated outputs, develop detailed instructions and benchmark solutions, and help establish evaluation standards that accurately reflect professional legal practice.

This is a full-time role requiring 40 hours per week for an initial 6-month engagement. The position follows a hybrid working model in the Bay Area, California, with regular on-site collaboration required.

Key Responsibilities

• Legal Quality Review: Evaluate legal tasks and AI-generated responses for accuracy, completeness, sound reasoning, and practical applicability.
• Instruction & Benchmark Development: Create detailed task specifications, develop high-quality reference solutions, and design legal scenarios that reflect authentic professional workflows.
• Evaluation Frameworks: Develop and refine legal evaluation criteria, scoring guidelines, and benchmarks used to measure AI performance.
• Domain Expertise: Apply specialized knowledge to identify missing legal considerations, flawed reasoning, unsupported conclusions, and responses that may appear credible but fail professional scrutiny.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with researchers, program managers, engineers, and other legal specialists to improve evaluation methodologies.
• Calibration & Standards: Translate professional legal judgment into clear, consistent, and teachable evaluation standards.
• Written Feedback: Provide precise, structured feedback explaining why a legal response or workflow meets or falls short of professional expectations.

Core Qualifications

• Education: Juris Doctor (JD) from an accredited law school; education from a highly regarded institution is preferred.
• Experience: 8–15 years of substantive post-qualification legal experience within an established law firm, corporate legal department, regulatory organization, court, or comparable institution.
• Seniority: Currently operating at or having reached Counsel, Senior Associate, Senior In-House Counsel, or Assistant General Counsel level, with meaningful ownership of legal matters.
• Legal Specialization: Deep expertise in at least one substantive practice area, such as:
  • Corporate & Transactional Law
  • Litigation & Dispute Resolution
  • Regulatory & Compliance
  • Intellectual Property
  • Employment & Labor Law
  • Tax Law
• Licensure: Admission to at least one U.S. state bar and in good standing.
• AI Fluency: Practical familiarity with large language models and AI-assisted workflows, with the ability to distinguish genuinely sound legal reasoning from plausible but incorrect analysis.
• Communication: Exceptional written communication skills and the ability to articulate complex legal judgments clearly and systematically.
• Availability: Ability to commit reliably to 40 hours per week for an initial six-month engagement.
• Location: Currently based in the Bay Area, California, with the ability to work on-site multiple days per week as required. Candidates outside the Bay Area must be willing to relocate at their own expense; relocation assistance is not provided.

Working Environment

You will collaborate closely with research and program teams and may use organization-provided systems, accounts, and equipment. The role requires comfort working in a fast-paced environment where priorities and evaluation requirements may evolve as the AI research progresses.

Equal Employment Opportunity

We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all qualified applicants. Employment decisions are made without regard to legally protected characteristics, and reasonable accommodations are available to qualified individuals with disabilities and disabled veterans throughout the application process.

Engagement Details

• Role: Senior Counsel — Legal Domain Expert
• Employment Type: Full-Time
• Commitment: 40 hours per week
• Initial Engagement: 6 months
• Work Model: Hybrid
• Location: Bay Area, California
• Work Arrangement: On-site collaboration required multiple days per week
• Relocation: Candidates outside the Bay Area must relocate at their own expense
• Focus: Legal AI training, evaluation, benchmarking, and domain expertise