Legal Operations Specialist

United States Soccer Federation 1•Atlanta, GA

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

As the first Legal Operations Specialist at U.S. Soccer, you will help our Legal department run core functions like document management, contract lifecycle management, legal billing and budgeting, technology and vendor management, and routing incoming correspondence. Just as important, you will partner with Legal leadership to improve operational efficiency, enable data-driven decision-making, and get more out of our technology, including AI-enabled tools. This is a great opportunity to build the legal infrastructure of a rapidly growing department and make an impact across the organization. You won’t find a typical legal operations job here! You will join a collaborative team that values mentorship and high standards, supporting a national governing body during a period of tremendous growth and ambition. Expect a fast pace, a casual work environment, and a front-row seat to the work of growing soccer in America. The ideal candidate has legal operations experience, a passion for organization and efficiency, and excitement for building processes and systems. You stay calm in the face of chaos and aren’t afraid to challenge the status quo.

Requirements

3-5 years of experience supporting legal operations, legal departments, or other similar professional services operations.
Experience with legal matter management, e-billing or contract lifecycle management systems.
Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines.
Experience driving or supporting process improvement initiatives.
Experience working with data, reports, and metrics to support operational decision-making.
Proficiency with the Microsoft Office suite (e.g., Word, Excel, SharePoint, PowerPoint) and comfort learning new systems.
Strong written and verbal communication skills.
High attention to detail and commitment to accuracy and compliance.
General knowledge of soccer.
Must be able to connect “micro” details to the “macro” vision and mission.
Be a supportive mentor: share professional and industry knowledge generously, provide active guidance on professional development to staff that is more junior to you, and contribute to a culture of intellectual curiosity and high standards.
Provide thought leadership on legal operations, including how to create efficiencies, use technology, serve our internal clients better, and control costs.
Contribute to the creation and maintenance of our standard forms library.
Treat others with respect, kindness, patience, and empathy.

Nice To Haves

Experience with AI-enabled tools

Responsibilities

Own our document management system and ensure that files are properly stored, named, and organized.
Develop and maintain a cross-functional contract database.
Receive and route physical legal mail.
Improve and streamline legal department processes by identifying, assessing, and implementing new processes, and leading change management to drive adoption.
Document processes, create workflow diagrams and clear visuals to support operational improvements and stakeholder understanding.
Assist with building and scaling a system for managing legal requests across the company.
Ensure intake, routing, prioritization, and tracking are seamless and visible.
Work closely with other departments to ensure legal processes align with how the business operates.
Own and maintain legal knowledge spaces (e.g., on the company’s intranet) by keeping them organized, current, and easy to navigate.
Oversee the e-billing and matter management system, including onboarding vendors, fielding questions, and collecting accruals.
Develop and maintain relationships with law firm billing departments, and review outside counsel invoices for compliance with billing guidelines.
Assist with managing the department budget.
Partner with our paralegal to own the legal tech stack – managing tools like Ironclad, DocuSign, etc.
Leverage AI to automate workflows and reduce manual work.
Research, evaluate, and recommend emerging technologies, including AI-enabled tools, to improve efficiency.
Assist Legal leaders in developing and implementing metrics and benchmarking to measure and report on team performance.
Oversee the creation of regular, executive-level performance reports and presentations on legal department efficiencies, achievements, and value creation.
Operate with a strong bias for action, proactively identifying opportunities, driving initiatives forward independently, and exercising sound judgment on when to escalate things.
Proactively engage with the legal operations community, industry forums, and vendor networks to identify emerging best practices and recommend improvements to our legal operations function.
You may be asked to take on other tasks as assigned by Legal leadership.