Practice Innovation Attorney

The Practice Innovation Attorney is a highly motivated and curious attorney ready to work at one of the most innovative large law firms in the US. They will be an essential part of the Practice Innovation Team that is responsible for championing the development of innovative technologies and processes to help the Firm’s attorneys in all six practice groups better serve their clients and create a competitive edge. Utilizing their legal knowledge and experience, combined with their innovation experience, this role will support key projects and initiatives focusing on improving processes within the firm as well as the delivery of legal services. This role will interface directly with the Firm’s attorneys and clients to champion projects involving AI, automation, research and development on emerging technology, integrating technology into our legal services, and projects to support the Firm in achieving our digital strategy.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES include the following. Other duties may be assigned.

• Translating Legal and Business Needs into Technical Solutions
• Collaborate with attorney practice teams to deeply understand legal workflows and client service models, leveraging legal & technical expertise to recommend optimal technology or process improvements.
• Increase adoption of Data Analytics and AI platforms by demonstrating best practices and insights on applicable use cases.
• Serve as a liaison between attorneys and Information Services teams, translating legal and business requirements into actionable specifications for solution design and implementation.
• Manage the collection of business requirements and final deliverables for document automation projects using tools such as Contract Express or similar platforms.
• Contribute to use case identification and collaboration with cross-functional teams to deliver RPA solutions that enhance legal service delivery and operational efficiency.
• Innovation with Legal Technology
• Utilizing legal experience, developing creative use cases for existing Firm technologies and building compelling business cases for new tools that support legal practice innovation.
• Develop a strong understanding of advanced technologies and trends in the industry as they pertain to law firms; and demonstrate knowledge of the range of technologies available to deliver superior legal services.
• Project Management and Agile Delivery
• Manage projects using agile methodologies and support the development of requirement specifications in coordination with the Firm’s PMO.
• Ensure timely delivery of solutions that meet legal and business objectives.
• Technology Evaluation and Adoption
• Identify, evaluate, and recommend best-in-class legal technology tools that align with the Firm’s strategic imperatives and enhance attorney efficiency.
• Develop subject matter expertise in technologies relevant to legal practice and workflow optimization.
• Attorney Engagement and Education
• Educate attorneys on emerging technologies and foster a feedback loop to continuously improve adoption and effectiveness.
• Promote engagement through presentations at practice group meetings, participation in Firm events, and one-on-one attorney consultations.
• Relationship Building - Build strong relationships across practice groups, administrative teams, external networks, and with clients to support collaborative innovation and service excellence.

QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS: To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE:

• Juris Doctorate with 3-5 years of progressively responsible work experience in a law firm, or equivalent combination of education and experience.

TECHNICAL SKILLS: Specific technical skills required to perform the essential functions of the position.

• Demonstrated proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite including Word, Outlook, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• Proven aptitude to learn new software applications.
• Strong Internet research skills. Demonstrated ability to use legal and financial research systems.
• Experience with visual collaboration and diagramming software such as Lucid or Miro.

LANGUAGE SKILLS:

High Level:

• Ability to effectively communicate technical concepts with an audience.
• Ability to interact effectively with attorneys and other key personnel; to manage and exceed expectations; and to exhibit a high degree of responsiveness, diplomacy and professionalism in these interactions.
• Ability to effectively present information in both written and oral formats and respond to questions from all levels of professional and support staff and clients. Ability to effectively present information to top firm management.
• Ability to write business correspondence, procedure manuals, reports, speeches and articles for publication that conforms to prescribed style and format.

MATHEMATICAL SKILLS:

• Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals.
• General knowledge of accounting principles and audition and internal control concepts.

REASONING ABILITY: Check skills commensurate with this position.

• Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral, or diagram form.
• Ability to deal with problems involving several concrete variables in standardized situations.
• Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts and draw valid conclusions.
• Ability to interpret an extensive variety of instructions and deal with several abstract and concrete variables.
• Exhibit independent thinking and decision making.
• Ability to interpret an extensive variety of instructions in mathematical or diagram form and deal with several abstract and concrete variables.
• Ability to think strategically, develop tactics and execute pragmatically.

