Senior Manager: Practice Management (Corporate)
About the role
Mayer Brown is seeking a Senior Manager: Practice Management to join our Administration department in our New York office. This role supports and drives the effective operation of the Corporate Practice.
Responsibilities
Operational Excellence: Partner with the Director to advance Practice and firm strategic initiatives, take responsibility for implementation and follow-through. Maintain strong working relationships with business services teams to ensure seamless support for the Practice.
Oversee day-to-day operational processes to optimize quality, efficiency and utilization of technology and resources. Ensure firm-wide tools and systems are effectively adopted within the Practice; identify gaps and opportunities for improvement.
Identify operational issues proactively and recommend improvements to procedures, controls, and workflows. Support the Director in preparing agendas, materials and action items for key meetings; track progress and drive accountability.
Perform other operational duties as needed to support Practice goals.
Talent Development
Monitor attorney productivity and utilization in coordination with HR and Legal Resources teams. Contribute to initiatives that promote attorney engagement, culture and community within the Practice.
Contribute to initiatives that promote attorney engagement, culture and community within the Practice.
Financial Management
Work with Accounting and the Director to ensure reliable financial reporting that supports operational and strategic decisions. Help review financial performance and trends with the Director and Practice leadership.
Identify and escalate attorney business practice issues (e.g., time entry, aged WIP/A/R) and support partners in resolving them. Liaise with billing, eBilling, and records teams to ensure financial operations run efficiently.
Support operational budget analysis and expense monitoring in partnership with the Director and Accounting.
Collaboration Across Teams
Lead or support the implementation of firm-wide initiatives within the Practice; act as the key operational liaison for cross-functional projects. Support change management efforts, working closely with IT, Innovation and other teams to coordinate rollout, adoption and training for new tools or processes.
Identify opportunities to leverage knowledge management, legal project management and other business services to improve efficiency and profitability. Work with innovation teams to explore new technologies and drive continuous improvement.
Client Development and Market Prominence
Support the Director and Practice leadership in developing and executing operational components of the Practice’s strategic plan. Partner with Business Development & Marketing to develop and implement business plans for the Practice and its Product Areas.
Absorb and track progress against business plan objectives and ensure support for related initiatives. Assist partners with identifying and pursuing cross-selling opportunities in coordination with BD & Marketing.
Qualifications, Experience and Personal Attributes
Bachelor’s degree required.
Minimum of 6 years of related experience, such as business or financial management within a law firm or legal operations role.
Experience of coordination or leading change in a legal or professional services environment.
Understanding of legal industry.
Understanding of Corporate practice and its products, including M&A, PE and Funds.
Proficiency in Microsoft Office products and ability to learn and work in various software applications as needed.
Strong data and financial analytics skillset.
Experience of working with legal technology.
Performance Traits:
Strong executive presence.
Strong customer service skills and high degree of emotional intelligence, able to anticipate needs and exercise independent judgement while teaming and navigating a high-performance environment.
Comfortable taking input and direction from multiple sources, synthesizing, and finding common ground to ensure key initiatives move forward.
Self-starter with a high level of initiative.
Strong attention to detail, organizational skills and the ability to handle multiple projects.
Exercises solid strategic thinking and problem-solving skills.
Strong written and verbal communication skills, able to communicate effectively and in a professional manner with all levels of the Firm and outside vendors.
Maintains confidentiality and exercises discretion.
Able to determine and implement change processes to improve workflow efficiencies.
Process and service-oriented with strong leadership and project management skills.
Able to set priorities and delegate in an efficient manner.
Physical Requirements
May require travel to other offices as needed.
Compensation and Benefits
The typical pay scale for this position is between USD $180,000.00/Yr. and USD $240,000.00/Yr., although the actual wage or salary could be lower or higher if the candidate's education, experience, skills and internal pay alignment are different from those specified.