Practice Development Lawyer - Global Funds

Overview

Cleary Gottlieb is a pioneer in globalizing the legal profession. We have 14 offices in major financial centers around the world, but we operate as a single, integrated global partnership and not as a U.S. firm with a network of overseas locations. The firm employs approximately 1,100 lawyers from more than 50 countries.

Since 1946 our lawyers and staff have worked across practices, industries, jurisdictions, and continents to provide clients with simple, actionable approaches to their most complex legal and business challenges, whether domestic or international. We support every client relationship with intellectual agility, commercial acumen, and a human touch.

The Practice Development Lawyer (“PDL”) is a key knowledge, training, and practice support resource for the Global Funds group. The PDL maintains core forms, precedents, research resources, and information channels; supports adoption of legal technology and AI-enabled workflows; and helps ensure the group’s knowledge infrastructure reflects current law, market practice, and client needs. The PDL also contributes substantive funds expertise to training, thought leadership, business development, and attorney development initiatives.

Responsibilities

Knowledge Resources, Forms & Legal Technology

• Maintain the Global Funds group’s library of forms, precedents, checklists, research resources, practice guides, and other work tools, including AI and tech precedent databases (such as Hebbia and ProVisionAI), ensuring materials remain current, practical, and easy to use.
• Work with attorneys to identify priorities for new and updated knowledge resources, establish review cycles, and execute refresh projects.
• Administer and improve the group’s internal knowledge channels, including practice sites, intranet pages, email distributions, and successor platforms.
• Lead evaluation and testing of new legal KM and AI vendors and technology providers, including AI and tech precedent databases (such as Hebbia and ProVisionAI), assessing output quality and identifying substantive use cases and limitations.
• Serve as the group’s legal quality-check resource for AI-assisted workflows, reviewing outputs for accuracy, identifying gaps, and refining prompts and processes.
• Support attorney adoption of legal KM and AI tools through hands-on guidance, training, and ongoing workflow support.

Regulatory Monitoring & Thought Leadership

• Monitor federal, state, and international regulatory, legislative, and market developments relevant to Global Funds clients, alongside the Private Funds Specialist.
• Participate in drafting client alerts, articles, legal updates, and other thought leadership materials, including the group’s quarterly client publication, and coordinate publication with Business Development.

Training & Attorney Development

• Co-lead the planning and delivery of Global Funds group training, including first-year training, onboarding, response-to-demand sessions, group wide CLEs, and other substantive or skills-focused programs.
• Serve as a day-to-day resource for associates on locating, interpreting, and applying research resources, Global Funds group forms, precedents, and knowledge materials.
• Support associate development in coordination with Learning & Development and Associate Development, including onboarding, skills development, staffing context, and associate support initiatives.

Business Development & Client Support

• Collaborate with the Business Development team to support pitches, RFP responses, client meeting materials, external presentations, partner speaking materials, and substantive talking points.
• Develop and review Global Funds client materials, conference content, and practice credentials in coordination with Business Development and attorneys.
• Maintain experience, matter, and precedent information used for pitches, presentations, client relationship management, and practice development.

Liaison Functions

• Evaluate, create, and manage KM best practices and processes for the Global Funds group, in coordination with other PDLs, Knowledge Solutions, and Funds resource groups.
• Gather feedback, identify practice needs, and translate group priorities into practical KM and related training initiatives.

Qualifications

The ideal candidate will have three to five years of experience as a funds lawyer and will be a self-starter with sound judgment, strong organizational skills, and the ability to work effectively with attorneys and professional staff at all levels. The candidate should be comfortable leading projects, taking direction, giving direction, and balancing independent ownership with collaborative execution. Additional qualifications include:

• Admission in good standing to the New York State Bar.
• Strong knowledge of US funds law and the work of a sophisticated Global Funds practice, including familiarity with fund formation documents, offering materials, side letters, and other transaction documents routinely used by the group.
• Interest in knowledge management, legal technology, AI-enabled workflows, training, and attorney development.
• Enthusiastic about developing junior talent.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including strong drafting, editing, and presentation skills.
• Strong attention to detail, organization, follow-through, and project management skills.
• Collaborative, service-oriented approach and ability to build credibility with lawyers and professional staff.
• Sound problem-solving skills and ability to manage competing priorities in a fast-paced professional services environment.

The estimated base salary range for this position is $260,000 to $320,000 at the time of posting. The actual salary offered will depend on a variety of job-related factors, including skills, education, training, credentials, experience, scope and complexity of role responsibilities, geographic location, and performance. This role is exempt meaning it is not overtime pay eligible.

Cleary provides a comprehensive benefits package, including health care benefits. More information can be found here: Benefits

We are an equal opportunity employer and prohibit discrimination based on any category protected by law. Cleary provides reasonable accommodations to enable otherwise qualified employees to perform the essential functions of their position, provided the accommodation does not pose an undue hardship to the Firm.

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