OTHER SKILLS and ABILITIES:

• Demonstrated ability to multi-task and be detail-oriented with strong organizational skills.
• Strong analytical and communication skills both oral and written.
• Excellent organizational and planning skills with ability to prioritize multiple tasks and projects to meet deadlines.
• Outstanding creativity; flexibility and persistence; motivation and energy with the ability to work with little supervision and collaborate with other members of the team.
• Ability to work overtime when needed. Work occasionally requires more than 40 hours per week to perform the essential duties of the position.
• Ability to demonstrate impeccable integrity in personal and fiduciary matters.
• A tolerance for uncertainty and an ability to prioritize and complete simultaneous projects with minimal supervision.
• Strong project management skills. Project and team management experience with attention to detail and a willingness to “roll up sleeves” and operate at whatever level is needed to accomplish tasks.
• Ability to coordinate the activities of department resources.
• Thorough understanding of technologies that can be applied to firm operations and enhance working efficiency.
• Demonstrated ability to employ software at the power-user competence level.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment with strict deadlines.
• Ability to exercise discretion with confidential and sensitive information.
• Must be able to perform essential duties of the position with time constraints and interruptions.
• A strong client service approach and team orientation.
• Demonstrate good judgment, tact, and flexibility under pressure in a mixed-matrix environment with many stakeholders and potentially competing priorities.
• Familiar with the assigned practice groups, industries, and/or geographies.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS: The physical demands described here are representative of those that should be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel objects, documents, books, pen/pencil, paper, controls and manipulate a keyboard, and input data into a PC; and talk or hear. The employee is frequently required to walk.
• The employee is occasionally required to use hands to prepare correspondence and reports on a personal computer.
• The employee is occasionally required to stand and reach with hands and arms. And stoop, kneel, bend, crouch or crawl.
• Ability to operate a variety of standard office equipment including a computer, copy and facsimile machines.
• The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds.
• Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and the ability to adjust focus.

WORK ENVIRONMENT: The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

Benefits

Offering competitive pay and benefits, while providing a collegial and respectful work environment, is part of our commitment to fostering a workplace that values employees.

Our comprehensive and competitive benefit program includes:

• Competitive salaries and a performance bonus program
• Group health, dental, and vision insurance
• Multiple plan options and various benefit levels
• Same-sex domestic partner coverage
• Pre-tax premiums
• Coverage begins on date of hire
• Group term life/AD&D and voluntary supplemental group universal life insurance
• Voluntary accident insurance - self and family
• Long-term care insurance
• Short-term disability benefits
• Long-term disability benefits
• Pre-tax benefit programs - dependent care, health care reimbursement and transit/qualified parking (in most cities)
• Retirement program - voluntary 401(k) plan

About the Firm

BakerHostetler is recognized as one of the leading law firms in the country. With over 1,000 attorneys across 18 offices coast to coast, BakerHostetler is a great place to work for those who seek professional and personal growth in a collaborative environment. We deliver the highest quality counsel to our clients, who include many of the nation’s largest and most well-known companies. BakerHostetler’s values have remained unchanged since our founding more than 100 years ago: dedication to the law, commitment to the highest standard of client service, continuous development of our people and active participation in the communities in which we work and live. Please visit www.bakerlaw.com for more information about our Firm.

The expected annual salary for this position ranges are below. The salary offered will be determined by a wide range of factors including but not limited to region, experience level, education/training, and relevant skills.

Ohio, Georgia, Texas, Florida, Colorado - $145,000-175,000/year

California, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Washington D.C., Washington- $155,000-195,000/year

Application Process

Interested candidates should submit their resume and cover letter in an application on our website.

Baker & Hostetler LLP is an Equal Opportunity Employer.