AI Knowledge Lawyer / Senior Knowledge Lawyer

Job description

A&O Shearman have an exciting newly created opportunity for a Knowledge/Senior Knowledge Lawyer to lead on, grow and shape a dedicated AI knowledge function.

Department purpose
A&O Shearman is leading the market in advising on AI. We advise on a broad range of complex AI matters around the world, including AI risk management when building or deploying (for which we are known for our innovative governance solutions), AI regulation, AI transactions (where we are shaping novel contract protections for AI risks), AI disputes, AI system design and all aspects of the AI value chain. This includes advising on data licensing for AI, AI transformation projects, AI infrastructure, AI licensing and collaboration matters, and AI governance. Members of the team also advise on all aspects of compliance with the wide universe of AI laws (across AI-specific regulation, privacy, IP, antitrust, and others).

We are to date the most successful law firm in the world at building AI systems and advising on responsible AI and have picked up multiple awards around the world. Clients include leading AI developers, the largest corporates in the world across all sectors, financial institutions and governments We have advised two G20 sovereigns on aspects of their national AI strategy.

We are consistently ranked as a market leader because of our innovative approach to advising on AI and our global breadth, with dedicated AI experts in every major jurisdiction globally. Our advisory practice is so effective because we leverage the experience acquired through us building and deploying AI systems within the legal sector. Clients love that we are intimately familiar with technical concepts and the nuances that these create for legal risk. Most of the work we do is international in scope.

Role purpose
To lead on, grow and shape a dedicated AI knowledge function. The role will focus on the expansion of AI specific know-how materials and external thought leadership relating to legal risks, regulation and legal developments in the AI advisory space. AI Advisory partners are frequently asked by clients to discuss AI, and over the years have created a deep bench of thought leadership and materials for those conversations. A critical part of the role is leveraging those materials to create bespoke tailored know-how for a given client or sector, building on knowledge of the technology and the specific use cases.

Joining a market leading Knowledge community and collaborating with our tech, BD and Innovation teams to support the deployment and uptake of AI across the global team, the role will provide a platform for AI Advisory Partners to win work and cross-sell our AI capability which is central to firm strategic priorities.

Role and responsibilities
Thought leadership

• Initial priority focus on rapid expansion of high-quality external thought leadership, leveraging significant volume of existing client advice and training materials on AI
• To include:
  • Coordinating / applying consistent quality control to global thought leadership, including our existing regular stream of EU AI Act content
  • Extracting and converting into blogs / articles / other formats the key insights from our existing AI Working Group (client syndicate) advice notes, in a way that sells our unique expertise without disclosing valuable know-how
  • Proactively identifying and driving thought leadership on emerging regulatory or market trends, such as the heightened concern as regulatory treatment of AI in the EU through the GDPR and the challenges of navigating international divergences, which will require coordination. In many cases, this will require obtaining insights from our AI experts around the network
  • Working with AI comms and marketing teams to develop innovative initiatives for AI-focused content delivery.

Client conversations and pitches

• Creating a suite of materials on legal risks, regulatory and legal developments, and AI risk management that is kept up to date and which can form the basis of presentations and pitch materials
• Leading preparation of tailored materials to support the huge number of AI-focused client conversations, working closely with AI advisory partners and which are drawn from the standard materials referred to in the preceding bullet
• Working with our AI marketing team and AI partners to ensure that pitch documents include insights and practice points that are tailored to the client and their proposed AI deployments
• Maintaining repositories of AI related client-facing materials and pitch documents from global AI practice and proactively identifying opportunities for cross-selling.

