Senior Manager, Information & Research Services

wilsonelser; New York (NY); On-site; USD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Wilson Elser in New York is seeking a Senior Manager, Information & Research Services to lead and manage the firm’s Library function, overseeing high-quality legal and business research, electronic resource management, and the information support teams across practices.

Reporting to the Director of Knowledge Management, you will manage workflows, vendor contracts and budgets, supervise staff, and advance AI-enabled research initiatives to ensure attorneys have timely access to critical knowledge.

Responsibilities

• Inform and execute Knowledge Management strategy with the KM leadership team.
• Supervise Information & Research Services staff and researchers; foster growth.
• Lead and improve library operations: policies, service standards, workflows.
• Apply KM discipline to documentation for training, onboarding, change management, and AI workflows.
• Oversee electronic resources portfolio (Lexis, Bloomberg Law, ALM) including renewals.
• Develop and maintain an electronic resource management system: subscriptions, licenses, costs, approvals, vendor contacts.
• Negotiate agreements and subscriptions with information vendors.
• Monitor licensing terms and seat compliance to mitigate risk.
• Escalation point for access and service issues related to library resources and tools.
• Track usage across electronic resources to inform renewals and budget decisions.
• Ensure delivery of legal and business research to attorneys and professionals; contribute directly as needed.
• Develop research guides, tools, and self-service resources for efficient retrieval.
• Build a research knowledge base and record of research requests to improve consistency and AI workflows.
• Advance AI and automation goals by integrating Generative AI tools (e.g., Lexis Protégé) where appropriate.
• Collaborate on evaluating and implementing new AI-enhanced research platforms.
• Set standards and guardrails for AI-assisted research and train the team on proper use.
• Promote awareness and proficiency of electronic resources through training and guides.

Job description

At Wilson Elser , we are redefining what it means to work at a national law firm. With more than 1,400 attorneys across 46 offices nationwide, we are recognized among the top 100 law firms by The American Lawyer and ranked #30 in the National Law Journal's survey of the nation's largest law firms.

Our continued success is built on a culture of collaboration, innovation, client service, and mutual respect. We are committed to fostering an environment where employees are empowered to grow their careers, contribute meaningfully, and thrive professionally.

Wilson Elser is seeking a Senior Manager, Information & Research Services to lead and manage the firm's Library function, overseeing the delivery of high-quality legal and business research, electronic resource management, as well as the information support attorneys and business professionals rely on across all practices.

Reporting to the Director of Knowledge Management, this position is responsible for the day-to-day operations and continuous improvement of the Library function, including service standards and workflows; vendor, contract, and budget management; as well as team supervision, engagement, and growth. This collaborative leader will ensure the firm's attorneys and business professionals have access to the research resources they need today and in future, while championing innovation and the integration of emerging technologies.

This role is as much a build as a management assignment. There is opportunity to redesign and document workflows with AI in mind, while growing the team's capability alongside them.

Responsibilities

Work as part of the firm's Knowledge Management leadership team, helping to inform and execute the overall Knowledge Management strategy, contributing an information and research services perspective to ensure KM initiatives meet the related needs of attorneys and business professionals.

Supervise and mentor Information & Research Services staff members, including Electronic Resources Librarians and Research Librarians; foster their professional growth across both operational and research workflows, coordinate workload, and ensure the effective execution of research and library initiatives.

Lead, manage, and continuously improve the firm's information and research services operations, including the development and implementation of policies, procedures, service standards, and workflows that support quality and consistency.

Apply knowledge management discipline to the department's own documentation, so that how the work is done is updated regularly and reused for training, onboarding, change management, and AI workflows.

Oversee the firm's portfolio of electronic research resources, including Lexis, Bloomberg Law, ALM, and other key platforms and databases, evaluating and renewing resources to meet the evolving needs of the firm's attorneys and business professionals.

Develop and maintain an electronic resource management (ERM) system covering subscriptions, license terms, costs, approvals, and vendor contacts, to inform contract lifecycle and budget management.

Negotiate agreements and subscriptions, building and maintaining strategic relationships with the firm's information vendors.

Monitor licensing terms and seat compliance across the portfolio to mitigate risk.

Act as the escalation point for access and service issues related to library resources and tools.

Oversee the Information & Research Services budget in collaboration with the Director of Knowledge Management; control expenditures, track projections and variances against budget, and allocate resources cost-effectively.

Track, analyze, and report usage across electronic resources and services to inform renewal, right-sizing, cancellation, and negotiation decisions, as well as effective practice group support.

Ensure the delivery of legal and business research to attorneys and business professionals, contributing to the research work directly as needed.

Develop and maintain research guides, tools, and self-service resources for efficient information retrieval.

Build a research knowledge base and a record of research requests to improve work product consistency, strengthen knowledge capture, and support AI-enabled workflows.

Further the firm's AI and automation goals by identifying opportunities to integrate Generative AI capabilities, such as Lexis Protégé features and other emerging tools, into research workflows.

Collaborate on the evaluation and implementation of new AI-enhanced research platforms.

Set standards and guardrails for AI-assisted research, and develop the team's judgment about when to use these tools and how to verify what they produce.

Promote awareness, adoption, and proficient use of electronic resources across the firm, through training sessions, user guides, and other educational resources.

Collaborate with KM colleagues so information and research resources are well-organized, easily discoverable, and integrated into the f