Senior Director of Practice Innovation and Legal Tech Consulting

BakerHostetler Career • Cleveland, OH

15d • $300,000 - $350,000

About The Position

The Senior Director of Practice Innovation and Legal Tech Consulting is a strategic leadership role responsible for driving legal technology innovation both for clients and within the firm. This role will oversee IncuBaker’s Legal Tech Consulting practice, the Digital Innovation & Data Science team, and the Practice Innovation Attorneys, ensuring a balanced focus on external client consulting and internal practice innovation. The Senior Director will manage a portfolio of innovation projects and client engagements – from implementing privacy management systems and Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) tools (e.g. Conga, iCertis, OneTrust) for clients to championing change management and technology adoption within the firm. Success in this role requires deep expertise in legal technology, outstanding leadership and project management skills, and the ability to bridge the gap between legal professionals and tech solutions to deliver business value. The Senior Director will serve as a hands-on leader, fostering collaboration in a high-demand environment and ensuring innovation initiatives align with the firm’s strategic goals and deliver measurable outcomes. The Senior Director of Practice Innovation and Legal Tech Consulting is a strategic leadership role responsible for driving legal technology innovation both for clients and within the firm. This role will oversee IncuBaker’s Legal Tech Consulting practice, the Digital Innovation & Data Science team, and the Practice Innovation Attorneys, ensuring a balanced focus on external client consulting and internal practice innovation. The Senior Director will manage a portfolio of innovation projects and client engagements – from implementing privacy management systems and Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) tools (e.g. Conga, iCertis, OneTrust) for clients to championing change management and technology adoption within the firm. Success in this role requires deep expertise in legal technology, outstanding leadership and project management skills, and the ability to bridge the gap between legal professionals and tech solutions to deliver business value. The Senior Director will serve as a hands-on leader, fostering collaboration in a high-demand environment and ensuring innovation initiatives align with the firm’s strategic goals and deliver measurable outcomes.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Computer Science, Information Systems, or a related field is required.
• Juris Doctorate (J.D.) is strongly preferred, reflecting the value of legal domain expertise in this role.
• An advanced degree in technology or business (MBA, MS in Information Systems) is a plus.
• Minimum of 10 years of experience in legal technology, innovation, or related consulting roles, with at least 8 years in a leadership or management position.
• Demonstrated track record of leading complex projects or programs that implement technology solutions in a legal or professional services environment.
• Law firm or legal department experience is highly desirable, especially experience working closely with attorneys on technology initiatives.
• Deep knowledge of legal tech tools and trends is required.
• Hands-on experience with contract lifecycle management systems (such as Conga or iCertis) and privacy program platforms (such as OneTrust) is expected, including successful implementation or adoption campaigns for these or similar systems.
• Familiarity with additional domains like document management, e-discovery, knowledge management, AI in legal, and workflow automation is important.
• The candidate should have proven ability to evaluate and deploy technology to solve business problems in the legal context.
• Exceptional leadership, people management, and organizational skills.
• Able to inspire and guide a team of professionals, set clear goals, and manage performance in a fast-paced setting.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management abilities – capable of effectively presenting to all levels of firm leadership and client executives, and of translating between technical jargon and legal/business language.
• Strong project management skills with attention to detail and the ability to juggle multiple high-priority projects.
• A collaborative, client-service oriented mindset with the “visionary leadership and practical execution” balance needed to drive innovation in a pragmatic way.
• Ability to communicate effectively with staff members.
• Ability to effectively present information in one-on-one and small group situations to all levels of professional and support staff.
• Ability to write simple correspondence and routine messages.
• Ability to read and comprehend simple instructions, short correspondence and memos.
• Ability to read and interpret documents such as operating instructions, procedure manuals, general business periodicals, professional journals, technical procedures, governmental regulations, financial reports, or legal documents.
• Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals.
• Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral, or diagram form.
• Ability to deal with problems involving several concrete variables in standardized situations.
• Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts and draw valid conclusions.
• Ability to interpret an extensive variety of instructions, and deal with several abstract and concrete variables.
• Demonstrated ability to multi-task and be detail-oriented with strong organizational skills.
• Strong communication skills.
• Excellent organizational and planning skills, with ability to prioritize multiple tasks and projects to meet deadlines.
• Ability to work overtime when needed.
• Work may require more than 40 hours per week to perform the essential duties of the position.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment with strict deadlines.
• Ability to exercise discretion with confidential and sensitive information.
• Must be able to perform essential duties of the position with time constraints and interruptions.
• A strong client service approach and team orientation.
• Demonstrate good judgment, tact, and flexibility under pressure in a mixed-matrix environment with may competing priorities.

Nice To Haves

• Juris Doctorate (J.D.) is strongly preferred, reflecting the value of legal domain expertise in this role.
• An advanced degree in technology or business (MBA, MS in Information Systems) is a plus.
• Law firm or legal department experience is highly desirable, especially experience working closely with attorneys on technology initiatives.

