Role Overview
The Solutions Architect is a critical, client facing role responsible for designing and delivering the technical architecture that powers the Strategic Applications team's client solutions. The role works at the intersection of legal process, technology and commercial delivery, ensuring that solutions are charged to clients, evaluated for quality and reliability, and meet commercial and legal judgement.
Key Responsibilities Solution Architecture & Design
- Develop high level and detailed solution architectures aligned to enterprise standards, ensuring feasibility within a chargeable engagement.
- Define end to end design across document management, workflow, AI, knowledge and data systems, starting from the legal workflow.
- Produce clear architecture documentation including process maps, sequence diagrams, data flow diagrams and technical specifications.
- Map legal workflows end to end, ensuring designs reflect operational realities.
Systems Integration & Technical Delivery
- Design and build API integrations between core legal technology platforms and connected systems (DMS, HR, finance, knowledge management).
- Integrate platforms such as SharePoint, Microsoft Power Platform, HighQ, Legatics, Kira, DocuSign, iManage, NetDocuments and alternatives.
- Develop integration solutions involving generative AI enabled assistants and LLM platforms, considering prompt engineering and retrieval augmented generation.
- Ensure all integrations meet information security, data classification, access control and governance requirements.
Stakeholder Engagement & Commercial Contribution
- Partner with lawyers, innovation teams, PMOs and business services to translate legal and business needs into robust technical solutions.
- Advise on the commercial implications of architectural decisions, including cost, time and risk.
- Participate in vendor assessments, RFPs and procurement activities.
- Contribute to business case proposals and manage proofs of concept, including AI governance and risk assessments.
Risk & Governance
- Own the risk profile of each solution architecture, identifying, documenting and escalating risks before deployment.
- Embed data security, client confidentiality and regulatory compliance (GDPR, SRA) in design.
- Maintain awareness of commercial and legal consequences of architectural failures.
Qualifications, Skills and Experience Technical Skills
- Expertise in integration methods (REST, Graph API, JSON, XML, OAuth, SSO, event driven architecture).
- Experience integrating LLM based and agentic platforms, including vendor provided MCPs and model APIs.
- Knowledge of secure and scalable patterns for external AI services and workflow automation tools.
- Proficiency in data modelling, schema design and process mapping tools.
- Familiarity with Microsoft 365 cloud ecosystem, Azure integrations, document management systems and virtual data rooms.
- Exposure to generative AI integration, prompt engineering, RAG architecture and LLM orchestration frameworks.
- Understanding of security architecture principles and legal sector information governance.
Legal & Commercial Skills
- Proven experience in a law firm, ALSP or legal operations team, preferably in corporate or transaction work.
- End to end understanding of at least one legal workflow (e.g., M&A due diligence, contract lifecycle management).
- Awareness of matter economics and the commercial impact of architectural decisions on fee recovery.
- Excellent stakeholder engagement and ability to translate complex needs into coherent designs.
Personal Attributes
- Client need first approach to solution design.
- Strong communicator, capable of presenting to partners and developers.
- Analytical, critical thinker with a structured, disciplined problem solving approach.
- Proactive, intellectually curious, and ethical in handling risk.
- Collaborative mindset, working closely with the Senior Analyst and wider team.
Measures of Success
- High quality, peer reviewed architectures that meet security and governance standards.
- Reliable deployments with high availability and low error rates.
- Commercial contribution that generates or protects fee income.
- Zero material security incidents or client confidentiality failures.
- On time delivery within agreed timeframes, respecting live transaction constraints.
- Positive stakeholder confidence and repeat instructions.
- Effective collaboration enabling the Senior Analyst and team to execute solutions.
Diversity & Inclusion
We are committed to attracting people from all backgrounds and creating a respectful and inclusive culture where everyone thrives. We value diversity of experience, perspective, and background and are dedicated to fostering an environment where all individuals can succeed.