Job Description
ABOUT THE ROLE
Ares is seeking a former transactional attorney to join its Legal Strategy + Innovation (LSI) team as an Associate Vice President, Legal Knowledge & Workflow Management.
This role is responsible for building and operationalizing Ares Legalās knowledge ecosystem across multiple geographies and lines of businessātransforming institutional expertise, precedent and best practices into structured, reusable assets that drive consistent legal outcomes across the firm.
You will function as both architect and operator: defining knowledge standards, governance and taxonomy while actively capturing, curating and deploying legal content across matters and teams. Workflow design serves as the delivery layer for this knowledge, ensuring that internal legal teams and service providers engage with the right guidance and decision support. The objective is to create a connected, measurable operating model where legal judgment is codified, shared and continuously improved through data and playbooks.
This position directly supports Ares Legalās long-term integrated service delivery strategy by aligning internal teams and external service providers around a common legal knowledge base, standardized guidance and feedback loops that reinforce quality, consistency and learning.
REPORTING
Reports to: Head of Legal Strategy + Innovation
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Workflow & Process Architecture
Design, document and optimize standardized end-to-end legal workflows that surface authoritative guidance, precedent and decision support at key points in the matter lifecycle.
Define intake gates and data requirements that ensure complete, reliable information is captured at the right point in the process to enable systematic knowledge capture, reuse and analytics.
Establish approval, escalation and routing logic that drives consistency, accountability and visibility across geographies and lines of business.
Integrated Service Delivery
Develop shared operating standards that allow internal teams and external providers to work from the same playbooks, systems and KPIs.
Partner with cross-functional stakeholders to embed knowledge assets and data capture into CLM and related workflow systems.
Support Legal Vendor Strategy & Management in embedding playbook adherence, knowledge reuse expectations, data access and insights and performance metrics into service provider governance.
Playbook & Process Documentation
Translate legal and business experience into structured playbooks, templates and matter frameworks.
Integrate playbook content into CLM and workflow tools to drive compliance and streamline execution.
Maintain a single source of truth for process standards and legal guidance and continuously refine content based on user feedback, usage patterns and performance data.
Execution & Continuous Improvement
Lead pilots and rollouts for new workflows and playbooks, measuring adoption and effectiveness.
Define and monitor KPIs such as cycle times, intake completeness and process compliance.
Drive a continuous improvement loop using metrics, feedback and automation opportunities.
Cross-Functional Collaboration
Collaborate with cross-functional teams to standardize workflows and align legal knowledge structures and standards with technology implementation and reporting.
Serve as a liaison between practicing attorneys, operations and technology teams to capture expertise and operationalize it at scale.
QUALIFICATIONS
Education
JD required. Member in good standing of a U.S. state bar.
Required Skills & Experience
7+ years total experience, including at least 5+ years as a practicing transactional attorney (corporate, finance, M&A, private equity or fund formations).
Proven ability to design, document and improve legal workflows and processes.
Strong understanding of legal service delivery, knowledge management and matter governance.
Experience collaborating across legal, business and technology teams to operationalize legal knowledge, standards and decision frameworks.
Excellent communication, documentation and project management skills with the ability to translate legal judgment into clear, reusable guidance.
Preferred Qualifications
Experience as an in-house counsel in a regulated or data/process-intensive industry with demonstrated responsibility for precedent, guidance or playbook development.
Experience in legal operations, consulting or business process design with a focus on knowledge enablement or operating model design.
Familiarity with CLM, workflow automation and matter management systems.
Comfort using data and KPIs to track knowledge adoption and process performance and drive decisions.
WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE
Core legal processes executed through standardized workflows and playbooks that reflect authoritative legal guidance and reduce outcome variability.
Internal teams and service providers operate on shared systems, standards and KPIs.
Reliable data captured through intake gates and knowledge metadata and available for performance analysis.
Measurable gains in efficiency and effectiveness of matter execution driven by reuse of precedent and consistent decision-making.
Continuous improvement embedded into the legal operating model through feedback loops that identify and address knowledge gaps.
Reporting Relationships
Compensation
The anticipated base salary range for this position is listed below. Total compensation may also include a discretionary performance-based bonus. Note, the range takes into account a broad spectrum of qualifications, including, but not limited to, years of relevant work experience, education, and other relevant qualifications specific to the role.
$250,000 - $275,000 / annum
The firm also offers robust Benefits offerings. Ares U.S. Core Benefits include Comprehensive Medical/Rx, Dental and Vision plans; 401(k) program with company match; Flexible Savings Accounts (FSA); Healthcare Savings Accounts (HSA) with company contribution; Basic and Voluntary Life Insurance; Long-Term Disability (LTD) and Short-Term Disability (STD) insurance; Employee Assistance Program (EAP), and Commuter Benefits plan for parking and transit.
Ares offers a number of additional benefits including access to a world-class medical advisory team, a mental health app that includes coaching, therapy and psychiatry, a mindfulness and wellbeing app, financial wellness benefit that includes access to a financial advisor, new parent leave, reproductive and adoption assistance, emergency backup care, matching gift program, education sponsorship program, and much more.
There is no set deadline to apply for this job opportunity. Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis until the search is no longer active.
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