Director of Legal Engagement

About the role

The Director of Legal Engagement & Optimization will be a senior member of the Talent team, responsible for partnering with Business Group Leaders, Business Unit Leaders, and Attorney Leadership to drive strategic attorney staffing, workload optimization, development alignment, and talent sustainability across the Firm’s legal practices.

This role plays a critical connective function between practice leadership, practice management, recruiting, and training and development, performance and advancement teams to ensure that the Firm’s attorney resources are deployed effectively in support of client service, attorney growth, and Firm profitability.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement the Firm’s attorney staffing and resource optimization strategy, aligning matter demand, pipeline projections, attorney skill sets, seniority mix, and development needs with client service requirements across practices and offices.
• Establish and maintain staffing policies, workflows, and governance structures to support consistent, transparent, and equitable attorney work allocation.
• Analyze matter pipelines, demand forecasts, and utilization trends to identify staffing risks, hiring needs, leverage opportunities, and structural constraints.
• Collaborate with Business Group Leaders, Business Unit Leaders, and designated staffing attorneys to oversee attorney work assignment processes and proactively manage capacity, utilization, and workload balance.
• Track and interpret key attorney staffing and utilization metrics, translating insights into actionable recommendations that support productivity while balancing attorney development, engagement, and well-being.
• In close partnership with Training and Development and Performance and Advancement teams, support the attorney performance review cycle by helping ensure reviews are timely, calibrated, and grounded in workload and matter experience data.
• Collaborate with Practice Leaders to identify high-performing attorneys as well as attorneys facing specific challenges, facilitating targeted coaching, mentoring, or development interventions.
• Support the implementation of review feedback and development plans, working with Talent Team members to align attorneys’ matter exposure with growth and advancement goals.
• Partner with Strategic Growth, Legal Training, Practice Management and other business professionals to shape and support the successful onboarding, integration, and engagement strategies for all non-partner attorneys and paralegals.
• Partner with Business Directors on leading initiatives to enhance engagement, retention, and career satisfaction across attorney populations.
• Serve as Business Professional representative on Associate Leadership Committee.
• Manage and administer policies related to non-partner attorneys, including in-office attendance, hours, and bar admission policies. Provide hands-on support for attorney transitions, including internal moves, practice transfers, leaves, visas, secondments and separations, and coordinate outplacement or transition support when applicable. Ensure streamlined coordination and clear communication of firmwide policies, procedures, and available resources.
• Oversee annual salary and bonus programs for Associates, Staff Attorneys, Paralegals, and Specialists in close collaboration with CEO, CLO and COO.
• Advise partners and leadership on compensation decisions by analyzing performance data, market considerations, and internal equity.
• Provide strategic guidance and support related to advancement decisions, role changes, and career progression.
• Partner with Practice Leaders and Strategic Growth to identify attorney hiring priorities and role profiles, ensuring hiring decisions reflect evolving practice needs and capacity forecasts.
• Contribute to the design and execution of a robust onboarding and integration experience for new attorneys, supporting early engagement, productivity, and long-term retention.
• Collaborate with the Firm’s Diversity & Inclusion function to champion initiatives that support an inclusive, equitable attorney experience and strengthen engagement across practices.
• Partner with HR and Benefits teams to promote attorney well-being and sustainable workload practices.
• Support exit interviews and feedback analysis to identify systemic improvement opportunities related to attorney engagement, workload, and development.

Qualifications

• JD required; additional graduate degree (e.g., MBA) a plus.
• 12+ years of experience in a law firm or client-centered professional services environment, with demonstrated responsibility for attorney staffing, practice management, or resource optimization.
• Deep understanding of law firm economics, including utilization, leverage, realization, and the attorney life cycle.
• Strong analytical capability, with experience leveraging financial, utilization, and workforce data to inform strategy and decision-making.
• Proven ability to build credibility with attorneys and partners, and to influence across seniority levels, including equity stakeholders.
• Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to synthesize complex information and drive alignment.
• Highly collaborative, proactive, and comfortable operating in a matrixed, multi-office environment.
• Executive presence, judgment, and discretion in handling confidential and sensitive matters.
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage competing priorities and deadlines.
• Advanced proficiency in Excel, PowerPoint, and Word; experience with staffing or practice management systems preferred.
• Ability to travel as needed.

Pay

The base annual pay range for this role is between $200,000-$260,000. The base pay to be offered will vary and depend on skills and qualifications, experience and location. A full range of medical, financial and/or other benefits dependent on the position will also be offered.

Benefits

A full range of medical, financial and/or other benefits dependent on the position will also be offered.

Schedule

Not specified.

Skills

Not specified.

Benefits

Not specified.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Manatt is an equal opportunity employer, dedicated to a policy of non-discrimination in employment on any basis including race, color, physical or mental disability, religion, creed, national origin, citizenship status, ancestry, sex or gender (including gender identity, gender expression, status as a transgender or transsexual individual, pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), age (over 40), genetic information, past, current, or prospective service in the uniformed services, sexual orientation, political activity or affiliation, genetic or and any other protected classes or characteristic protected under applicable federal, state, or local law. Consistent with the American Disabilities Act, applicants may request accommodations needed to participate in the application process.

This employer will provide the Social Security Administration (SSA) and, if necessary, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), with information from each new employee’s Form I-9 to confirm work authorization.

IMPORTANT: If the Government cannot confirm that you are authorized to work, this employer is required to provide you written instructions and an opportunity to contact SSA and/or DHS before taking adverse action against you, including terminating your employment.

Employers may not use E-Verify to pre-screen job applicants or to re-verify current employees and may not limit or influence the choice of documents presented for use on the Form I-9. In order to determine whether Form I-9 documentation is valid, this employer uses E-Verify’s photo screening tool to match the photograph appearing on some permanent resident and employment authorization cards with the official U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) photograph.