AI and Legal Operations Manager

WS Development is looking for an AI and Legal Operations Manager to strengthen and modernize the legal team’s operations by leading legal and cross-functional projects, managing the intake, tracking, and measurement of the team’s work, and helping select, implement, and drive adoption of technology and AI-enabled tools to make that work faster, more consistent, data-driven, and scalable. Working under the supervision of an attorney leading the legal operations function and in close partnership with the General Counsel, the Manager will administer the matter management system used by the Commercial Contracts team, build and maintain Power BI dashboards and reporting on team performance and matter status, design automations that reduce the time attorneys and paralegals spend on lower-value work, and help assess the organization’s readiness for a contract lifecycle management (CLM) system. The Manager will also serve as a liaison between the business and legal teams, including by preparing status updates and helping develop and implement effective deal communication and project management plans.

Responsibilities:

• Lead the evaluation, selection, implementation, and administration of legal technology and AI-enabled tools and own their rollout, training, and adoption across the legal team.
• Drive day-to-day AI enablement by turning the team’s playbooks and standards into vetted prompts, reusable AI skills, and documented use cases and by coordinating with IT and the legal AI working group on tool access and evaluation.
• Design and maintain process automations using low-code tools such as Power Automate to cut the time attorneys and paralegals spend on lower-value work.
• Build and maintain Power BI dashboards and executive-ready reporting on legal team performance, matter and deal status, and outside counsel and internal legal spend.
• Assess organizational readiness for a contract lifecycle management (CLM) system, including the cross-functional buy-in, data foundations, and resources adoption would require, and recommend timing and next steps.
• Partner with the supervising attorney and the General Counsel to turn legal and operational priorities into project plans, tooling, and reporting.
• Track and manage matters, deals, and tasks across SharePoint, Salesforce, and related systems, keeping status records, charts, and project plans accurate and current.
• Coordinate the team’s projects to keep deliverables on schedule, capture and distribute meeting notes and action items, and communicate status proactively to legal and cross-functional partners.
• Working closely with attorneys and paralegals, build, structure, and maintain the team’s knowledge base and standard procedures, including clause libraries, playbooks, SOPs, training materials, and a central index of forms and resources.
• Identify and help resolve bottlenecks in leasing and commercial contract deals.

Requirements

Qualifications & Skills:

• Proficiency in Power BI and data visualization, with strong data literacy and the ability to structure data, surface trends, and turn legal operations activity into clear, executive-ready reporting.
• Proficiency with process automation and low-code tools such as Power Automate; familiarity with scripting such as PowerShell a plus.
• Working knowledge of legal operations concepts (e.g., contract lifecycle management, matter management, legal spend and reporting), proficiency with SharePoint/SharePoint Lists or similar tools for task and workflow tracking, and genuine enthusiasm for evaluating and implementing new legal technology, including AI-enabled tools.
• Change-management skills, including the ability to build buy-in and drive adoption of new tools and processes.
• Sound judgment about when AI-assisted output requires human review and when to resolve issues independently versus escalate to counsel or senior management.
• Demonstrated understanding of project management processes and methods, with the ability to keep multiple projects on schedule and to anticipate and head off obstacles.
• Strong oral and written communication skills and the ability to collaborate effectively with diverse partners across legal and business functions.
• Highly organized and detail-oriented, self-motivated, and able to prioritize and meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment.

Professional Experience:

• 5+ years in a project management or legal operations role; experience within a legal department, law firm, or legal operations function strongly preferred.
• Experience building or maintaining operational metrics, dashboards, or reporting using Power BI or a comparable business intelligence tool for a legal or professional services function required.
• Hands-on experience implementing or administering at least one AI-enabled legal tool such as an AI-assisted contract review, drafting, research, or matter management platform strongly preferred.
• Experience with process automation using Power Automate or similar low-code tools preferred.
• Experience leading or playing a significant role in implementing a new software system or platform from selection through rollout, or in assessing organizational readiness and gathering cross-functional requirements for a larger enterprise system such as a contract lifecycle management (CLM) platform preferred.
• Proficiency in Office 365 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) required, with advanced Excel strongly preferred, and experience using SharePoint or a similar tool to track tasks, workflows, or projects; proficiency in Salesforce or other legal technology a plus.

Education/Certifications:

• Associate or bachelor’s degree.
• Project management certification (for example, PMP or CAPM) or process-improvement training (for example, Lean or Six Sigma) a plus.
• Microsoft Power BI or Power Platform certification a plus.

The expected salary range for this position is $100,000-$125,000 per year. Actual compensation will be based on factors such as skills, qualifications, experience, and location. This role is also eligible to participate in our annual bonus program.

Benefits

About WS Development Massachusetts-based WS Development is a mixed-use developer with a singular mission: creating places people want to be. With an approach that values art, science, innovation and, above all else, people, WS strives to engage each community it serves with best-in-class experiences, designed with our customers, tenants and partners in mind. Established in 1990, WS is one of few vertically-integrated real estate companies that conceptualizes, owns, operates and leases more than 100 properties that range from cutting-edge urban spaces to lifestyle and community centers. With over 22 million square feet of existing space and an additional nine million square feet under development, it is one of the largest privately-owned development firms in the country. WS is where great ideas and great people come together to design, build, and operate some of the best loved real estate projects in the country. We live at the intersection of entrepreneurship and establishment. We have the infrastructure of decades supporting a culture of free-thinking excellence. We expect every WS employee to feel welcomed and valued irrespective of race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, age, veteran status, marital status, parental status, cultural background, and life experiences. Or for any other reason.