Responsibilities

• Provide overall leadership and direction to the Legal Tech Consulting group, Digital Innovation & Data Science team, and Practice Innovation Attorneys.
• Foster a collaborative, high-performance culture across these multidisciplinary teams to meet growing internal and client demands.
• Define and maintain an innovation roadmap; oversee a portfolio of innovation projects (both client-facing and internal) from ideation through execution.
• Prioritize initiatives based on impact and strategic value, allocate resources, and ensure projects are delivered on time and within budget.
• Develop metrics to evaluate the portfolio’s performance (e.g. number of initiatives implemented, on-time delivery rate, ROI) and adjust strategy as needed.
• Drive the firm’s legal technology consulting services for clients, acting as a senior advisor on technology solutions.
• Scope and lead consulting engagements such as implementing contract lifecycle management systems (e.g. Conga, Icertis) and privacy management platforms (e.g. OneTrust) for corporate legal departments.
• Ensure high client satisfaction by delivering practical solutions that improve efficiency, compliance, and risk mitigation in legal operations.
• Champion innovation within the firm’s legal practice groups.
• Work closely with Practice Innovation Attorneys and firm leadership to identify opportunities where emerging technologies or process improvements can enhance service delivery, reduce costs, or increase efficiency.
• This includes initiatives like workflow automation, AI-assisted legal research, knowledge management enhancements, and process re-engineering.
• Promote adoption of new technologies across the firm’s lawyers and staff.
• Develop and execute change management plans for rolling out tools and processes including communication strategies, training programs, pilot projects, and feedback loops.
• Monitor user engagement and technology utilization rates to identify and address adoption barriers.
• A successful candidate will drive measurable increases in technology uptake (e.g. percentage of attorneys using new tools, reduction in manual process time) and overall digital proficiency within the firm.
• Establish clear Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to gauge the success of innovation initiatives and technology implementations.
• Track metrics such as user adoption rates (e.g. what proportion of the firm or client users actively use a new tool after launch), process efficiency improvements (time or cost savings achieved through innovation), and ROI on technology projects.
• Regularly collaborate and report on these metrics to the CIO using data to demonstrate value and inform decision-making.
• Collaborate closely with other teams in Information Services, practice group leaders, and other departments to align technology efforts with business needs.
• Ensure the innovation team works hand-in-hand with attorneys, clients, and external vendors, effectively translating legal requirements into technical solutions and vice versa .
• Build partnerships inside and outside the firm to leverage additional expertise or resources when needed (for example, coordinating with outside technology vendors or alternative legal service providers on joint initiatives).
• Stay at the forefront of legal tech trends and emerging technologies (AI, data analytics, automation, etc.).
• Evaluate and identify “best fit” legal tech solutions for various use cases, maintaining a technology-agnostic approach focused on client and firm needs .
• Cultivate strong relationships with legal tech vendors (including key platforms like Conga, iCertis, and OneTrust) to keep abreast of product updates and influence future features.
• Negotiate vendor agreements and ensure delivered solutions meet quality, cost, and functionality expectations.
• Promote a culture of continuous improvement in both client services and internal operations.
• Oversee efforts to streamline legal processes through technology (e.g., automating routine tasks, implementing document assembly tools, or optimizing workflow for matter management.)
• Ensure that innovation projects deliver tangible improvements such as faster turnaround times, improved accuracy, risk reduction, or cost savings for the firm and its clients .
• Mentor and develop the skills of the innovation team members (which may include attorneys, analysts, data scientists, and technologists).
• Encourage knowledge-sharing and professional growth, ensuring the team remains adaptable and skilled in cutting-edge technologies.
• Provide regular feedback, conduct performance evaluations, and recruit talent as needed to build a world-class innovation team capable of meeting high demand.
• Communicate the progress and impact of innovation initiatives to firm leadership and key stakeholders.
• Prepare compelling updates, case studies, and presentations that highlight successes, lessons learned, and value delivered (e.g., improved client outcomes, efficiency gains, new revenue opportunities from consulting engagements).
• Articulate how the innovation strategy supports the firm’s broader business objectives and competitive positioning in the legal industry.
• Act as a positive representative for the firm’s innovation capabilities.
• Work directly with major clients to understand their needs and propose solutions as part of business development and client service.
• Internally, engage partners and practice leaders to champion innovation projects, securing buy-in and input.
• The director should be comfortable interfacing with C-level client executives and firm management, demonstrating thought leadership in legal tech and innovation.

Benefits

• BakerHostetler offers a comprehensive and competitive benefits program, including group health, dental and vision insurance, paid holidays (11 days), 401(k) plan, parental leave, family care program, wellness program, life and accident insurance, and short and long-term disability.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director