How Legal Engineering Complements Legal Ops

Legal engineering is emerging as a key function within in-house legal departments, expanding their use of automation, artificial intelligence (AI), and increasingly complex technology. Legal engineering complements legal ops, translating strategy into practical, technology-driven solutions, writes Brightflag’s Adam Moursy.

According to the American Bar Association, legal engineers combine legal expertise with technology to improve workflows and encourage innovation. Moursy notes that the role has evolved beyond advising on technology, with legal engineers now expected to build and deploy automated solutions, configure systems, and work with code or AI-assisted development tools. That capability is becoming increasingly important. While many legal departments are using AI, relatively few have implemented it across their organizations in a structured way.

A legal engineer’s role centers on designing automated workflows, integrating legal technology with broader business systems, and organizing legal data to support scalable automation and reporting. Rather than simply identifying opportunities for improvement, legal engineers turn those opportunities into functioning systems that reduce repetitive work and strengthen operational efficiency. 

Moursy distinguishes legal engineering from legal ops while acknowledging significant overlap. Legal ops professionals typically focus on departmental strategy, operational performance, legal spend, vendor management, and alignment with business objectives. Legal engineers, by contrast, concentrate on the technical implementation of automation, workflow development, system integration, and AI deployment. In organizations with smaller legal teams, one individual may perform responsibilities associated with both functions.

Although responsibilities and job titles continue to evolve, the combination of legal knowledge, technical expertise, and system-building capabilities is likely to become more common within mid-sized and large in-house legal departments. While the article focuses on how legal engineering complements legal operations, Moursy acknowledges that demand for legal engineers is expected to grow alongside continued AI adoption and increasingly sophisticated legal technology environments.