Resource Manager (Disputes & Risk)

Osborne Clarke; Bagstone; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working

Job summary

Osborne Clarke is seeking a Resource Manager for the Disputes & Risk practice in Bristol or London, offering hybrid working. The role involves allocating client work, supporting fee earners’ development, and advising Partners to optimise productivity and profitability across the practice group.

You will partner with HR and Knowledge teams, monitor workloads and utilisation, and drive process improvements, including use of technology and secondment opportunities.

Qualifications

• Experience as a disputes fee earner and ability to work with partners and service line leaders.
• Strong stakeholder management and change delivery skills.
• Ability to manage workload, staffing and staffing profitability in a law firm context.

Responsibilities

• Allocate client work to ensure staffed matters are profitable and balanced.
• Build trusted relationships with Partners and Service Line Leaders to understand client needs.
• Support career development and progression of fee earners.
• Collaborate with HR, Knowledge and Sales & Marketing on development programmes.
• Monitor workload, holiday planning and utilisation levels; flag over/under utilization.
• Champion use of alternative resources and technology to drive productivity.

Skills

Disputes fee earner experience

Stakeholder management

Resource management

People development

Profitability focus

Hybrid working coordination

Job description

Role profile

We are looking for a Resource Manager with previous fee earner experience to join our highly regarded Disputes & Risk practice group in either our Bristol or London office, offering hybrid working. Reporting into the Practice Group's Operations Director, this role works with the Disputes & Risk management team and Lead D&R Resource Manager to manage client work allocation across the lawyer teams, support career development, and be a trusted advisor to Partners in order to optimise the productivity and profitability of the Practice Group.

Key Responsibilities

The primary responsibility of the Resource Manager is to allocate client work to ensure all matters are staffed effectively, profitably, and in a way that supports balanced and fair workloads and helps fee earners career development and progression. You will need to build strong trusted relationships with Partners and Service Line Leaders to develop a deep understanding of their client requirements. Understanding the need to deliver the strategic objectives of the practice group and firm is important. The candidate will work alongside the Lead D&R Resource Manager to facilitate effective resourcing decisions and support the technical development of lawyers, workplace wellbeing and support career progression and performance management. As a member of the D&R Operations team, you will also work closely with the HR and Knowledge teams to develop and implement training and development programmes that help deliver excellent client service and overall high performance, and deliver elements of the practice group's business strategy. Role will include (but not be limited to):

• Working with the Practice Group Head, Operations Director, and Lead Resource & Operations Manager to build on resourcing foundations that improve the work allocation process
• Monitoring resource requirements for client matters, anticipating and managing periods of increased/ reduced busyness across individuals, service lines and the whole Practice Group
• Providing supervising Partners with valuable insights and recommendations for lawyers to work on matters based on a deep understanding of fee earners skills and development needs, as well as understanding of their short, medium and long term career aspirations
• Investing time with lawyers to build trust and maintain relationships and to understand workload and career aspirations
• Supporting fee earners with their career progression through matching their skills and interests to client work opportunities
• Through deep knowledge of lawyer skills and client needs, collaborating with the HR and Sales & Marketing teams on other relevant initiatives, such as people development programmes, training and secondment opportunities
• Championing the use of alternative resources in order to drive productivity and profitability on client matters, including utilising support from Legal Project Managers, technology, OC Solutions, and fixed term contractors
• Attending service line management meetings to discuss workflow, ongoing needs, and utilisation levels
• Monitoring fee earner chargeable and non-chargeable hours and ensure any over or under-utilised resources are flagged, providing feedback to service line leaders and line managers
• Monitoring and managing fee earner holiday requests to ensure appropriate planning of holidays around periods of projected peak activity in client matters
• Support the development of best practice and/or process improvements, including implementing new technology, for effective delivery of client service
• Working with Knowledge to conduct matter debriefs, share key learnings across the Practice Group, and implement process improvements where appropriate
• Support annual lawyer performance management cycle
• Working with HR, partners and the leadership team on ideal structures (team size), taking into account anticipated client work pipeline, client mix, and progression of fee earners
• Working closely with the Practice Group's senior stakeholders, including the Operations Director and HR, to achieve the firm's dedication to diversity, the importance of an inclusive culture and positive financial growth as well as other strategic projects

Who we're looking for

The successful candidate will need to demonstrate: Experience working as a disputes fee earner The ability to build strong, trust based, working relationships with colleagues at all levels Strong stakeholder management skills, delivering change and experience in dealing with people at senior levels (Partner level in law firms)Ability to manage expectations of stakeholders across levels of seniorityProven experience in time management and working autonomously - responsiveness is critical to the role Ability to handle multiple and sometimes conflicting priorities to tight deadlinesAptitude to quickly learn the nature of the client facing services provided across the practice group's six service lines (Commercial Disputes, IP, Regulatory Disputes, Property Disputes, Construction & Engineering Disputes; Restructuring & Insolvency) and considerations for resourcing thisStrong verbal and written communication skills Strong understanding of, and ability to analyse performance data and present it back to the partner teamAbility to respond to change, be innovative and offer creative solutions Ability to work collaboratively and impartially across various teams

Salary and benefits

We offer competitive salaries and generous benefits. We value the health and wellbeing of our people and our wide range of initiatives and benefits support this.

About Us

Osborne Clarke is an international legal practice with over 330 Partners and more than 1,260 talented lawyers in 26 locations. Our sector-based approach enables us to help our clients tackle the issues they are facing today, and prepare for the ones that they will face tomorrow. Advising them both comprehensively and commercially. We love working closely with our clients on new deals, products and solutions which will transform their businesses, markets and even sectors. And our unique approachable culture is not an added extra, it's fundamental to our success. At Osborne Clarke we value difference and encourage applicants from all backgrounds. We want everyone to feel that OC is a place where you can be yourself and belong, and our range of interest groups and diversity networks - not to mention our great teams - are a part of making that a reality.