Director, Litigation Department

New York, NY or Washington, DC

About the Firm

Our client is a premier, global, law firm with 1,000 lawyers located throughout 12 offices in the United States, Europe and Asia. Their lawyers work at the intersection of government, technology and business, and remain committed to their guiding principles of providing quality, excellent legal and client services; developing diversity among their lawyers and staff and cultivating an environment that promotes an ambitious spirit, collaboration and collegiality by drawing on the extraordinary talents and dynamic experience of their lawyers. Their goal is to reflect the diversity of their clients and the communities in which they practice.

Summary

The Director, Litigation works with the Chair and Vice Chairs of the department to manage the business operation of the Litigation Department. Manages a team of Practice Managers across offices to accomplish functional responsibilities addressing workload and staffing management; strategic planning activities; non-partner professional development; and financial and budget management.

Responsibilities

• Facilitates and assists with the development and implementation of the Department’s and Practice Groups’ strategic planning process.
• Facilitates communication across the department and all offices to proactively identify organizational issues, identify solutions and engage Department partner leadership as needed.
• Coordinates with Department partner leadership to develop agendas for regular departmental meetings and facilitates meetings.
• Directs activities of the Litigation Practice Management team overseeing all workload management needs. Works with individual partners to develop staffing and resource plans.
• Collaborates across the Practice Management Director team to support appropriate resource allocation and maximize cross-department staffing.
• Assists Department leadership with addressing timekeeper performance and productivity issues.
• Collaborates with members of Legal Personnel to support the CAP program and monitor professional development needs of non-partners and assists in the development of individual plans as needed. Works with the Professional Development & Training team to develop Departmental goals and objectives for professional development training programs.
• Collaborates with members of the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion team to ensure Department support of the broader goals and initiatives as established with the Executive Diversity and Inclusion Committee.
• Provides oversight and management of Department budget development and expenditures.
• Reviews monthly reports and provides analysis to Department partner leadership in preparation for partner meetings, management committee meetings, including workflow, productivity, headcount/FTE, and related statistics.
• Supports the Client Development Department with the preparation for client pitches and firm-wide RFP process.
• Participates in the lateral partner recruiting process assisting with the development and execution of detailed integration plans and is the direct liaison for all new lateral partners.
• Assists Department leadership with preparation for the annual partner compensation and new partner election processes.
• Collaborates with members of the Finance team assigned to the Department with various reporting requests as well as with the annual billing rate approvals and soft- as well as year-end collection activities.
• Provides administrative oversight for the Firm’s Trial Practice, including managing the related work of the Firmwide Manager of Trial Services across three major workstream areas: Knowledge Management; Marketing and Business Development; and Training and Professional Development.

Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor’s degree required, JD preferred
• Experience: 10 yrs. experience working in a professional services firm.Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to develop and nurture relationships with a broad array of individuals at varying levels of the firm.
• Self-directed and independently motivated.
• Strong problem-resolution and client service skills.
• Demonstrated technical experience or skills across multiple reporting platforms (e.g. Excel and PowerBi)

Compensation

$221,000-$276,000. Compensation depends on location, experience, and qualifications.

Firm is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin or ancestry, age, disability or veteran status, or other protected status.

This job description is intended to describe the general nature and level of the work being performed by employees in the position. It is not intended to be a complete list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills for positions. The firm reserves the right at all times, in its sole discretion, to add or subtract duties and responsibilities, as it deems necessary.