Manager, AI Applications

Job Description

The Manager, AI Applications, will play a key role in advancing the Firm's digital transformation by helping attorneys and business professionals successfully adopt technology that improves the delivery of legal services. Each Manager will have a primary alignment to one of the firm’s practice or geographic areas, including: Litigation, Transactional, Advisory, or London, the Middle East, and Asia. Working in close partnership with practice leaders and cross-functional teams, this role is responsible for leading change management, implementation, user engagement, training, and ongoing optimization for a portfolio of legal technology and AI-enabled solutions. As the product owner for assigned technologies, the Manager will champion continuous improvement by translating user needs into product enhancements, measuring adoption, and collaborating with vendors and firm leadership to maximize value. Success in this role requires credibility with attorneys, strong change-management and product-management capabilities, and the ability to foster lasting adoption of innovative ways of working.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Adoption & Change Management

• Develop and execute adoption strategies for assigned technologies, practices, and offices.
• Work with lawyers and business professionals to understand their workflows, challenges, and priorities.
• Identify practical technology use cases that improve efficiency, quality, consistency, collaboration, and client service.
• Help users incorporate technology into their daily work through targeted training, communications, coaching, and workflow guidance.
• Identify barriers to adoption and develop practical interventions to address them.
• Build relationships with practice leaders, product champions, and other stakeholders who can support sustained adoption.
• Coordinate change-management activities across product launches, enhancements, and broader transformation initiatives.
• Support the responsible use of AI-enabled tools in accordance with firm policies, client obligations, and professional standards.

Training & User Enablement

• Develop and deliver practical, use-case-based training for lawyers and business professionals.
• Provide training through practice-group sessions, demonstrations, workshops, office programs, small-group coaching, and individual support.
• Create user guides, quick-reference materials, workflow documentation, examples, and other self-service resources.
• Partner with K&I and other teams to develop onboarding and continuing education programs.
• Adapt training and communications for different roles, practices, levels of experience, offices, and regions.
• Gather feedback from training and adoption activities and use it to improve future programs.

Implementation & Utilization

• Lead or coordinate the implementation of assigned technology solutions.
• Develop implementation plans covering stakeholder engagement, testing, communications, training, launch, and post-launch support.
• Coordinate activities across Practice Solutions, Knowledge Management, Innovation, Technology, Information Security, Risk, Talent Development, and other business teams.
• Facilitate user testing and workflow validation with representative lawyers and business professionals.
• Ensure new technologies have appropriate documentation, support arrangements, ownership, and governance.
• Monitor utilization following implementation and address adoption, workflow, or usability issues.
• Conduct post-launch reviews and recommend improvements based on user feedback, product data, and business outcomes

Product Ownership

• Serve as the product owner for an assigned portfolio of legal technology and AI-enabled applications.
• Develop and maintain product roadmaps aligned with user needs, practice priorities, and firm strategy.
• Gather, document, and prioritize user requirements and enhancement requests.
• Coordinate product releases, configuration changes, testing, communications, and training.
• Maintain a prioritized backlog and communicate product priorities, decisions, dependencies, and timelines.
• Work with internal technology teams and vendors to resolve product, integration, performance, and usability issues.
• Identify opportunities to improve user experience, simplify workflows, reduce duplication, and increase product value.
• Support product renewal, consolidation, replacement, or retirement decisions by providing information on usage, performance, and user needs.

Stakeholder & Practice Engagement

• Serve as a primary Practice Solutions contact for an assigned practice area or geographic region.
• Develop a strong understanding of relevant legal workflows, client-service models, and operational priorities.
• Build trusted relationships with practice leaders, partners, associates, professional support lawyers, and business professionals.
• Conduct interviews, workshops, surveys, and workflow reviews to identify needs and opportunities.
• Translate business needs into clear requirements, adoption plans, and implementation priorities.
• Communicate technology options and recommendations in clear, practical language.
• Manage stakeholder expectations regarding priorities, timelines, dependencies, and available resources.
• Share successful use cases, training approaches, and lessons learned across practices and regions.

Measurement & Continuous Improvement

• Define adoption and utilization measures for assigned products and initiatives.
• Monitor metrics such as active use, engagement, satisfaction, training participation, support demand, and workflow impact.
• Use product data, user feedback, and support trends to identify adoption gaps and improvement opportunities.
• Provide regular updates and recommendations to the Director, Practice Solutions and relevant stakeholders.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of training, communications, and adoption initiatives.
• Maintain accurate records regarding product ownership, roadmap status, usage, risks, integrations, and lifecycle stage.
• Adjust product and adoption plans as user needs and firm priorities evolve.

Collaboration

• Partner with the Director, Practice Solutions on product priorities, governance, and resource allocation.
• Collaborate with Knowledge Management and Innovation teams to embed technology into legal workflows.
• Work with Data Science and AI Engineering teams on AI-enabled capabilities, integrations, and internally developed solutions.
• Coordinate with Technology teams on security, infrastructure, identity management, integration, deployment, and support.
• Partner with Talent Development and IT Training on learning programs and communications.
• Work with Risk, Information Security, Privacy, Procurement, Finance, and Legal teams when appropriate.
• Collaborate with other Practice Solutions Managers to provide consistent support across practices, offices, and regions.
• Participate in cross-functional projects and firmwide initiatives as assigned.

Vendor and Market Support

• Maintain effective operational relationships with vendors supporting assigned products.
• Coordinate vendor support, product updates, roadmap discussions, and issue resolution.
• Provide structured feedback to vendors based on user experience and business needs.
• Support product evaluations, pilots, renewals, and commercial reviews led by the Director, Practice Solutions and other firm leaders.
• Maintain awareness of relevant developments in legal technology and AI.

REQUIRED EDUCATION, KNOWLEDGE & EXPERIENCE

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional experience.
• Three or more years of experience in change management, technology adoption, legal technology, training, or a related field.
• Experience working in a law firm, legal department, legal technology company, or professional services environment.
• Proven ability to guide professionals through technology and workflow change.
• Strong stakeholder management, facilitation, training, communication, and project-management skills.
• Ability to translate user needs into practical use cases and adoption plans.

PREFERRED SKILLS & QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience leading technology adoption within a law firm or legal environment.
• Experience supporting lawyers, practice groups, or geographically distributed teams.
• Formal change-management training, such as Prosci or ADKAR.
• Familiarity with legal technology and legal workflows.
• Experience using feedback and adoption data to improve utilization.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

• Ability to sit and stand for extended periods.
• Ability to lift up to 15 pounds.

The expected salary range for this position is $200,000 - $250,000. Final compensation will be determined based on several factors, including but not limited to, relevant experience, qualifications, skill set, and geographic location. 

Qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records will be considered for the position in accordance with the California Fair Chance Act.

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

If you require an accommodation in order to apply for a position, please contact us at PillsburyWorkday@pillsburylaw.com.