Business Development Manager

Mountain View, New York, San Francisco, Seattle or Santa Monica 

Summary

The Business Development Manager’s primary purpose is to accelerate the growth of key practices by extending their attorneys’ ability to develop business from current and prospective clients. This position can be based in any of their U.S. offices.
The Business Development Manager will: 1) organize internal business analysis, market research and competitive intelligence to identify promising opportunities for short-term and longer-term growth; 2) work with attorneys and business development staff to develop and coordinate business plans, sales materials and experience management efforts; 3) support partners in executing on business plans and closing new engagements; 4) be primarily responsible for high-profile RFPs; and 5) recommend overall improvements to the firm’s business development functions. 

Job Description

Sales material development and maintenance. Develop and continually update sales materials that highlight the attributes of the firm and its key practices.

Pitch support. Develop and prepare research, materials, teams and message points that will maximize partners’ ability to win pitches. Provide input to partners and pitch teams on sales strategy. Facilitate and/or conduct post-mortems on key pitches to gather information on the firm’s strengths and weaknesses.

Proposals. Draft proposals and manage the RFP process, including coordinating with the firm’s pricing group to develop budgets and pricing proposals.

Practice group support.  Work with practice group leaders to assess business development needs related to overall strategic plan implementation. Attend key practice group meetings. Develop and manage practice and industry-specific research and information that enable attorneys to “touch” clients and prospective clients on a regular basis.

Individual partner support.  Meet with partners in key practices to develop and implement business plans.  Monitor and support business development activities of those partners, including identifying targets, developing pursuit strategies and monitoring and supporting pursuit efforts.

Metrics and reporting.  Develop and maintain meaningful metrics that focus business development behavior, improve the efficiency of the firm’s business development efforts and demonstrate the value of the firm’s business development program.

Staff management and mentoring. Serve as the manager of the business development function, work with the business development staff to improve the efficiency of the department’s business development services, support professional development of business development coordinators and promote a positive work environment. 

Desired Skills and Qualifications

• Exemplary communication skills, both verbal and written, with a keen ability to capture, distill and accurately describe the firm’s services.
• A desire to continually learn and grow, both with best practices in law firm business development and with the firm’s legal practices, business practices and the industries and technologies of our clients.
• Affinity for technology, both externally, that which is germane to our clients, as well as internally to support innovative marketing and business development efforts.
• Strong problem-solving skills including the ability to anticipate problems as well as suggest and execute on solutions.
• Ability to prioritize ongoing tasks and significant projects for yourself and team members, as well as manage expectations of attorneys in relation to these projects.
• Strong customer service ethic and outstanding interpersonal skills, capable of working seamlessly with high level partners, marketing staff and colleagues in other administrative departments.
• Highly organized, efficient and extremely detailed oriented, with superior proofreading and fact checking skills.
• Intermediate to advanced understanding of technology industries (software, mobile, life sciences, cleantech, etc.) and legal services (venture capital, securities, IP litigation, etc.).
• Ability to write about complex legal and technical topics.
• Advanced Excel skill and proficiency in remaining MS Office suite (Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, SharePoint).
• Advanced search, data collection and reporting skills, including use of CRM tools and proprietary research databases.
• Capable of staying productive and accurate under pressure with tight deadlines (a sense of humor helps, too).
• Self-motivated, takes initiative and can work independently.

Reporting to the Director of Business Development, the qualified candidate will have 7+ years of professional services business development experience. Bachelor’s degree required; J.D. preferred.