Client Account Operations Lead - CT/ET

DLA Piper is a bold, exceptional, collaborative, and supportive firm where our people are the backbone, heart, and soul. This role offers the opportunity to engage in meaningful work and grow your career while collaborating with a dynamic team.

About the role

The Client Accounts Operations Lead is an advanced-level Legal Biller with analytical and job-priority sequencing responsibilities. This position dynamically manages the firm’s top-tier billing portfolios on an as-needed basis, supporting multiple managers and billing teams. Responsibilities include analyzing and prioritizing tasks to maximize contribution to the billing organization, conducting process and gap analysis, and providing customized training and mentoring to staff. The role serves as a subject-matter expert in billing, offering temporary managerial support, and ensuring cohesive full-cycle billing solutions for complex domestic and international billing books. This position may require working across various time zones and dynamic schedules based on business needs.

Location

This remote position can be based in one of the following offices: Chicago, Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, Northern Virginia, Philadelphia, Raleigh, Short Hills, Washington, DC, or Wilmington. The role offers a hybrid work schedule.

Responsibilities

• Provide temporary managerial support in the absence of designated regional managers.
• Serve as a functional supplemental senior-level billing resource during absences, unplanned vacancies, or periods of increased workload.
• Act as a subject-matter expert to provide legal billing surge support for multiple regional billing teams and managers.
• Handle internal assignments to support billing groups experiencing temporary production surges or resource shortfalls, including splitting time across multiple managers and billing attorneys.
• Review data for accuracy prior to submission and gather accrual information based on client requirements.
• Research and resolve electronic billing rejections, client billing data, and provide detailed analysis to attorneys and support staff.
• Track and resolve tickets assigned by the Accounting Service Desk on a daily basis.
• Collaborate with multiple teams within Legal Support Services and Accounting to streamline billing and client account services.
• Analyze and prioritize responsibilities to ensure maximum contribution to the billing organization, including process and gap analysis for training and mentoring.
• Maintain accurate client billing requirements, including guidelines from the client’s general counsel, and update them as necessary.
• Interact with billing stakeholders to understand business problems and define solution requirements.
• Analyze legal billing processes and systems, develop business cases, build metrics, and perform reporting. Document and communicate functional and system requirements, and create process-flow diagrams.
• Apply best practices for communication and problem-solving, create standardized department reports, analyze data, and document areas for improvement.
• Support projects, report efforts, liaise with project participants, and follow up to ensure effective communication and task completion.
• Interface with IT and various departments to support cross-functional project requirements, perform system testing, and validate requirements.
• For U.S. clients: Support the full billing cycle, including reviewing and editing proformas, seeking approvals for deferrals, write-offs, and time transfers. Field billing inquiries from support groups and attorneys. Create and maintain complex monthly reporting.
• For global clients: Coordinate and lead global client unified billing, including reviewing data for accuracy, managing global client account assignments, and performing full-cycle billing functions. Create and maintain complex monthly reporting. Liaise with international attorneys and finance counterparts for accrual and forecasting information. Troubleshoot issues and ensure timely invoicing within budget.
• Generate global client LEDES files for electronic billing based on client requirements.
• Develop training programs to ensure consistent billing processes and provide training to attorneys and staff as needed.
• Finalize and submit invoices directly to clients or provide them to attorneys for transmission, including other billing information as needed.
• Serve as a point of escalation and quality analyst to support and coach junior specialists, providing guidance, mentoring, and training.

Skills

• Advanced on-the-job experience as a senior-level Legal Biller.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills for interacting with colleagues and business stakeholders.
• Advanced billing experience with a major law firm in finance or billing assignments.
• Expert-level knowledge and experience with direct billing or client accounts, including domestic, global, and e-billing for law firms or professional services organizations.
• Strong knowledge of the Aderant Legal Billing accounting system.
• Proficiency in e-billing applications such as e-Hub or Bill Blast.
• Team-oriented with the ability to work collaboratively in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong attention to detail and accuracy in proofreading.
• Ability to troubleshoot and resolve complex problems independently while taking direction well.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to recognize opportunities for efficiency improvements and coach others on industry and process optimization.
• Comfortable summarizing and communicating project scope and execution.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills, including Lookup and PivotTable functions.
• Organized, self-starter with the ability to handle multiple projects and meet concurrent deadlines.
• Ability to prioritize assignments and provide backup billing support to multiple managers for a large base of dynamically assigned billing attorneys.

Requirements

• High School Diploma or GED (required).
• Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, Accounting, Finance, or a related field (preferred).
• Minimum of 5 years of senior-level legal billing experience managing high-volume billing portfolios in a fast-paced customer environment, including customer service and business analysis.

Essential Job Expectations

• Demonstrate excellence in serving clients and developing people, upholding firm values.
• Communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing, with clients, lawyers, business professionals, and external audiences.
• Produce high-quality work and respond to correspondence efficiently and professionally.
• Meet deadlines, manage competing priorities, and commit to high standards.
• Comply with firm policies and procedures.
• Maintain confidentiality as required in a law firm environment.

Physical Demands

This role primarily involves sedentary work, requiring occasional exertion of up to 10 pounds of force to lift, carry, push, pull, or move objects. It involves sitting for extended periods, with occasional walking and standing, and may include domestic or international travel.

Pay

The expected hiring range for this position is $89,991 - $137,126 per year, depending on the candidate’s geographic market location and experience.