Attorney Development Manager (Private Capital Transactions)

About the firm

Ropes & Gray is a preeminent global law firm ranked in the top three on The American Lawyer's A-List for eight consecutive years and #1 on Law.com's UK A-List twice in the past three years. The firm has approximately 2,500 lawyers and professionals serving clients in major centers of business, finance, technology, and government across Boston, Chicago, Dublin, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, Milan, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Seoul, Shanghai, Silicon Valley, Singapore, Tokyo, and Washington, D.C. The firm is recognized for leading practices in asset management, private equity, M&A, finance, real estate, tax, antitrust, life sciences, health care, intellectual property, litigation & enforcement, privacy & cybersecurity, and business restructuring.

About the role

The Attorney Development Manager is responsible for the development of attorneys across the firm’s practice groups. This includes overseeing attorney development and practice group initiatives, engaging practice group leaders and attorney development partners (ADPs) to develop attorneys, collaborating with other attorney development managers and specialists to staff associates and manage workloads, overseeing a robust performance review process, participating in strategic workforce planning, and supporting practice and specialty group administrative needs.

Responsibilities

• Partner with practice and specialty group leaders and ADPs to integrate staffing and training opportunities for associates' growth and development.
• Coordinate the assignment and reassignment of work to associates and monitor assignments across all offices.
• Expose lawyers to assignments with all members of the appropriate departments, practice, and specialty groups, as well as all aspects of the practice.
• Work with department heads, practice and specialty group leaders, and ADPs to maintain the integration of professional development goals into the assignment process.
• Integrate practice group planning into the assignment process and facilitate work assignments with other firm departments as necessary.
• Help maintain an appropriate level of pro bono work within departments and practice groups.
• Collaborate with practice and specialty group leaders and ADPs to address individual development needs of associates.
• Facilitate frequent feedback between partners and associates and organize regular department, practice, and specialty group partner meetings.
• Maintain records on individual associates pertaining to their development and assist with associate feedback processes.
• Partner with ADPs to ensure associates receive clear, actionable feedback and strategies for achieving their goals.
• Track, aggregate, and analyze associate metrics including availability and utilization rates.
• Partner with department heads and practice group leaders to achieve individual and group productivity goals.
• Collaborate with practice and specialty group leaders to plan for future workforce needs.
• Work with the Hiring & Development Committee, recruiting, strategic attorney planning, and attorney support to share information on capacity projections and target planning.
• Contribute to the planning, design, and implementation of a comprehensive formal skills training program.
• Assist with and support other professional development initiatives, including recruiting, orientation, training camps, mentoring programs, and other initiatives.
• Partner with recruiting, attorney talent, and professional development teams to integrate new and lateral associates.
• Collaborate with recruiting on summer associate trainings and social events.
• Develop strategic programming for associates in collaboration with professional development and practice groups.
• Provide hands-on support to department heads and practice group leaders in multiple offices, including international offices.

Qualifications

• J.D. and at least 4 to 6 years of practice experience, preferably at a peer law firm, or at least 5 years of experience in human resources at a similar professional services organization.
• A minimum of 2 years of prior experience in staffing, professional development, or practice support is strongly preferred.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, particularly Excel; knowledge of electronic databases such as viDesktop is a plus.
• Strong communication, interpersonal, and organizational skills.
• Ability to work independently and flexibly while managing multiple tasks simultaneously.
• Ability to command the respect of attorneys and maintain highly confidential and sensitive information.
• Ability to assimilate information quickly and exercise independent judgment in problem-solving.
• Energetic orientation with a drive to accomplish goals under tight deadlines.

Pay

The anticipated pay range for this role is $150,100 - $240,150 for the Boston location. The actual offered rate will be determined based on qualifications, experience, geographic location, education, external market data, and internal equity. In addition, this role is eligible for a discretionary bonus based on performance.

Schedule

This position requires hybrid on-site presence as an essential function of the role. Consistent and predictable on-site presence is required for ongoing business continuity, professional development, and effective collaboration with colleagues and management.