Senior Legal Technology Product Owner

Job description

We are recruiting for a Senior Legal Technology Product Owner to join our Global Technology team in London.

Global Technology team - London

The core of the global technology department’s mission is to provide stable, reliable, and secure platforms and services to our partners, staff and clients and fulfil our regulatory obligations across 30+ countries. To ensure that a consistent and standardised IT service is delivered to all offices, IT is managed and led as a global function, enabling all offices to benefit from complete systems integration and economies of scale. We have around 500 technologists based predominantly in the UK, Singapore and increasingly in the US.

Technology Delivery:
Deliver high quality change projects through specialised delivery capabilities and enable our fee-earners to drive revenue growth via globally consistent and efficient matter toolsets and services, which understand both technology and the business.

What you will do

Reporting to the Head of Legal Technology, the Senior Manager Product Owner will oversee the management, development, and strategic direction of our Legal Technology solutions as well as the management of our suite of third-party SaaS-based applications, ensuring they are leveraged effectively to meet the evolving needs of the firm.

The role will involve maintaining existing products, establishing current and future pathways, assessing new product ideas, and collaborating with cross-functional teams to ensure effective implementation and support. This role requires a blend of technical expertise, project management skills, and a commitment to continuous improvement practices.

The Senior Manager Product Owner will possess a keen understanding of legal technology and processes, demonstrate vendor management skills, and maintain a strategic approach to the adoption and rationalisation of our technology estate. A commitment to fostering strong relationships with stakeholders and driving continuous innovation is essential. They will also be a confident and positive ambassador for the London office and its work.

• Cultivate and maintain robust relationships with all third-party vendors, serving as the primary point of contact for contractual and operational matters
• Manage all legal technology solutions currently live and in development establishing and maintaining roadmaps for each product, ensuring alignment with business objectives and stakeholder needs
• Determine the lifecycle stage of each product and make recommendations for enhancements or retirement, as necessary developing a deep understanding of each application's features, functionality, and potential use cases within the firm
• Serve as the go-to expert for all practice technology tools, providing guidance and support to stakeholders collaborating with cross-functional teams to prioritise and allocate resources effectively
• Direct various resources, including development teams, support teams and subject matter experts, in the management and enhancement of legal technology products
• Evaluate and prioritise new legal technology solutions proposed through the New Ideas process leading to the development and implementation of new products, working closely with development teams and stakeholders to ensure successful delivery
• Champion a culture of continuous improvement within the legal technology team, encouraging feedback, experimentation, and learning
• Monitor and track the usage and benefits of existing products, gathering data to inform decision-making and future enhancements
• Proactively engage with vendors to gain insights into their product roadmaps, identifying upcoming features and assessing their applicability to the firm's needs in addition to influencinge vendor development priorities to align with the firm's strategic objectives
• Regularly evaluate the toolkit to ensure it remains aligned with the firm's requirements, proposing changes to optimise the technology landscape.
• Oversee the creation and updating of comprehensive training materials, ensuring they are accessible and relevant
• Conduct cost-benefit analyses for existing and potential toolkit components, ensuring fiscal responsibility and return on investment
• Prepare and manage budgets related to the practice technology toolkit
• Continuously scan the market for emerging technologies that could enhance the firm's legal technology capabilities.
• Establish and maintain a comprehensive support model for all practice technology tools, encompassing vendor, Legal Technology team, and IT support
• Facilitate the upskilling of the Legal Technology team to provide effective in-house support.
• Engage in change and adoption initiatives alongside various teams including Practice Transformation, Legal Process Improvement and Regional Legal Tech Engagement, to ensure smooth transitions and user acceptance of new technologies.
• Facilitate retrospective sessions to reflect on processes, identify areas for improvement, and implement actionable changes.

What you will have

• Highly developed personal and team organisational skills and experience of organising events
• Aptitude for and experience of creating, managing, motivating and developing teams and individuals in a project or other business setting
• Strong interest in knowledge management and effective working practices
• Excellent communication (verbal, written and presentation) skills
• Good facilitation skills
• Collaborative team player
• Strong business network and evidence of motivation and ability to build and grow network
• High level of personal credibility, impact and influence with proven ability to work effectively and persuasively at all levels
• Commercial acumen including a practical understanding of law firm economics and the levers of matter profitability
• Excellent understanding of A&O’s business as an international legal practice and the markets in which it operates
• Deep understanding of how a transactional lawyer operates on a day-to-day basis
• Knowledge of IT market and trends
• Knowledge of key steps in an IT project process
• Knowledge and experience of working in international environments
• Good understanding of iterative development
• Understanding of the basic fundamentals of software development processes and procedures

• Legal background with technical experience is preferred with a wide range of experiences across different legal and technical areas and projects
• Demonstrable experience managing SaaS-based applications, preferably within a legal or professional services context
• Strong vendor management skills and experience negotiating contracts
• Adept at translating complex legal and technical requirements into practical solutions
• Proficient in agile methodologies and tools, with the ability to adapt to a dynamic project environment
• Exceptional communication and stakeholder engagement abilities, capable of influencing at all organisational levels.
• Analytical mindset with a strong emphasis on data-driven decision-making and problem-solving
• Proven leadership qualities, with a track record of guiding teams towards achieving strategic objectives.
• Formal communication and presentation experience

About A&O Shearman

A&O Shearman is a new global industry-leading law firm, with nearly 50 offices in 29 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.

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.

NO AGENCIES PLEASE - A&O Shearman does not accept unsolicited CVs. For further information, please see our UK Recruitment Agency Policy and our commitment to direct sourcing here.
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