The Senior AI Lawyer – M&A is a former M&A practitioner with 8 to 10+ years of substantive practice experience who has transitioned into building AI workflows for the M&A practice. This position reports to the M&A Practice and AI leadership.

This is a hands-on role focused on designing, building, and shipping AI-powered solutions tailored to M&A transactions. The Senior AI Lawyer is fluent in legal tech tools such as Harvey, Legora, Claude Cowork, and Claude Code, and uses them daily to develop, test, and deploy production-ready AI workflows.

The Senior AI Lawyer collaborates cross-functionally with Engineering, Data Science, KM Lawyers, Practice Solutions, and the M&A practice group to build AI workflows & ensure AI solutions meet the rigorous standards of M&A practice. This person serves as both a builder and a strategic resource—translating deep M&A legal reasoning into executable AI logic and ensuring M&A lawyers are equipped to leverage AI confidently and effectively.

Essential Job Duties & Responsibilities

• Lead the hands-on design, development, and deployment of AI workflows for the M&A practice

• Fine tune models on M&A knowledge helping build reusable workflow for the Practice

• Use tools such as Harvey, Legora, DeepJudge, Claude Cowork, Claude Code daily to build, test, refine, and ship production-quality AI solutions; maintain deep fluency in these tools and stay current with new capabilities

• Collaborate cross-functionally with Engineering, Data Science, KM Lawyers and Practice Solutions to translate M&A legal reasoning and practice-specific logic into executable, reliable AI workflows

• Partner with the M&A Practice Leadership to develop and execute strategies that drive sustained adoption of AI within the M&A practice

• Proactively identify high-impact M&A use cases for AI—from initial deal screening and due diligence to signing and closing—and work with AI leadership to prioritize workflow development based on practice needs and business value

• Test, evaluate, and iterate on AI workflows with a seasoned practitioner’s eye: review AI outputs against legal first principles, refine prompts and workflow logic, and ensure accuracy, consistency, and defensibility

• Build and maintain datasets, test sets, and evaluation frameworks for use in proofs of concept, pilots, and ongoing solution development; conduct structured testing to validate workflow quality

• Oversee the governance and lifecycle management of AI assets in M&A —including prompts, prompt libraries, workflows, vaults, and document collections—by establishing quality standards, conducting periodic reviews, and coordinating updates or retirement of outdated materials

• Design, prepare, and deliver AI training, workshops, and best-practice resources for M&A lawyers; mentor attorneys on effective use of AI tools and workflows to build practice-wide capability

• Support adherence to the Firm’s AI policies and applicable professional responsibility standards by advising M&A lawyers on ethical and risk considerations in AI use, including confidentiality, privilege, data privacy, and output reliability

• Share successful M&A use cases, prompt templates, and best practices across other practice groups to promote Firm-wide consistency, reduce duplication of effort, and accelerate AI adoption

• Evaluate, test, and provide structured feedback on new AI technologies being considered by the Firm, including participating in demonstrations, proofs of concept, and pilots; assess vendor tools against M&A-specific criteria and communicate findings to relevant stakeholders

• Monitor developments in AI, legal technology, and M&A practice and continuously identify opportunities to leverage AI for process improvement, deal efficiency, and enhanced client service

Education Requirements

• J.D. or equivalent

Skills & Experience Requirements

• 8-10 years of practice experience as a lawyer in mergers and acquisitions, with deep knowledge of M&A transactions, due diligence processes, and related legal documents (purchase agreements, merger agreements, disclosure schedules, ancillary deal documents)

• Meaningful legal technology and/or AI experience, including meaningful exposure to AI tools such as Harvey, Legora, Claude Cowork, Claude Code, or similar platforms

• Demonstrated experience of building and shipping AI workflows—not just using or advising on AI tools, but designing, developing, testing, and deploying solutions end-to-end

• Deep understanding of how M&A legal reasoning, due diligence analysis, and transaction document review translate into structured, executable AI logic

• Outstanding communication skills, both written and verbal, with the ability to effectively engage technical and non-technical audiences alike

• Experience working cross-functionally with Engineering, Data Science, KM Lawyers, and practice groups; comfort navigating matrixed organizations

• Strong project management, organizational, and analytical skills with exceptional attention to detail

• Self-starter and highly motivated; comfort championing AI adoption and leading change within a practice group

• Confidence in teaching, coaching, and mentoring lawyers on AI tools and workflows

• Strong customer service orientation and prompt response time to incoming requests

Salary Information

Simpson Thacher will not sponsor applicants for work visas for this position.

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