Job description
General Summary:
At Alston & Bird, an international law firm, we take pride in our work through impactful communication, collaboration, and community involvement. Our company culture has been recognized on Fortune magazines “100 Best Companies to Work For©" for 23 years in a row. This accolade, along with many others, fosters a continuous drive for innovation and professional development amongst our employees. Here at Alston & Bird, we have built a foundation of trust, consistency, and humanity that contributes to our overall success.
ROLE SUMMARY
The position of Data Scientist/Analytics Engineer will work with the latest machine learning and AI frameworks to create cutting-edge solutions to business needs within the firm. This will involve collaborating with various practice groups and departments to understand their needs and identify opportunities where analytics tools can address challenges and improve workflow. The candidate will facilitate analytics projects ranging from conducting statistical analysis on firm data to creating applications that leverage state-of-the-art machine learning models for predictive tools. Additionally, the candidate will evaluate 3rd-party analytics products, which will sometimes involve building a similar version, both to vet the quality of the product and assess the feasibility of developing in-house alternatives. The candidate will present findings to management and attorneys and encourage engagement with emerging technology within the firm. Essential Duties:
Alston & Bird LLP is an Equal Opportunity Employer does not discriminate on the bases of any status protected under federal, state, or local law. Applicants will be considered regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition (associated with cancer, a history of cancer, or genetic characteristics), HIV/AIDS status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, military and veteran status, or other protected category under the law on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, national origin, veteran status or disability in relation to our recruiting, hiring, and promoting practices.
The statements contained in this position description are not necessarily all-inclusive, additional duties and responsibilities may be assigned and requirements may vary from time to time.
Alston & Bird is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities. If, because of a medical condition or disability, you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process, please email brennan.fulton@alston.com and let us know the nature of your request and your contact information.
Professional business references and a background check will be required for all final applicants selected for a position.
Alston & Bird is not currently accepting resumes from agencies for this position. If you are a recruiter, search firm, or employment agency, you will not be compensated in any way for your referral of a candidate even if Alston & Bird hires the candidate.
THE FIRM
At Alston & Bird, an international law firm, we take pride in our work through impactful communication, collaboration, and community involvement. Our company culture has been recognized on Fortune magazines “100 Best Companies to Work For©" for 23 years in a row. This accolade, along with many others, fosters a continuous drive for innovation and professional development amongst our employees. Here at Alston & Bird, we have built a foundation of trust, consistency, and humanity that contributes to our overall success.
ROLE SUMMARY
The position of Data Scientist/Analytics Engineer will work with the latest machine learning and AI frameworks to create cutting-edge solutions to business needs within the firm. This will involve collaborating with various practice groups and departments to understand their needs and identify opportunities where analytics tools can address challenges and improve workflow. The candidate will facilitate analytics projects ranging from conducting statistical analysis on firm data to creating applications that leverage state-of-the-art machine learning models for predictive tools. Additionally, the candidate will evaluate 3rd-party analytics products, which will sometimes involve building a similar version, both to vet the quality of the product and assess the feasibility of developing in-house alternatives. The candidate will present findings to management and attorneys and encourage engagement with emerging technology within the firm.
- Serve as a subject-matter expert on various analytics tools such as statistical programming, deep learning, and machine learning algorithms and provide this expertise throughout Alston & Bird as needed
- Communicate with senior level business management and lawyers to facilitate a mutual understanding of what analytics tools are available and how these tools can be applied to the firm’s high-level strategic initiatives
- Design and manage analytics projects that address challenges and firm needs when vendor solutions are not available
- Implement state-of-the-art Natural Language Processing (NLP) models and use transfer learning to train models for a wide array of text classification and entity recognition tasks
- Develop prototypes of legal applications that make use of NLP models, such as tools for document automation, document classification, and legal research
- Evaluate and assess 3rd-party analytics products in terms of their quality and applicability to the needs of various Practice Groups
- Collaborate with Practice Innovation, Finance and other IS groups to integrate vendor products and in-house applications with the firm’s existing IT infrastructure
- Present the findings of analytics projects at firm workshops
- Monitor how analytics tools are being used across the firm and work to increase employee engagement with these tools
- Maintain an up-to-date knowledge of the latest research and developments in machine learning, NLP, and legal analytics.
- Develop and manage relationships with Alston & Bird attorneys and staff
- Participate in relevant networking and educational events, developing relationships with peers and vendors
- Monitor industry news, trends and follow changes in vendor developments and roadmaps
- Understand industry standards and best practices in working with LTI and KM tools
- Achieve and maintain relevant professional certifications, licenses, and skills
- Ensure transparency and timely communication to the Senior Director of Legal Technology Innovation for all projects, initiatives, and issues
- Performs other tasks and duties as assigned
- Experience working on legal analytics projects in a law firm or legal setting required
- An understanding of legal technology applications
- Highly proficient in Python, SQL, or equivalents
- Advanced skills using statistical analysis packages including Pandas, NumPy, and SkLearn
- Ability to implement neural network models using deep learning frameworks such as Keras, PyTorch, and Tensorflow
- Ability to use transfer learning to address unique and highly custom problems with limited data and an understanding of concepts like finetuning and adapter learning.
- Strong candidates will be able integrate their models into scalable, user-friendly applications that can be served across the firm
- Strong experience with Power BI or familiarity with other data visualization software is desired
- Experience with API application development
- Excellent organizational, analytical, and problem-solving skills
- Excellent communication skills are critical as the Data Scientist must be able to clearly articulate complex concepts to both business users and project teams
- Prior experience with intranets, extranets, search solutions, legal research and analytics resources, document management systems, and other legal technology software desired.
- Prior experience with document automation, machine learning, data analytics and other advanced technology for delivering legal services required
- Demonstrated aptitude to learn new software and technical concepts
- Ability to focus on high-tedium detail, work independently with little direction, work on a team and recognize when to seek guidance from others.
EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE
Required:
- A Masters degree in computer science, analytics, or a related field
- 2 years of experience in professional and/or legal services industry
Preferred:
- 4+ years of experience in professional and/or legal services industry
If selected for an interview, a representative from Alston & Bird will contact you. To make sure you're a good fit for Alston & Bird and we're a good fit for you, be prepared for an in-depth interview process.
Alston & Bird LLP is an Equal Opportunity Employer does not discriminate on the bases of any status protected under federal, state, or local law. Applicants will be considered regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition (associated with cancer, a history of cancer, or genetic characteristics), HIV/AIDS status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, military and veteran status, or other protected category under the law on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, national origin, veteran status or disability in relation to our recruiting, hiring, and promoting practices.
The statements contained in this position description are not necessarily all-inclusive, additional duties and responsibilities may be assigned and requirements may vary from time to time.
Alston & Bird is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities. If, because of a medical condition or disability, you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process, please email brennan.fulton@alston.com and let us know the nature of your request and your contact information.
Professional business references and a background check will be required for all final applicants selected for a position.
Alston & Bird is not currently accepting resumes from agencies for this position. If you are a recruiter, search firm, or employment agency, you will not be compensated in any way for your referral of a candidate even if Alston & Bird hires the candidate.
blackflymedia.com is the go-to platform for job seekers looking for the best job postings from around the web. With a focus on quality, the platform guarantees that all job postings are from reliable sources and are up-to-date. It also offers a variety of tools to help users find the perfect job for them, such as searching by location and filtering by industry. Furthermore, blackflymedia.com provides helpful resources like resume tips and career advice to give job seekers an edge in their search. With its commitment to quality and user-friendliness, blackflymedia.com is the ideal place to find your next job.