Client Accounts Operations Lead - Austin

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 supporting the firm’s strategic initiatives.

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, potentially supporting multiple managers and billing teams. The role involves analyzing and prioritizing responsibilities to ensure maximum contribution to the larger billing organization, including process and gap analysis, customized training, and mentoring for other staff members. The Operations Lead serves as a subject-matter expert in billing, provides temporary managerial support, and ensures cohesive full-cycle billing solutions for complex domestic and international billing books. This position may require work across various time zones and dynamic schedules based on business needs.

This position is located in our Austin office and offers a hybrid work schedule. Relocation is available in accordance with firm policy.

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 or managers.
• Handle internal assignments on an as-needed basis to support billing groups experiencing temporary production surges or resource shortfalls.
• Split time and work incrementally for multiple managers, supporting a large base of dynamically assigned billing attorneys.
• Review data for accuracy prior to submission and gather/submit accrual information based on client requirements.
• Research and resolve electronic billing rejections.
• Analyze client billing data and provide detailed reports to attorneys and support staff.
• Track and resolve tickets assigned by the Accounting Service Desk daily.
• Collaborate across multiple teams within Legal Support Services and Accounting to streamline billing and client account services.
• Analyze and prioritize responsibilities to maximize contribution to the billing organization, including process and gap analysis for training and mentoring.
• Maintain accurate descriptions of 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, build process-flow diagrams, and review internal processes for efficiency improvements.
• Apply best practices for communication and problem-solving, create standardized department reports, and document areas for improvement.
• Support projects, report progress, liaise with participants, and ensure task completion.
• Interface with IT and other departments to execute 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, and fielding billing inquiries.
• For global clients: Coordinate and lead unified billing, review data for accuracy, manage global client account assignments, and perform full-cycle billing functions.
• Create and maintain complex monthly reporting for both U.S. and global clients.
• Liaise with international attorneys and finance counterparts to obtain accurate accrual and forecasting information.
• 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 required.
• Serve as a point of escalation and Quality Analyst, providing support, guidance, mentoring, and training to junior staff.

Requirements

• 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.
• Expert-level knowledge and experience with direct billing or client accounts (domestic, global, and e-Billing) for a law firm or professional services organization.
• 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.
• Strong analytical skills and attention to detail, with the ability to identify efficiency improvements and coach others.
• Comfortable summarizing and communicating project scope and execution.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills, including Lookup and PivotTable functions.
• Organized, self-starting, and able to handle multiple projects and meet concurrent deadlines.
• Ability to prioritize assignments while providing backup billing support to multiple managers.

Qualifications

• Minimum: High School Diploma or GED.
• Preferred: Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, Accounting, Finance, or a related field.
• Minimum of 5 years’ senior-level legal billing experience managing high-volume billing portfolios in a fast-paced customer environment.

Essential Job Expectations

• Effectively communicate, verbally and in writing, with clients, lawyers, business professionals, and third parties.
• Produce deliverables, answer phone calls, and reply to correspondence efficiently and responsively.
• Provide timely, accurate, and quality work product while meeting deadlines and expectations.
• Foster positive work relationships and comply with all firm policies and practices.
• Engage in both physical and sedentary activities, such as working at a computer for extended periods, participating in virtual meetings, and attending in-person meetings as needed.
• Work under pressure and manage competing demands in a fast-paced environment.
• Perform all other assigned duties, tasks, or projects.

Physical Demands

Sedentary work: Exerting up to 10 pounds of force occasionally and/or a negligible amount of force frequently or constantly to lift, carry, push, pull, or move objects. Sedentary work involves sitting most of the time, with occasional walking and standing.