Business Development Manager – Private Funds

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.

Ropes & Gray is recognized for its 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 Business Development at Ropes & Gray

The Business Development department's objective is to grow firm revenue, market share, and client relationships in alignment with firm and practice goals. The team collaborates with partners, attorneys, and business support colleagues to achieve these objectives in a collaborative environment.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute business development and marketing efforts to generate new business and improve market visibility for the private funds and sponsor solutions group.
• Collaborate with practice group partners and global teams to develop and implement business and client development plans, including budget planning, expense monitoring, and identifying joint initiatives to grow revenue and relationships.
• Drive AI adoption across the Business Development function by promoting proficiency in AI tools and integrating them into day-to-day activities such as proposals, RFPs, prospecting, market intelligence, and event strategy.
• Establish and maintain internal reporting and communication frameworks to track progress and support management reporting across practice groups.
• Manage and drive the development of existing client relationships and pursue new engagements by:
  • Organizing and participating in internal business development meetings, creating agendas, capturing action steps, and driving follow-up.
  • Developing expertise in private equity, private funds, and asset management industries through research and market intelligence.
  • Project managing client, market, and competitor research, tailoring data for partner or client consumption.
• Monitor and identify market opportunities and private-equity-driven trends for client engagement.
• Drive pitching and new business generation by:
  • Project managing and executing large pitches, proposals, and RFPs, including developing winning strategies and writing aspects of the pitch.
  • Working with finance to develop compelling fee arrangements.
  • Maintaining accountability for timely and accurate completion and submission of RFPs or pitches, including follow-up action steps.
  • Maintaining up-to-date pitch content, practice materials, client information, and experience tracking.
• Promote best practices and knowledge sharing across global business development and marketing teams.
• Act as a trusted advisor to attorney teams for scoping, preparing, and providing post-pitch feedback.
• Work with the marketing team to:
  • Identify opportunities for integrated branding and profile-raising campaigns.
  • Assess market conference opportunities and advise on participation.
  • Support the development of attorney-facing business development training.
• Proactively build networks with adjacent practice and industry groups and communicate the private funds and sponsor solutions groups' value proposition.
• Manage and develop junior members of the business development team, fostering a culture of teamwork, accountability, and continuous improvement.

Qualifications

• Superior client service skills with the ability to establish credibility with partners and stakeholders.
• Commercially minded, solutions-oriented, and able to work effectively in a team.
• Excellent organization, communication, and project management skills with strong attention to detail.
• Ability to communicate effectively with all levels of attorneys and business professionals.
• Experience writing in a professional services environment.
• Ability to set clear goals, multitask, and meet multiple deadlines in a dynamic environment.
• Creative, flexible, and able to manage shifting demands and opportunities.
• Ability to thrive in a challenging and fast-paced legal environment.

Education and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree required; MBA or JD helpful but not required.
• Minimum of eight years of experience in business development within a professional services firm or corporate environment.
• Demonstrated knowledge of private equity, asset management, investment management, and/or financial services is preferred.
• Professional experience, including management of direct reports.

Pay

The anticipated pay range for this role is listed below and represents the firm’s good faith and reasonable estimate of the starting salary range at the time of posting. The actual offered rate will be determined based on qualifications, experience, geographic location, and internal equity. In addition, this role is eligible for a discretionary bonus based on performance.

• Boston: $150,100 - $240,150
• New York: $161,000 - $257,600

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.