Senior Legal Project Manager

Slaughter and May; England; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

A prestigious law firm in London is seeking a Senior Legal Project Manager to join their Legal Project Management Team. This role calls for an experienced candidate to manage legal matters, ensuring best practices are followed and client expectations are met. Responsibilities include leading client presentations, managing project lifecycles, and training team members. Ideal candidates will have 2 years of experience in similar roles within a law firm and a strong academic background, along with excellent communication and organizational skills.

Qualifications

• Minimum 2 years' experience as a Senior Legal Project Manager or 4 years as a Legal Project Manager.
• Experience working directly with clients and senior stakeholders in a law firm.
• Confident with law firm financial reporting.

Responsibilities

• Support lawyers and clients on legal matters needing project management.
• Set up and maintain project management tools and processes.
• Lead client presentations and pitches.
• Manage matter lifecycle with focus on efficiencies.
• Train and mentor team members.

Skills

Strong communication skills

Attention to detail

Ability to influence

Organizational skills

Time management

Adaptability

Education

Strong academic background

Recognized Project Management qualification (PRINCE2)

Job description

ROLE OVERVIEW

We are offering a fantastic opportunity for a professional, engaging, experienced individual to join us as a Senior Legal Project Manager in our London-based Legal Project Management Team.

The Senior Legal Project Manager will work closely with the Legal Project Management team, matter partners, lead associates and business services including Business Development, Executive Assistants, the Billing & Costs Team, Pricing & Analytics and the Innovation Team.

The role of the Senior Legal Project Manager is to provide a first-rate client service in how our matters are delivered from scoping and planning through to matter review. The Senior Legal Project Manager will ensure that Slaughter and May’s best practices are consistently embedded in everything we do and that our client’s requirements are incorporated into this, meaning our client’s expectations are met and, where possible, exceeded.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

The key responsibilities of this role are set out below and there may be others which are not listed. You may be required on occasion to work outside our normal working hours of 9:30am to 5:30pm.

• Supporting our lawyers and clients on matters that are suitable for Senior Legal Project Management support. Driving the delivery of the matter in the most efficient manner, challenging and considering alternative workable methods of delivery to achieve this. Ensuring the client is at the forefront of everything we do.
• Setting up and maintaining legal project management tools and processes on matters, be it at the beginning of a matter or assisting with a particular workstream on a matter part way through. Working with the team to drive, influence, embed and support them with these tools and processes.
• Providing support on matters where the legal team are project managing the work.
• Supporting the Head of Legal Project Management across all strategic workstreams in the team.

The level and nature of the work will vary and includes :

• Leading on pitches and client presentations where input from the Legal Project Management team is required.
• Meeting with senior stakeholders to scope the matter, create financial agreements (including third party fees), assisting with resourcing considerations, engaging third parties and considering any technology that could be utilised.
• Assisting with planning the matter including ascertaining and incorporating client requirements throughout the matter, including client kick off meetings and team briefing meetings and ensuring third parties are engaged as part of the planning process.
• Managing the matter throughout the lifecycle, providing guidance, advice and oversight on scope, financials, planning, resourcing and ensuring there is a continuous focus on creating efficiencies, taking into account value add considerations throughout.
• Monitoring a matter throughout its cycle and including the timely conducting of a matter debrief.
• Developing, supporting and providing training to our trainees and lawyers on an ongoing basis to help instil the Slaughter and May approach to Legal Project Management.
• Achieving measurable success including providing a first rate client service, adding value (be it financial or other), creating cost savings and having excellent levels of engagement with all teams.
• Assisting with the drive to implement the strategic goals of the Legal Project Management team both client and internal facing.
• Being a trusted advisor on Legal Project Management within the team and the firm.
• Managing, mentoring and helping with the development of other members of the Legal Project Management team.

CANDIDATE PROFILE

Candidates for this position must have :

• At a minimum, be a Senior Legal Project Manager with circa 2 years’ experience in this role or a Legal Project Manager with a minimum of 4 years’ experience.
• Experience of working in a law firm directly with clients and senior stakeholders and taking responsibility for running matters single handed.
• A focused, organised and motivated individual who pays acute attention to detail, can work well under pressure, is able to time manage and multi-task and who takes responsibility for and pride in their performance.
• A confident and professional style with strong communication skills (both written and oral), the ability to influence, listen, adapt their communication style as required and show diplomacy and tact.
• Able to shape, communicate and promote best practice standards in legal project management, influencing others to gain their buy‑in or support. The ability to think outside the box and provide practical and workable solutions.
• The ability to challenge and make recommendations based on well‑reasoned commercial arguments as well as delivering and setting very high standards for the quality of work delivered in an organised and timely manner.
• Confident with law firm financial reporting including assisting with creating agreements, monitoring, reporting on, analysing and providing well‑reasoned advice on the same.
• The ability to absorb, digest, understand and share new information.
• A strong academic background.
• A recognised Project Management qualification, such as PRINCE2, is helpful but not essential.
• Experience in line management is preferable.
• A team player, who encourages and promotes collaborative working within the team and with all other teams across the firm.

We welcome applications irrespective of race, colour, ethnic or national origin, disability, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, religion, belief or marital status.