Job SummaryThe Legal Operations Manager is responsible for designing, implementing, and continuously improving the operational infrastructure that enables an efficient, scalable, and data-driven Legal function. Reporting to the Chief Legal Officer, this role independently owns legal intake, matter management, process governance, reporting and analytics, legal technology administration, and workflow automation initiatives to improve service delivery and operational effectiveness.
Working cross-functionally with Legal, IT, Security, Product, Revenue Operations, and other business stakeholders, the Legal Operations Manager identifies opportunities to streamline processes, optimize technology, and leverage automation and AI to reduce manual effort, enhance visibility, and improve the business experience. This role applies strong analytical, project management, and problem-solving skills to develop scalable operating models, establish performance metrics, and deliver actionable insights that support informed decision-making and continuous improvement across the Legal department.
ResponsibilitiesProcess Design, Governance and Continuous Improvement - Map and redesign legal workflows from intake through completion.
- Eliminate friction points and manual work.
- Build scalable processes that improve speed, consistency, and transparency.
- Develop and maintain knowledge management frameworks, operational documentation, training materials, and process governance resources.
- Lead change management efforts associated with new operational practices, technologies, and service delivery models.
- Drive adoption and ongoing optimization of legal department processes through stakeholder engagement, communication, and performance measurement.
Automation & AI - Identify opportunities to automate routine legal tasks using approved enterprise AI and workflow tools.
- Design and implement automated approval workflows.
- Improve document generation, intake, triage, reporting, and knowledge management.
- Stay current on emerging AI capabilities and recommend practical applications for the Legal team.
Systems & Technology - Serve as Legal's business owner for core technology platforms
- Design integrations across Salesforce, Jira, CLM, e-signature, ticketing, knowledge management, and collaboration platforms.
- Partner with IT, Security, Product and Revenue Operations to improve data flow between systems.
Legal Intake, Matter Management and Service Delivery - Establish and maintain standardized intake processes, prioritization frameworks, service-level expectations, and operational governance practices.
- Evaluate incoming legal requests by assessing urgency, complexity, business impact, and organizational risk to determine appropriate prioritization and routing.
- Maintain comprehensive visibility into legal workload, active matters, resource allocation, and departmental capacity.
- Recommend enhancements to legal service delivery models that improve responsiveness, efficiency, transparency, and business alignment.
Reporting, Analytics and Strategic Insights - Define, implement, and maintain legal department performance measurement frameworks, dashboards, and operational reporting capabilities.
- Establish key performance indicators (KPIs) and service metrics, including matter volume, turnaround times, workload allocation, service-level attainment, and operational efficiency measures.
- Identify bottlenecks using data, improve workload reporting, and give visibility into cycle time analysis.
- Deliver actionable reporting and strategic insights to the Chief Legal Officer and executive leadership to support planning, prioritization, and resource allocation decisions.
- Maintain visibility into outside counsel and legal vendor spend, including matter budgets, invoice trends, rate changes, and budget-to-actual performance.
What Success Looks Like Within the first year you will have:
- Reduced manual legal work through automation.
- Built scalable intake and workflow processes.
- Improved visibility into Legal's work through dashboards and reporting.
- Increased self-service for internal business clients.
- Leveraged AI responsibly to improve team productivity.
- Helped transform Legal into a data-driven business partner.
Requirements- Demonstrated ability to independently design, implement, govern, and optimize operational frameworks, systems, and processes within complex business environments.
- Strong strategic and analytical mindset with the ability to evaluate competing priorities, assess operational risk, and develop scalable solutions.
- Proven ability to manage multiple high-impact initiatives simultaneously while maintaining quality, responsiveness, and execution excellence.
- Ability to exercise sound judgment and make independent recommendations regarding prioritization, resource allocation, technology investments, and operational improvements.
- Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills, including the ability to drive alignment across functions without formal authority.
- Demonstrated ability to translate business requirements into scalable operational processes, technology solutions, and governance frameworks.
- Exceptional project management, organizational, facilitation, and problem-solving capabilities.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to present recommendations and operational insights to senior leadership.
- Experience leading organizational change management initiatives and driving adoption of new technologies, processes, and operating models.
- Ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced, evolving environment with a high degree of autonomy and accountability.
Technical & Systems Proficiency - Strong working knowledge of enterprise business systems such as Salesforce, Jira, CLM platforms, ticketing systems, e-signature platforms, knowledge management tools, and workflow automation platforms.
- Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel, including data analysis, dashboard development, modeling, and executive reporting.
- Experience developing and maintaining operational reporting frameworks, KPI programs, dashboards, and performance measurement systems.
- Experience automating workflows and administering productivity and work-management platforms, including Jira and similar workflow, ticketing, project management, and collaboration tools.
- Experience designing, implementing, and optimizing technology-enabled workflows that improve operational efficiency, reporting, visibility, and stakeholder experience.
- Experience implementing, administering, and optimizing legal operations technologies, including matter management, contract lifecycle management (CLM), workflow automation, knowledge management, intake, and reporting platforms.
- Experience leveraging AI-enabled productivity, workflow, automation, and knowledge management solutions to improve business outcomes.
- Working knowledge of project management methodologies, process mapping, business process improvement, workflow design, and operational governance practices.
- Experience partnering with technical teams to define system requirements, integrations, reporting solutions, and technology implementations.
Desired Traits - Loves solving operational problems
- Naturally questions inefficient processes
- Enjoys building systems that other people use
- Is comfortable working independently
- Communicates effectively with both lawyers and technical teams
- Balances creativity with disciplined execution
- Is energized by continuous improvement
Education/Certifications- 5+ years of experience in legal operations, legal project management, contract operations, corporate paralegal work, business operations, or a similar role. Demonstrated experience designing and implementing operational processes that improve efficiency, scalability, and stakeholder experience.
- Experience supporting an in-house legal department strongly preferred.
- Experience within SaaS, technology, fintech, or other high-growth, data-driven business environments strongly preferred.
Language Skills - Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to communicate effectively across all organizational levels.
- Ability to facilitate discussions, influence stakeholders, and communicate complex operational concepts in a clear and actionable manner.
What We Offer- Health Coverage options along with other voluntary benefits
- Enterprise Udemy membership with access to thousands of personal and professional development courses
- 401K with Company match up to 4% or Employee Pension plan
- Competitive pay and year-end bonus potential
- Flexible PTO
- Charitable Donation matching, along with Volunteer and Voting PTO
- Numerous team building activities to promote collaboration in a fun and fast-paced work environment
