Legal Project Manager
A&O Shearman

Job Info

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A&O Shearman is a new global industry-leading law firm, with nearly 50 offices in 29 countries worldwide. Our fluency in English law, US law, and the laws of the world's most dynamic markets, enables us to provide unmatched insight and seamless delivery to clients. We work on challenging and important deals and disputes that have the potential to shape the future.

We offer exceptional opportunities for our people; opportunities to work for the world's leading businesses; to transform the status quo, and to deliver your best work, helping you and your career to thrive, while delivering unparalleled outcomes for our clients.

Whether you're helping clients solve complex challenges, transforming the ways we manage our business, or ensuring the smooth-running of our operations, this is an environment where you can belong and excel. We provide first-rate training and development, we are committed to diversity, equity and inclusion and we provide support and ways of working that help you optimise your wellbeing.

What truly defines a career with us? We recruit the best and ask for the best of you. And together, we will redefine success.

Department purpose
The Project Management team is dedicated to providing legal project management tools, training and support to our lawyers to enhance the delivery of our legal work, setting us apart from our competitors. Additionally to support our most complex matters, the department provides legal project manager resource.

Role purpose

• The purpose of this role is to help increase efficiency, provide exceptional client service and increase profitability on our most complex matters through effective legal project management.
• This position will accelerate our ability to deliver tangible financial and non-financial benefits on selected key matters (in conjunction with the legal team), and to develop, coordinate, and implement consistent best practice across our firm.
• Working closely with Senior Legal Project Managers and lead partners, the Legal Project Manager (LPM) will assist the efficient management of sophisticated client engagements and will relieve busy lawyers of certain non-legal activities delegating to more junior members of the team as appropriate.
• The LPM will directly support those matters where management to the agreed commercial terms is critical, and where there are a large number of practice areas, fee earners or jurisdictions involved. Support will primarily be given by supporting client teams to better manage project scope and delivery, resulting in capturing out of scope revenue, minimizing write-offs, and improving overall matter efficiency.
• The LPM will help foster the integration of legal project management techniques into the culture of the firm and in specific client engagements through the utilization of the firm's technology, the deployment of firm resources, and by helping to engineer engagement plans that result in high value to the client, exceptional client service and high profitability for the firm.
• The LPM will be assisting with defining and implementing legal project management best practices throughout the firm through training and tool development.

The successful candidate will be a qualified junior or mid-level lawyer or will have experience as a Legal Project Manager and must be hard working, enthusiastic, a team player, have a high level of initiative and a willingness to learn. Advanced organizational skills, attention to detail and exemplary writing skills are key. The role is permanent and will involve direct client contact therefore excellent communication, professionalism and interpersonal skills are essential.

Role and responsibilities
Supporting the lead matter partner and matter manager through the lifecycle of our complex matters, specifically:

Planning Phase
Assisting the Senior Legal Project Manager with:

• Scoping; budgeting; setting up project phases
• Preparation of project plans / timelines for internal and external use
• Coordinating matter opening process
• Identifying stakeholders and establish a communication plan

Execution Phase
Assisting the Senior Legal Project Manager with:

• Coordinate work effort; status reporting; liaising with client and communicating progress; tracking scope changes
• Financial management: on-going monitoring of fees, run rates and other key financial metrics; regular updates to the client on fees and disbursement; review of fee-earner narratives to ensure they are to the client agreed format
• Updates to project plans / timelines
• Coordinate cross-departmental / jurisdictional activity
• Coordinate creation and execution of work plans
• Ensure effective communication with specialist departments and counsel (internal and external); and that the communication plan is adhered to
• Provide timely updates to matter partner and matter manager on potential issues identified
• Risk and change management

Review & Close Phase
Assisting the Senior Legal Project Manager with:

• Supporting the post-matter review process including update project plans / timelines; review matter finances; facilitate learning for future similar matters
• Ensure know-how is archived
• Coordinate matter closing process

More generally
Assisting the Senior Legal Project Manager with:

• Identify improvements to work product and processes and support implementation of their improvement
• Maintain a close relationship with support departments to communicate potential improvements to software and systems
• Introduce new working efficiencies where appropriate and coach team
• The position will require the skills of an individual capable of facilitating process mapping planning sessions, data collection and analysis, implementing improvements and controls and leveraging technology and knowledge management solutions

Key requirements

• The role is also appropriate for a junior to mid-level lawyer or Staff Attorney from a magic or silver circle firm, who excels at matter management
• Experience of being involved in project management in a law firm or professional services firm on client facing, fee-earning legal projects, management experience a plus
• Demonstrated experience in leading and managing (to time and budget) workstreams within complex projects that are strategic and large in scope
• It is essential the incumbent is comfortable with financial management
• Advanced organizational and influencing skills, flexibility of style, attention to detail, and ability to multi-task in a fast-paced, detail-oriented environment
• Possess a high degree of initiative and independent judgment with excellent troubleshooting, decision-making, and follow-through skills
• Demonstrated ability to establish and maintain effective relationships with key stakeholders
• High-level interpersonal skills to facilitate communication in person, by email, and telephone with professionalism and diplomacy. Very strong facilitation and presentation skills
• Degree level qualification; desirable to have project management certification (e.g. PRINCE2)
• High level of proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite and Extranets, with strong technical skills and the ability to learn new applications quickly

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