Legal Research Manager

Overview

Lead the Library and Research department for a large law client, managing the full client relationship, research quality, stakeholder communications, goal planning, and library operations and financial management. This is a full-time, fully remote role.

What you'll do

• Supervise and provide guidance to department staff, including training and conducting performance evaluations.
• Foster a collaborative and inclusive work environment, promoting teamwork and professional development.
• Delegate tasks effectively, ensuring efficient workflow and timely completion of projects.
• Manage a full client relationship for one or more research and/or library clients as aligned with skillset and expertise.
• Lead, mentor, and supervise a team of research professionals, providing direction, coaching, and performance feedback.
• Foster a collaborative, client-centered research culture that emphasizes analytical rigor, responsiveness, and continuous professional growth.
• Promote the adoption of best practices in legal research methodology, knowledge synthesis, and information delivery.
• Oversee and guide complex legal, regulatory, and business research and intelligence activities in support of Client attorneys and practice groups.
• Ensure research deliverables are timely, accurate, practice relevant, and aligned with Client priorities and risk tolerance.
• Guide the organization, access, and governance of digital research resources to support efficient information retrieval and reuse.
• Collaborate with knowledge management, practice innovation, and IT teams to align research tools with attorney workflows.
• Ensure compliance with copyright, licensing, and ethical research standards across all research and intelligence activities.
• Champion the evaluation, rollout, and adoption of AI-powered legal research, analytics, and intelligence tools.
• Partner with IT and business services to assess emerging legal technologies that enhance research quality, speed, and insight generation.
• Stay informed on trends in legal technology, generative and agentic AI, data analytics, and information services, advising Clients on implications and opportunities.
• Lead research outreach initiatives tailored to specific Client practice groups or departments.
• Build strong relationships with attorneys and Client stakeholders to anticipate research needs and proactively deliver value.
• Occasionally deliver direct research findings, competitive intelligence, or market insights to Clients and Client leadership.
• Lead and contribute to research-centric initiatives, such as research workflow optimization, tool implementations, analytics projects, and service enhancements.
• Develop project plans, timelines, and success metrics to ensure alignment with Client goals.
• Communicate project progress, risks, and outcomes clearly to stakeholders.

What you'll need

• Master's degree in Library and Information Science (MLIS) or equivalent, required.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience providing legal research, competitive intelligence, or knowledge services in a law firm, professional services, or corporate environment.
• Minimum of 3 years of experience managing or leading a research team or function.
• Deep familiarity with legal research platforms such as Westlaw, LexisNexis, Bloomberg Law, and related analytics tools.
• Demonstrated ability to translate complex research into practical, attorney-focused insights.
• Experience managing vendor relationships, research budgets, and data-driven decision-making.
• Strong project management, organizational, and prioritization skills.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to engage credibly with attorneys, clients, and senior stakeholders.
• Analytical mindset with strong problem-solving skills and attention to detail.

Nice to have

• Familiarity with emerging legal technologies and trends, including generative or agentic AI applications in legal research (experience using or training on these tools preferred).

Details

• Full-time, fully remote role that can be worked from anywhere in the United States.
• Primary schedule: Monday to Friday, 2:00pm to 11:00pm EST (11:00am to 8:00pm PST).