Legal Operations Specialist

About the role

The Legal Operations Specialist will serve as the operational backbone of the Legal & Compliance Department, driving efficiency, cost discipline, and innovation across the function. This role is the bridge between legal strategy and business execution—owning the systems, processes, technology, and vendor relationships that enable lawyers to focus on high-value legal work. A core component of this role is championing the adoption and effective use of artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies within the legal function, ensuring lawyers and staff are equipped to leverage these tools to enhance productivity, quality, and speed.

Key Responsibilities

• Legal Operations Strategy & Continuous Improvement

• Design and implement a scalable legal operations framework aligned with Annaly's business-first legal model
• Translate Legal leadership priorities into practical processes, tools, and workflows that improve execution
• Partner with Legal and Compliance professionals to codify playbooks, templates, and decision frameworks

• Technology, AI & Process Optimization

• Own the legal technology stack—evaluate, implement, optimize, and maintain platforms such as e-billing, matter management, contract lifecycle management (CLM), and knowledge management systems
• Serve as the department's AI champion: identify, pilot, and deploy AI-powered tools (e.g., generative AI for drafting, contract review, legal research, document analysis, and presentations) to augment lawyer workflows and reduce manual effort
• Develop training programs, prompt-engineering guides, and best-practice playbooks to help attorneys, legal staff, and governance professionals adopt AI tools effectively, responsibly, and in compliance with ethical and data-governance standards
• Develop practical methods to measure and communicate the value delivered by AI tools and related process improvements

• Outside Counsel Management & Cost Discipline

• Design and oversee a comprehensive outside counsel management program, including panel selection, engagement guidelines, and performance tracking
• Enhance billing discipline, alternative fee arrangements, and rate negotiations to optimize spend
• Develop, manage, and report on the annual legal department budget, including spend forecasting and variance analysis

Required Qualifications & Skills

• Bachelor’s degree; relevant professional certification (e.g., CLOC) preferred
• At least 5 years of experience in legal operations, corporate governance support or a related operational role within a corporate legal department, corporate secretary's office, or law firm
• Demonstrated experience building or scaling legal operations functions, including systems, workflows, and metrics
• Proficiency across the legal technology landscape, including experience implementing and managing platforms such as CLM, e-billing, matter management, and knowledge management systems, as well as hands-on experience with AI tools in a legal or professional services context (e.g., prompt engineering, workflow automation, responsible AI governance)
• Strong understanding of outside counsel management, legal spend optimization, and budgeting frameworks
• Analytical mindset with proficiency in data analysis, reporting, and dashboarding tools
• Strong project management skills with the ability to execute across multiple initiatives and departments simultaneously
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills
• Self-motivated, proactive, and resourceful; takes initiative and ownership of responsibilities
• Champions the organization’s culture through daily actions, interactions, and decision-making

Eligibility Requirements

• Preference for being willing to work in New York, NY
• Must have unrestricted work authorization to work in the United States
• Must be willing to submit to a background investigation
• Must be willing to work additional hours as needed to complete deadline-driven projects

Compensation & Benefits

• The salary range for this position at commencement of employment is expected to be between $160,000 and $250,000/year; however, base salary offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, including market location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.
• The total compensation package for this position may also include other elements, such as a sign-on bonus, restricted stock units, and/or discretionary awards, in addition to robust health and wellness benefits, retirement savings, paid time off, tuition and learning reimbursement, back up childcare, paid parental leave and more.
• Additional details about total compensation and benefits will be provided during the hiring process.

About Annaly Capital Management

Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (“Annaly” or, together with its wholly-owned subsidiaries, the “Company”), is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) with investment strategies across mortgage finance. Its common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “NLY”. Annaly’s wholly-owned subsidiaries include several regulated and licensed entities, including Annaly Credit Opportunities Management LLC, an SEC registered investment adviser (“ACOM”), Arcola Securities, Inc., a FINRA member broker-dealer (“Arcola”) and, Onslow Bay Financial LLC, a mortgage aggregator and master servicer (“Onslow Bay”). The Company is headquartered in New York, NY with an additional office in the Dallas-Fort-Worth Metropolitan Area.