Legal Engineering Attorney (Chicago)

About Latham & Watkins

Latham & Watkins is one of the world’s leading global law firms advising the businesses and institutions that drive the global economy. We are the market leaders in major financial and business centers around the world. Our investment in people, commitment to innovation, and focus on the future empower you to build an incredible career and thrive as an exceptional professional in a supportive culture. If you aspire to be the best, and work with the best, this is where you belong.

About the Role

The Legal Engineering Attorney is an integral part of Latham’s Technology & Information Services team. This role will be responsible for designing the AI‑native systems that translate elite legal expertise into reliable, repeatable, machine‑executable outputs, including prompts, schemas, evaluation suites, playbooks, and end‑to‑end workflows, while decomposing complex transactional and litigation workflows into discrete, measurable tasks with defined inputs, outputs, decision points, and quality criteria suitable for AI execution. This role will be located in either our New York, Boston, Chicago, Washington, D.C., or Los Angeles offices. Please note that this role may be eligible for a flexible working schedule that allows for a hybrid and in-office presence.

Responsibilities & Qualifications

Other key responsibilities include:Re‑engineering existing manual workflows for AI‑first execution, determining the appropriate allocation of work, placement of review gates, and handling of exceptionsTranslating practice group playbooks, checklists, negotiation positions, and house style into structured artifacts, including prompts, schemas, decision trees, and rule sets that production AI systems can execute againstCodifying the tacit knowledge of senior practitioners, including fallback positions, market terms, negotiation flexibility, and drafting conventions, in machine‑readable formAuthoring schema specifications and JSON Schemas for deal types, clause libraries, document attributes, and matter metadata, ensuring they are extensible, validated, and aligned with firm practiceCurating exemplar matters, precedents, and work product into reference packs that drive few‑shot prompting, fine‑tuning, and evaluationProtecting and maintaining any highly sensitive, confidential, privileged, financial, and/or proprietary information that Latham & Watkins retains We’d love to hear from you if you:Possess demonstrated fluency authoring, evaluating, and iterating on prompts for large language models in production legal workflowsDemonstrate working proficiency reading and writing structured data formats, including JSON, JSON Schema, YAML, and Markdown, with the ability to understand schemas, enumerations, and conditional logic independentlyExhibit practical experience designing evaluation rubrics and conducting structured quality measurement of AI outputs, including the use of golden datasets, head‑to‑head comparisons, and error taxonomiesAnd have:A J.D. from an accredited law schoolA bachelor’s degree, in law, computer science, information systems, or a related field, preferablyA minimum of three (3) years of substantive legal practice experience at a law firm or in‑house legal department, with ownership of complex transactional or advisory mattersA minimum of two (2) years of full‑time experience as a Legal Engineer, Legal Knowledge Engineer, Legal Workflow Engineer, Innovation Attorney, or comparable role focused on operationalizing legal expertise into AI-driven systems and workflowsExperience at a legal AI company, law firm innovation team, alternative legal services provider, or software company building tools for lawyers, preferablyHands‑on experience with AI platforms designing or evaluating law‑related workflows or agents, preferably

Benefits & Additional Information

Successful candidates will not only be provided with an outstanding career opportunity and welcoming environment, but will also be provided with a generous total compensation package with bonuses awarded in recognition of both individual and firm performance. Eligible employees can participate in Latham’s comprehensive benefit program which includes:Healthcare, life and disability insuranceA generous 401k planAt least 11 paid holidays per year, and a PTO program that accrues 23 days during the first year of employment and grows with tenureWell-being programs (e.g. mental health services, mindfulness and resiliency, medical resources, well-being events, and more) Professional development programsEmployee discountsAffinity groups, networks, and coalitions for lawyers and staffLatham & Watkins is an equal opportunity employer. The Firm prohibits discrimination against any employee or applicant for employment on the basis of race (including, but not limited to, hair texture and protective hairstyles), color, religion, sex, age, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status (including veterans of the Vietnam era), gender expression, marital status, or any other characteristic or condition protected by applicable statute.Please click here to view the full job description for this role.Latham & Watkins LLP will consider qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the City of Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance (FCIHO)​. Please click the link below to review the Ordinance.It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability. An employer that violates this law may be subject to fines and/or a private right of action for $500 in statutory damages “for each such violation,” among other things.Pleaseclick hereto review your rights under U.S. employment laws. #MidSenior #LI-JS1

Pay Range

USD $220,000.00 - USD $250,000.00 /Yr.

Job SummaryLocation : Location: US-NY-New YorkAdditional Location(s): US-MA-Boston | US-CA-Los Angeles | US-IL-Chicago | US-DC-Washington, D.C.Department: Technology & Information ServicesWork Arrangement: HybridPosted Min Pay Rate: USD $220,000.00/Yr.Posted Max Pay Rate: USD $250,000.00/Yr.Position Type: Full-TimeJob ID: 2026-6753