Business Development Manager

Sacbar; California (MO); On-site; USD 90,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Sacbar seeks a Manager, Business Development to support revenue growth across litigation-focused practices. You will coach lawyers, prepare pitches, craft materials, and coordinate with marketing and practice groups to drive strategic opportunities.

In this role you will monitor industry trends, identify client development opportunities, mentor coordinators, and ensure timely delivery of proposals, RFPs, and client alerts across offices.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required, preferably with writing, research, marketing or business focus.
• Five or more years of marketing, business development, or client service experience.
• MBA or JD a plus, law firm or professional services exp.

Responsibilities

• Pitch, RFP, and presentation support: provide coaching to lawyers, draft scripts, outline presentations, create pitch material, vet questions, assess strategy, manage projects.
• BD opportunity spotting: monitor industry and client developments, identify and communicate opportunities to BD team and leadership.
• Strengthen practice/industry knowledge to exceed BD support expectations.
• BD coaching and strategy: assist lawyers in identifying and pursuing BD prospects and maintaining client relationships.
• Practice groups/client teams: coordinate with practice management to deliver proactive support and elevate partner expectations to drive demand.
• Intelligence gathering: collect competitive intelligence and solicit client feedback after pitches/proposals.
• Research and analysis: work with CI team to deliver market and landscape research and insights for client development plans.
• Management and leadership: oversee and mentor client development coordinators in drafting pitches, RFPs, events, and content.
• Marketing collateral and biographies: ensure up-to-date bios, practice descriptions, and office descriptions.
• Directories and surveys: respond to directories and rankings; coordinate regional awards.
• Client alerts, newsletters, CLEs, and other services: produce branded client alerts, newsletters, CLE trainings, and non-CLE webinars; coordinate events.
• Internal and external communications: liaise with communications team to raise profiles of groups and partners.
• Speaking engagements and article placements: identify opportunities for speaking and article placements.

Education

Bachelor's degree

Job description

The Manager, Business Development is responsible for helping the firm’s partners drive revenue through the support and facilitation of targeted business development activities, including strategy development and target identification. This position will be assigned select practice and/or industry groups and/or client teams, and, in many respects, will act as a gateway to all of the services offered by the Business Development & Marketing Department. This role will have a particular focus on the litigation-oriented practices and offerings.

This role may be filled in any of our U.S. offices. Compensation will be determined based on the selected candidate's experience, qualifications, and location.

• Pitch, RFP, and Presentation Support: Provide thorough and proactive presentation and pitch support and coaching to the lawyers. This may include drafting and defining pitch meeting scripts and roles, outlining presentations, creating pitch material, vetting and crafting pre-presentation questions, assessing strategy, managing projects, and more.
• Business Development Opportunity Spotting: Monitor industry, client, and legal developments and trends, identify and communicate potential opportunities to the Business Development & Marketing (“BDM”) Department and firm leadership, as well as lawyers.
• Strengthen Practice/Industry Knowledge: Build upon existing industry and practice group knowledge in order to exceed expectations for business development support; as business development professionals, consistently ask questions and actively listen to lawyers in order to bolster knowledge of practice and industry nuances, providing added value in pitches, proposals, presentations, and competitive intelligence.
• Business Development Coaching and Strategy: Assist/guide lawyers in identification and pursuit of business development prospects, along with maintenance of existing client relationships. Provide insight on relationship expansion opportunities, as well as oversight on conflict issues and other potential business development challenges.
• Practice Groups and Client Teams: In coordination with practice management business professionals and business development professionals, ensure that practice groups and client teams receive proactive support in driving strategic initiatives forward and elevating expectations of partners to drive demand.
  Intelligence Gathering: Collect competitive intelligence following each pitch/proposal by working with the lawyers to solicit client feedback and to evaluate successes, shortcomings, and areas for improvement in the pitch process.
• Research and Analysis: Work with the competitive intelligence team to deliver proactive client, prospect, region, office, competitor, and industry research to meet the client development needs of the firm’s partners as outlined in client development and strategic plans. Develop and maintain an understanding of the market for legal and associated services as well as a keen understanding of the competitive landscape.
• Management and Leadership: Oversee, manage, and mentor client development coordinators in their roles with respect to drafting and editing pitches and proposals, RFPs, event management, firm content and thought leadership, sponsorship management, and more.
• Marketing Collateral and Lawyer Biographies: Work with assigned lawyers to ensure that biographies, practice descriptions, and office descriptions, among others, are up-to-date and ready for distributions and web publication.
• Directories and Surveys: Respond to directories and surveys such as Chambers and other directories, in addition to certain regional awards and rankings.
  Client Alerts, Newsletters, CLEs, and Other Value-Added Services: Work with the firm’s lawyers to issue branded client alerts, newsletters, CLE trainings, and non-CLE webinars. Develop and coordinate programs and events in local office and for virtual audiences.
• Internal and External Communications: Liaise with the communications team to raise profiles of practice groups, offices, individual partners, and the firm, as identified in business and strategic plans.
• Speaking Engagements and Article Placements: Assist the partners and laise with the communications team in identifying valuable opportunities for speaking engagements and article placement.

QUALIFICATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS

• Bachelor’s degree is required, preferably in a discipline requiring writing, research and analysis, marketing or business.
• Five or more years of marketing, business development, or client service experience.
• Candidates with MBAs or JDs are a plus, law firm or professional services experience preferred.
• Proactive planning and opportunity spotting
• Highly organized with strong creative abilities
• Strong verbal and written skills
• Ability to work with highest levels of firm management
• Ability to multi-task and prioritize work
• Savvy technological skills
• Self-starter, motivated individual willing to go the extra mile to get the job done
• Solid team player with ability to work with a multi-disciplinary team
• Ability to direct work effort and mentor peers and subordinates
• Analytical in formulating solutions to problems
• Ability to work both independently and take direction as required
• Credible personal presence and confidence
• Quick understanding of the firm’s goals, service, culture and strategy
• Experience supporting Business Development related to litigation is a plus