Senior Legal Project Manager

Dentons; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Dentons is seeking a Senior Legal Project Manager to join our Legal Project Management team. You will report to the Head of LPM and support offices across the UK, Ireland and Middle East, delivering complex legal projects with efficiency and risk management in mind.

In this client-facing role, you will work with Partners and matter teams to lead, oversee and co-ordinate the delivery of legal work, drive continuous improvement of LPM methodologies, and align with business development and IT teams

Qualifications

• A good academic record, preferably graduate level.
• At least 6 years experience in a global law firm, or equivalent in professional services.
• Strong budgeting and numeracy skills.
• Effective communication and stakeholder management at all levels.
• Experience leading a team and developing juniors.
• Proficiency with MS Office and legal tech systems.

Responsibilities

• Define scope and governance for matters across the full lifecycle.
• Budget, plan, monitor progress and finances; manage risks.
• Lead and train junior LPM staff and ensure quality output.
• Engage Partners and clients; drive strategic initiatives.
• Identify opportunities to win work and expand LPM adoption.
• Collaborate with divisions to implement technology-enabled solutions.

Skills

Legal project management

Budgeting

Stakeholder management

Leadership

MS Office

Legal technology

Communication

Education

Graduate level degree

Tools

Word

Excel

PowerPoint

Visio

Job description

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Department:Senior Legal Project Management

Duration: Permanent

Reports to: Head of LPM

Reference number: 10894

Role Purpose

The legal services market is experiencing a period of notable change, determined by growing expectations, technological development, and an evolving competitor marketplace. Increasingly our clients are approaching us to provide innovative solutions to enable them improve efficiency, reduce risk, and gain strategic advantages. Accordingly, we have an opportunity for a Senior Legal Project Manager to join our Legal Project Management (LPM) team, reporting to the Head of LPM. This role will support our offices across the UK, Ireland and Middle East.

Our LPM Team sits with the newly created Solutions function alongside our Innovation and AI team, the Legal Delivery Centre and the eDisclosure team. Solutions supports initiatives designed to improve Practice Group productivity and profitability, and alongside our Practice Groups and Helix, support the development of client facing products or services, particularly AI enabled, enhancing the overall client experience.

The LPMs work alongside our legal delivery teams in a client facing role. You will work closely with Partners, matter teams and clients to lead, oversee and co-ordinate the delivery of legal work to solve client's complex legal challenges. Our goal is to focus on all aspects of delivery, process improvement and innovation, providing clients with an exemplary level of service throughout the full matter lifecycle.

We are looking for a motivated candidate with a legal project management background who has experience in delivering complex projects and implementing change.

Duties & Responsibilities

You will provide high quality project management and consulting support and will work closely with Partners and Associates across the various practice groups within Dentons. You will provide our legal teams and clients with expert knowledge on the use of LPM tools and techniques. Specifically, you will:

• Work closely with senior stakeholders across the full lifecycle of matters to define scope, design governance structures, build and set up budgets, conduct planning, monitor progress and financials, conduct risk management, manage resources, and work allocation, control scope change and complete reporting.
• As a Senior LPM, you will be expected to manage juniors on the team and will be responsible for their development and output. This will include providing training and quality control.
• Setting the standards of LPM, our Senior LPMs are expected to lead engagement with Partners and clients alike. This includes being responsible for strategic initiatives and complex, high-profile projects and matters.
• Our Senior LPMs are expected to 'win work' for the LPM team, proactively working across the firm to identify opportunities where the team can be brought to bear to support our clients and legal teams.
• Act as a Divisional Solutions representative where you will be expected to build relationships across a Division or Practice Group to identify opportunities and drive adoption of Solutions across the firm.
• Understand process, technology, people, and data trends and identify and implement improvements into working practices.
• Collaborate with other departments involved in the delivery process; notably Business Development, Innovation, Accounts, IT (Information Technology) & Practice Development.
• Provide matter teams with LPM knowledge and support with tools, templates, and legal tech systems.
• Lead initiatives to drive continuous development and improvement of LPM methodologies and processes; Build significant working relationships with stakeholders and identify opportunities to grow LPM within the Firm.
• Work very closely with the Innovation and AI team to identify opportunities to implement technology solutions to solve real problems for our lawyers and clients.

Role Requirements

• A good academic record, preferably of graduate level.
• At least 6 years experience gained within a global law firm. Exceptional candidates will be considered who have gained their experience within a financial or professional services environment but strong preference is for candidates with prior experience within a Legal Project Management team.
• Highly organised and proactive with the ability to prioritise and evaluate tasks in a progressive and collaborative environment.
• Experience leading a team, excellent attention to detail, strong budgeting and numeracy skills.
• Effective communication, presentation, and stakeholder management skills with the ability to confidently interact at all levels.
• Ability to think strategically and pragmatically whilst being willing to challenge and question assumptions and propose alternative solutions to problems.
• Competent with MS Office tools (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Visio) with an excellent understanding of technology, preferably Legal Technology.

Firm Profile

Across more than 80 countries, Dentons helps you grow, protect, operate and finance your organisation by providing uniquely global and deeply local legal solutions. Polycentric, purpose-driven and committed to inclusion, diversity, equity and sustainability, we focus on what matters most to you. www.dentons.com

Inclusion and Diversity

We are committed to building an inclusive culture here at Dentons where our people can thrive, regardless of their background or circumstance. As well as being the right thing to do, it makes good business sense too. A richness of backgrounds, experiences and perspectives helps us best serve our clients and the communities in which we operate. You can find out more about inclusion and diversity at Dentons here: Inclusion and Diversity

Dentons is committed to providing equal opportunities for all. We welcome applications from everyone including of any age, ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, nationality, neurotype, disability, or with parental or caring responsibilities. We are also “Happy to Talk Flexible Working” and welcome conversations about flexible working arrangements.

Dentons is a Disability Confident employer. Candidates with a disability may choose to apply under the Disability Confident Scheme. We will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the role. Where application volumes are high, we may offer interviews to those who best meet the minimum criteria, consistent with our approach for all candidates.

During the application process, all applicants have the opportunity to tell us about any adjustments or support they require so they are able to perform at their best. Any information you share with us during the application process is treated in confidence.