Director, Attorney AI Learning & Strategy

McDermott Will & Emery•Chicago, IL

11d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Director of Attorney AI Learning & Strategy develops, coordinates and oversees the firm’s attorney AI learning strategy, including baseline AI training, practice-based AI learning, and advanced workshops and credentialing. This position combines legal practice expertise with the ability to design, operationalize and evaluate attorney training and development initiatives in a rapidly evolving AI environment. The Director of Attorney AI Learning & Strategy reports to the firm’s Senior Director of Talent & Development and will work closely with Professional Development, Knowledge Management, Information Technology, practice and affinity group leaders, and other relevant stakeholders to assess attorney learning needs, design AI learning strategy and ensure that programming is aligned with the firm’s goals, approved tools, and evolving market and legal trends.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree
Juris Doctorate (JD)
Meaningful experience practicing law at a law firm, in-house legal department or comparable legal setting
Hands-on familiarity with both general-purpose AI tools and legal AI platforms commonly used in law firm environments, including tools such as Microsoft Copilot, ChatGPT Enterprise, Claude, Harvey, CoCounsel , Legora and comparable practice-specific or internally developed tools
Experience in attorney development, professional development, lawyer training, legal education, knowledge management, practice innovation or a related field
Experience with designing large-scale change management strategies
Experience evaluating how AI tools are used in legal workflows, including drafting, summarization, research support, document review, issue spotting, chronology building, diligence and other practice-specific applications, and translating that understanding into lawyer-facing training
Experience identifying and addressing the learning, supervision, risk and change-management issues that arise when introducing AI into legal practice
Familiarity with attorney professional responsibility rules governing AI and emerging jurisdictional guidance
Demonstrated ability to translate technical concepts and evolving AI capabilities into practical lawyer-facing learning
Ability to work in cross-functional and virtual teams
Strong organizational skills; ability to work under tight deadlines and prioritize responsibilities
Ability to handle and maintain confidential information
Knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint and Word)
Excellent written and verbal communication skills

Nice To Haves

Experience designing firmwide or practice-specific lawyer-facing curricula, workshops or skills-based programs preferred
Experience building or scaling new programs in an ambiguous or evolving environment preferred
Familiarity with attorney supervision, professional responsibility and development of junior lawyer skills in a changing practice environment preferred
Strong executive presence and interpersonal skills; ability to work effectively with partners, practice leaders and senior business professionals
Ability to work independently, exercise sound judgment, and drive complex work forward with limited supervision
Ability to travel for work

Responsibilities

Lead development and implementation of the firm’s attorney AI learning strategy
Assess current attorney AI training efforts and develop recommendations regarding learning architecture, credentialing, cadence, workshop design , and training modalities
Serve as the day-to-day cross-functional lead across Talent & Development, Knowledge Management, IT, practice group leaders, and other stakeholders on attorney AI learning initiatives , including identifying legal workflows, use cases , and case studies that should inform attorney AI learning
Partner with Talent leadership to integrate attorney AI learning with the broader attorney lifecycle, including onboarding, skills development, supervision, advancement , and practice-group programming
Continuously evaluate and update attorney AI learning strategy, curricula , and content to ensure they remain relevant, practical , and innovative
Recommend and operationalize a visible, credible approach to attorney credentialing and recognition in the AI learning space
Help shape an approach that protects foundational lawyer skill development while encouraging thoughtful adoption of new tools and workflows
Develop a practical framework for tracking participation, completion, credentialing , and other relevant program indicators
Prepare updates and recommendations for Talent leadership and other firm leaders regarding program progress, gaps , and next-step priorities
Leverage technology platforms and analytics to deliver, track , assess , and adjust the learning strategy over time
Monitor developments in legal AI tools, legal technology , and related market trends and translate them into timely updates to attorney learning content and guidance
Participate in learning and development, legal innovation, knowledge management , and AI-related organizations and conferences to stay abreast of emerging tools, learning methods , and market trends