Solutions Architect, Strategic Applications

Strategic Applications is a revenue generating legal technology team within Digital Legal Delivery. The team designs, builds, and delivers technology enabled legal solutions directly on client matters, operating commercially with the majority of its work charged to client matters and tied to live legal processes.

The team's primary focus is the corporate and transactions side of the business, with typical work including M&A transaction management, due diligence workflow automation, contract lifecycle management, and technology enabled advisory on complex corporate mandates. It also supports a wider range of legal disciplines, including compliance, volume claims, and regulatory work.

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. Solutions are deployed directly on client matters, are chargeable, and are evaluated by clients and partners on quality, reliability, and fitness for purpose.

Key Responsibilities Solution Architecture & Design

Develop high level and detailed solution architectures aligned to enterprise architecture standards, ensuring they are proportionate to the client mandate and deliverable within the constraints of a chargeable engagement.

Define end to end solution design across document management, workflow, AI, knowledge, and data systems - starting from the legal workflow and working to the technical architecture.

Design scalable integration patterns using APIs, webhooks, workflow orchestration, and agent/automation frameworks.

Produce clear and robust architecture documentation, including process maps, sequence diagrams, data flow diagrams, and technical specifications.

Map legal workflows end to end - including handoffs between people, systems, and processes - before committing to a solution architecture.

Systems Integration & Technical Delivery

Design and build API integrations between core legal technology platforms and connected systems, including DMS, HR, finance, and knowledge management systems.

Integrate core legal technology platforms such as SharePoint, Microsoft Power Platform, HighQ, Legatics, Kira, Contract Express, DocuSign, Clio Operate, iManage, and NetDocuments.

Design integration solutions involving Generative AI enabled legal assistants and LLM based platforms, integrating tools such as Harvey, Legora, Emma Legal, and foundation models including Claude.

Ensure all integration architectures meet the firm's information security, data classification, access control, and information governance requirements.

Stakeholder Engagement & Commercial Contribution

Partner with lawyers, innovation teams, PMOs, and business services teams to translate legal and business needs into robust technical solutions.

Advise on the commercial implications of architectural decisions, including cost, time, and risk profile.

Scope solutions transparently for fixed fee or retainer based client engagements and participate in vendor assessments, RFPs, and procurement activity.

Contribute to business case proposals for addressing gaps in core infrastructure and work closely with IT stakeholders to align solutions with wider technology programmes.

Conduct proofs of concept and contribute to AI governance and risk assessments for emerging technologies.

Risk & Governance

Take ownership of the risk profile of every solution architecture produced and ensure design includes data security, client confidentiality, and regulatory compliance (including GDPR and SRA requirements).

Maintain awareness of the commercial and legal consequences of architectural failure in a chargeable, client facing environment.

Qualifications, Skills and Experience

Technical Skills

• Strong knowledge of integration methods: REST APIs, Graph API, JSON, XML, OAuth, SSO, and event driven architecture.
• Experience integrating LLM based and agentic platforms into enterprise solutions.
• Understanding of secure and scalable patterns for consuming external AI services.
• Experience with workflow automation and orchestration tools (Logic Apps, Clio Operate, Power Automate, Nintex).
• Proficiency in data modelling and schema design.
• Experience with process mapping tools and notation.
• Familiarity with Microsoft 365 cloud ecosystem and Azure integrations.
• Working knowledge of document management systems, with iManage strongly preferred.
• Familiarity with collaboration and virtual data room platforms (HighQ, Datasite, Intralinks, Ansarada).
• Exposure to Generative AI integration and LLM orchestration frameworks.
• Understanding of security architecture principles.
• Ability to read and interpret legal technology platform documentation.

Legal & Commercial Skills

• Proven experience working with or supporting a law firm, ALSP, or legal operations team.
• Demonstrated end to end understanding of at least one legal workflow type (e.g., M&A due diligence, contract lifecycle management, transaction management workflows).
• Awareness of matter economics and ability to scope solutions competitively.
• Excellent stakeholder engagement skills and ability to translate complex legal and business needs into coherent architectural designs.

Personal Attributes

• Client need first approach to solution design.
• Strong communicator, able to bridge the gap between legal, technical, and business teams.
• Analytical and critical thinker with a structured, disciplined approach to problem solving.
• Proactive, intellectually curious, and interested in evaluating emerging technologies while exercising strong architectural judgement.
• Ability to manage multiple projects and priorities in a fast paced, live transaction environment.
• Risk conscious and responsible for the risk profile of their own work.
• Collaborative by default, working closely with the Senior Analyst and wider team.

Measures of Success

• Architectures are well documented, peer reviewed, technically sound, and meet security and governance standards.
• Solutions built and deployed achieve high availability, low error rates, and strong adoption by legal teams.
• Solutions demonstrably generate or protect fee income without write offs attributable to architectural decisions.
• No material security incidents, data breaches, or client confidentiality failures arising from these architectures.
• Scoped engagements are delivered within agreed timeframes, especially in live transaction contexts.
• Internal legal teams, partners, and clients express confidence in the technical solutions design.
• Senior Analyst and wider team receive clear, actionable technical direction enabling effective execution.
• The two roles operate as a coherent unit.

Working Pattern & Location

Full time - Belfast - Permanent contract.

Diversity & Inclusion

We are committed to attracting people from all backgrounds and creating a respectful and inclusive culture where everyone thrives.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

HerbertSmithFreehillsKramer provides equal employment opportunities and we do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, or any other protected characteristic.