Internal know-how and thought leadership

• Leading (in collaboration with existing knowledge lawyer team in London) AI-specific know-how resources, to include:
• Drafting and socializing for sign off a suite of AI precedent materials including SFPs (e.g. AI warranties, AI DDQs, AI contract terms, AI policies, memos on trending topics), based on extensive work that we have done to date as well as new documents
• Anticipating and driving forward a “house view” and a standard approach, that has been internationally verified by members of our global team, on key areas of concern
• Proactively sharing insights on significant developments in AI globally, across the full AI value chain and whether in policy, regulation, business or technology
• Responsibility for maintaining the AI-specific aspects of our global tech / IP / data / digital know-how repositories
• Overseeing and identifying improvements to internal channels for sharing AI-related insights and know-how
• Working with AI partners to prepare and deliver internal training on AI risks and risk management, and proactively identifying ways of converting internal training into client-facing AI literacy training (and vice versa)
• Identifying opportunities to collaborate with other practice groups on AI know-how initiatives that cut across the AI value chain, e.g. semiconductors, AI-ready data center projects, intersection of AI regulation with sector-specific regulation (e.g. financial services or healthcare).

AI adoption within advisory groups

• Supporting the deployment and uptake of AI within Knowledge teams, through collaboration with MIG and Innovation Leads
• To include:
  • curating databases of precedents relevant materials for RAG (e.g. DDIT benches for ContractMatrix)
  • building on the firm’s prompt engineering best practices to develop task-specific guidance
  • supporting roll-out of training programmes for DDIT lawyers’ usage of AI tools.

Opportunity to grow and shape a dedicated AI knowledge function, as a valued member of a genuinely global AI advisory practice.

Key requirements

• Experience advising on or working within regulatory aspects of AI adoption and utilisation
• Will have worked as a qualified lawyer or knowledge lawyer with approximately 3-5+ years’ PQE, with experience in some (but not all) of the following areas:
  • non-contentious IP transactions and advice
  • M&A support (including due diligence, IP licensing, transitional services, separation and integration)
  • communications network transactions and advice
  • data protection and privacy advice
  • cybersecurity advice
  • outsourcing transactions (including in regulated sectors, such as financial services)
• An in depth understanding of the global legal and compliance issues facing financial services, healthcare, or private equity institutions
• High degree of comfort with legal technologies and fintech
• Sound experience of working with senior management within a complex international organisation.
• Confident self-starter with the desire and ability to continuously acquire, build upon and share knowledge.
• Strong commercial/business acumen with the ability to deliver creative and pragmatic solutions and advice.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to interface at all levels and particularly to win the respect of the partner and fee-earner community, building and developing strong (internal and external) client relationships.
• Resilient; able to understand that credibility has to be earned in this environment and may take time.
• Strong knowledge of at least one other major EU language an advantage.

Should you require additional support at any stage of the recruitment process due to a disability or a health condition, please do not hesitate to contact a member of our recruitment team who will work with you to provide any adjustments as required.

We are an equal opportunities recruiter and do not discriminate on the basis of race, colour, sex, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, or any other protected characteristic.

We recognise that our people are our most valuable asset, which is reflected in the wide range of benefits that are available to our employees. Some of these benefits include: our occupational pension scheme, group income protection cover, private medical insurance, mental health resources and free apps, health and wellbeing services encompassing an onsite gym, wellbeing centre and GP service, emergency back-up care support, parental and special leave, holiday entitlement increasing with length of service, holiday trading, season ticket loans and online discounts and lifestyle management services.

Our approach to hybrid working seeks to combine and maximise the benefits of effective remote working with the benefits of being in the office. Our current hybrid working arrangements require office based working for a minimum of 60% of your time ( i.e. three days per week for a full time role ) in accordance with our hybrid working policy.

 

Additional information - External

A&O Shearman is a global industry-leading law firm, with nearly 50 offices in 28 countries worldwide. Our fluency in English law, US law, and the laws of the world’s most dynamic markets, enables us to provide unmatched insight and seamless delivery to clients. We work on challenging and important deals and disputes that have the potential to shape the future.

We offer exceptional opportunities for our people; opportunities to work for the world’s leading businesses; to transform the status quo, and to deliver your best work, helping you and your career to thrive, while delivering unparalleled outcomes for our clients.

Whether you're helping clients solve complex challenges, transforming the ways we manage our business, or ensuring the smooth-running of our operations, this is an environment where you can belong and excel. We provide first-rate training and development, we are committed to an inclusive environment, and we provide support and ways of working that help you optimise your wellbeing.

What truly defines a career with us? We recruit the best and ask for the best of you. And together, we will redefine success.