The Vacancy

We are looking to recruit a Legal Innovation Adviser to join our Lawtech department.

About Macfarlanes

Macfarlanes is a pre-eminent law firm that serves a global client base in Private Capital, Private Wealth, M&A and Disputes. Personal connection, an entrepreneurial spirit and a commitment to excellence are at the heart of our firm. These values drive our ability to deliver exceptional outcomes for our clients.

We are big enough to undertake the most complex and demanding mandates yet small enough to know each other well and to be agile, adapting to the needs of our clients. We seek to strengthen the firm by recruiting talented people from all backgrounds who want to build long-lasting and impactful careers with us. Our culture is challenging and supportive, creating an environment where individuals can thrive.

What this means for you

Joining Macfarlanes means being part of a collaborative, approachable team who want you to succeed. You'll be encouraged to get involved and recognised for your contribution.

We take your development seriously. Our learning and development programmes are second to none and are designed to help you strengthen your skills.

Above all, you'll be part of a firm where we all work together as part of a cohesive and supportive team, value your efforts and help you to thrive.

The team

Emerging legal technologies, new tools and alternative approaches are driving significant change within the legal profession. They are transforming the way we work, how we deliver services to our clients, and the range of services we can offer, enabling us to operate more effectively while creating exciting new opportunities.

The Lawtech department consists of 18 individuals and is at the forefront of how we, as a firm, respond to this evolution and embrace these developments for the maximum benefit of our clients and teams alike. We recognise that fusing legal and technological expertise seamlessly can help our clients solve their most challenging business problems in more innovative, more sophisticated and more technologically advanced ways. By bringing together people, process, technology, and data, we help ensure the firm is able to achieve excellence in all aspects of legal practice and client service.

The role

We are committed to recruiting and developing the best people to ensure we deliver a high standard of service to our clients. We recognise that the success of a modern law firm depends on a range of business professionals contributing critical and complementary expertise. Our Lawtech team is structured around three core functions: Innovation & Change, Knowledge & Data, and AI Solutions.

As a Legal Innovation Adviser, you will sit within the Innovation & Change team and work across the full breadth of the firm's legal technology portfolio, from artificial intelligence and document automation to workflow solutions, knowledge management systems and collaborative platforms. Working in both internal and client-facing contexts, you will lead the implementation, adoption and ongoing management of these technologies alongside the wider Lawtech team. You will also manage and develop our Legal Innovation Analysts, partner with practices and clients to deliver and support Lawtech solutions and identify opportunities and requirements for new initiatives.

The individual will be required to carry out a broad range of good quality work. Key duties will include:

Strategy & leadership

• leading strategic AI and innovation initiatives across legal practices, business functions and client-facing programmes;
• identifying opportunities to transform legal service delivery through AI, automation, data and process redesign;
• supporting client engagements, pitches and client-facing innovation initiatives, including demonstrations, workshops and solution development;
• representing the team and the firm at external events; and
• supporting the Managers in shaping and delivering the team's strategy, objectives and business plans.

AI Tools and Solution Development & Delivery

• leading complex innovation projects and coordinating delivery across multiple stakeholders and workstreams (including the design, development, testing and implementation of Lawtech solutions and innovation programmes); and
• working closely with knowledge, IT, Risk, Compliance and practice teams to ensure solutions are effective, scalable and aligned with firm objectives and strategy.

Stakeholder Engagement & Technology Adoption

• acting as a trusted advisor to partners, lawyers and senior business stakeholders on the application of AI and legal technology;
• driving adoption, engagement and change management activities across the firm, ensuring successful embedding of new technologies and ways of working; and
• serving as a business partner to one or more practices or business teams to help drive innovative working and adoption of Lawtech solutions.

Governance, Evaluation & Research

• evaluating emerging technologies, vendors and market developments and providing strategic recommendations to leadership;
• contributing to AI governance frameworks and ensuring compliance with responsible AI principles and firm policies; and
• defining success measures and evaluation frameworks for AI solutions, including monitoring quality, adoption, value realisation and risk.

Training & Team Development

• mentoring and developing Analysts and Senior Analysts and contributing to team growth and capability development;
• contributing regularly to the team's resource and knowledge base; and
• helping to shape the team's standards, methodologies and best practices.

This job description encompasses the main duties of the role and is by no means exhaustive. It is anticipated that duties may vary from time to time according to the needs of the practice area.

During the first six months of employment, you may be required to attend the office four days per week to support onboarding, training and collaboration. Your line manager may adjust this requirement based on your progress and business needs.

The candidate

The successful candidate will ideally possess the following:

• 3-5 years' experience in legal technology, legal innovation, AI, consulting, knowledge management or a related field;
• a strong academic record, with a minimum 2:1 degree (or equivalent higher education) in any subject;
• demonstrable experience engaging with lawyers, partners and senior stakeholders to deliver innovation and change initiatives;
• experience implementing and supporting enterprise AI platforms and solutions, including Harvey, Claude, Microsoft Copilot, Azure AI Foundry and related technologies;
• strong understanding of AI use cases within legal services, including legal research, drafting, due diligence, knowledge management and workflow automation;
• experience leading stakeholder engagement, training, adoption and change management activities;
• strong commercial awareness and understanding of legal service delivery;
• confidence leading internal and client-facing meetings and workshops;
• excellent communication, influencing and relationship-building skills; and
• a passion for innovation and a genuine interest in emerging technologies and their application within professional services.

Application screening

Any offer of employment with us is subject to our pre-employment checks which are conducted by a third-party screening provider. These checks will be initiated with your consent, and your CV will be sent to the provider by us. The screening will include but is not limited to your employment references, professional and academic qualifications including grades and any criminal records. Your offer will be subject to the successful completion of these checks.

Our commitment to inclusion

Inclusion is one of our key priorities and it is a goal we are actively working towards. We believe that an inclusive, forward-thinking culture is intrinsically important and enables us to provide innovative solutions to our clients.

We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, bringing different perspectives and experiences, making Macfarlanes an exciting and stimulating place to work. We seek to recruit the best candidates, regardless of age, gender, race, ethnicity, social or economic background, religion, disability, sexual orientation or any other characteristic.

As part of this commitment, we will ask you certain diversity data questions. We would really appreciate you and/or your recruiter completing these questions when submitting an application to Macfarlanes as this data enables us to measure our progress and identify any actions needed to continue to support an inclusive culture. This data is anonymised to maintain the privacy of applicants. If you have any questions relating to how this data is used, please contact a member of the recruitment team.

Should you require any adjustments during the application and/or interview process, please do not hesitate to inform your recruiter or a member of the recruitment team. Please note, the job description is available in other accessible formats (for example, large print).

We are a Disability Confident Employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who best meet the essential criteria for the role. If you would like to apply through the Disability Confident Interview Scheme, please email the recruitment team at recruitment@macfarlanes.com.

The Company

The Company has experienced unprecedented growth over the past few years. We have a vast number of employees, and provide support to clients from all over the country.