Practice Innovation Advisor

About Kirkland & Ellis

At Kirkland & Ellis, we are united in our ambition and drive to move forward. We share core values that help us achieve excellence: collaboration, talent empowerment, service, inclusion, respect and gratitude. Our people are our greatest asset, and we invest in the brightest talent and encourage a diversity of perspectives and strengths to create dynamic teams that operate at the pinnacle of their field. Our talented professionals show up every day knowing they will engage in meaningful work, continuous learning and professional development.

As one of the world’s leading law firms, we serve a broad range of clients with market-leading practices in private equity, M&A and other complex corporate transactions; investment fund formation and alternative asset management; restructurings; high-stakes commercial and intellectual property litigation; and government, regulatory and internal investigations. We handle the most complicated and sophisticated legal matters because we don’t just meet industry standards, we create them. We bring innovation and entrepreneurialism to every engagement and, as a result, have long-standing client relationships with leading global corporations and financial sponsors. With 6,500 employees (including 3,500 lawyers) operating from 20 offices across the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia, we are one of the largest law firms in the world and a top financial performer.

Essential Job Functions

As a Practice Innovation Advisor, you will be part of the Practice Innovation team, which supports the firm's strategic goals of enhancing client service, efficiency, and profitability through the adoption of new technology, processes, and best practices. You will work closely with legal teams across practice groups and offices to understand their needs, challenges, and opportunities, and to propose and implement solutions that align with the firm's vision and values.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS (This list is not exhaustive and may be supplemented and changed as necessary.)

• Collaborate with legal teams to assess current workflows, identify pain points, and to assess the feasibility, impact, and ROI of potential innovations.
• Designing and running technology pilots from start to finish with minimal oversight, including defining objectives, scope, timeline, budget, metrics, and success criteria, and managing stakeholders, risks, and issues.
• Providing support to pilot groups and soliciting and incorporating feedback for continuous improvement.
• Collaborating with practice groups to internally socialize new technology internally and to facilitate adoption and change management.
• Work with, identify, develop, and maintain key external vendor relationships.
• Escalate risks and issues appropriately.
• Promote a culture of innovation and continuous learning within the firm, by sharing insights, best practices, and lessons learned.
• Staying abreast of new technology, trends, and best practices in the legal industry and beyond, and sharing insights and recommendations with the Practice Innovation team and the firm.
• Contributing to the development and maintenance of the firm's innovation strategy, roadmap, and portfolio.
• Collaborate with and support the team and build and foster working relationships with business partners across the Firm.
  
  

OTHER FUNCTIONS (This list is not exhaustive and may be supplemented and changed as necessary. Delete if not applicable.)

• Demonstrate servant leadership and be a good Kirkland Firm steward.
• Ability to learn and work independently but actively listen to and understand and follow directives to get desired results.
• Ability to work overtime and perform duties outside of scheduled work hours, as needed, to meet the business needs of the Firm.
• Lead special projects as assigned, as activities designated to the Practice Innovation team will continue to evolve and shift as needed based on the needs of Firm leadership.
• The Firm may adjust or assign responsibilities within the context of this role to support the Firm as required.
  
  

Qualifications & Requirements

Education, Work Experience, Skills

• A Bachelor’s degree is required. JD or LLM preferred.
• 5+ years prior experience at a law firm, preferably as an attorney or paralegal, or at a legal technology vendor, required.
• Experience with legal practice process improvement and automation, preferred.
• Experience with formal change management processes and procedures, preferred.
• This position requires a high level of collaboration with internal and external clients; therefore, the ideal candidate must interact well with people at all levels with a high degree of accuracy, professionalism, and accountability.
• The ideal candidate will have excellent analytical, troubleshooting, organizational, time management, and planning skills.
• A successful candidate will demonstrate effective interpersonal and communication skills, both verbally and in writing.
• The candidate must be self-starting, proactive, organized, and able to exercise independent judgement and utilize critical thinking.
  
  

Technologies/Software

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Microsoft Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, Excel) is required.
  
  

WORK ENVIRONMENT

• This job operates in a professional office environment. This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, photocopiers, and filing cabinets.
  
  

How To Apply

Thank you for your interest in Kirkland & Ellis LLP. To complete an application and submit your resume, please click "Apply Now."

For applicants who are based in New York City, visit the following link for pay range information: https://staffjobsus.kirkland.com/pages/jobid7873

For applicants who are based in Washington D.C., visit the following link for pay range information: https://staffjobsus.kirkland.com/pages/dcjobid7873

Equal Employment Opportunity

All employment decisions, including the recruiting, hiring, placement, training availability, promotion, compensation, evaluation, disciplinary actions, and termination of employment (if necessary) are made without regard to the employee’s race, color, creed, religion, sex, pregnancy or childbirth, personal appearance, family responsibilities, sexual orientation or preference, gender identity, political affiliation, source of income, place of residence, national or ethnic origin, ancestry, age, marital status, military veteran status, unfavorable discharge from military service, physical or mental disability, or on any other basis prohibited by applicable law.

Closing Statement

The www.kirkland.com job postings and recruiting mailbox are for candidates only. If you are a recruiter, search firm or employment agency, and do not have a signed contract with Kirkland & Ellis LLP ("K&E") and have not been asked specifically to submit candidates, you will not be compensated in any way for your referral of a candidate even if K&E hires the candidate. Direct contact with K&E employees in an attempt to present candidates is inappropriate and will be a factor in determining any future professional relationship with the Firm.