Business Development Senior Specialist, Americas Transactional Group

Baker McKenzie; New York (NY); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Baker McKenzie in New York seeks a Business Development Senior Specialist to support the North America transactional practice's BD strategy, focusing on client retention, growth, and market positioning across M&A and related areas.

You will collaborate with partners and the BD team to prepare pitches, proposals, RFPs, and marketing collateral, and help manage events and industry research. Strong communication and project management are essential.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in marketing, communications, business, or related field.
• Strong business development, marketing, or related experience in a legal or professional services environment.
• Experience supporting Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) practices; Healthcare & Life Sciences exposure preferred.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Self-motivated and able to work independently with minimal supervision.
• Well-developed organizational, communication, and interpersonal skills with ability to build relationships.
• Highly organized with strong project management and multitasking capabilities.
• Proficient in Outlook, Teams, Copilot, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Acrobat.

Responsibilities

• Assist with the development of proposals, pitches, RFPs, and client-facing materials, gathering practice descriptions, credentials, and matter details.
• Support QA and production of final work product to ensure accuracy and consistency with Firm standards.
• Collect, organize, and maintain transactional deal experience and representative matters.
• Work with BD team to maintain deal collection guidelines and track ongoing matters.
• Identify new business opportunities with clients and cross-sell with other groups.
• Develop and maintain digital and print marketing collateral, including capability statements and bios.
• Assist with directory submissions and relationships with Chambers, Legal 500, and other directories.
• Coordinate logistics for virtual and in-person Firm-sponsored events and client seminars.

Skills

BD experience

Legal services

M&A exposure

Communication skills

Independent worker

Organizational skills

Project management

Tech tools

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Tools

Outlook

Teams

Copilot

MS Word

Excel

PowerPoint

Adobe Acrobat

Job description

The Business Development Senior Specialist will support the implementation of the North America Transactional Practice business development strategy, with a focus on maximizing client retention, growth, and market positioning across M&A, private equity, reorganizations, and post-acquisition integration. Working closely with partners and the business development team, this role will contribute to pitches, proposals, RFPs, client and industry research, client relationship management, directory submissions, marketing collateral, profile-raising initiatives, and major events. The role will also help develop best practices and standard procedures for recurring business development activities.

Proposals and Strategic Client Development

• Assist with the development of proposals, pitches, RFP responses, and other client-facing materials, including gathering practice descriptions, representative matters, credentials, and relevant client/matter information.
• Support quality assurance and production of final work product to ensure accuracy, consistency, and alignment with Firm standards.
• Assist with collecting, organizing, and maintaining transactional deal experience and representative matters.
• Work with the Transactional BD team to maintain deal collection guidelines and track ongoing matters

Business Development

• Work with the Practice Group to identify new business opportunities with new and existing clients.
• Collaborate with other practice and industry groups to develop cross selling opportunities and support strategies to pursue them effectively.
• Develop and maintain digital and print marketing collateral for the Practice Group, including capability statements, representative experience, rankings and awards, lawyer biographies, and website content.
• Assist with directory submissions by collecting relevant content, preparing draft responses, tracking rankings and awards, and supporting relationships with key publications and directories, including Chambers and Legal 500.

Business Development and Marketing Collateral

• Coordinate with North America and Global BDMC teams on logistics and content for virtual and in-person Firm-sponsored events, client seminars, conferences, webinars, sponsorships, and related initiatives.
• Conduct client and company research, including Firm-specific information such as billings, matters, client teams, and relevant timekeepers, to support client relationship management and strategic targeting.

Directories

• Liaise with other practice and industry groups targeting the same clients to share information, coordinate outreach, and identify collaboration opportunities.
• Work with the communications team to identify relevant content for social media channels, client alerts, newsletters, and other profile-raising activities.
• Partner with North America and Global BDMC teams to organize logistics and develop content for virtual and in-person Firm-sponsored events.
• Work with lawyers on sponsorship and membership requests, including evaluating alignment with Practice Group priorities and business development objectives.
• Assess profile-raising opportunities against Practice Group strategic objectives, including sponsorships, conferences, memberships, associations, and related initiatives.
• Exchange information with other practice and industry groups targeting the same clients to support coordinated client relationship management.

Media and Communications

• Work with the communications team to identify and develop relevant content for social media channels and other external communications.

Profiling and Market Positioning

• Assess profile-raising opportunities against Practice Group strategic objectives, including sponsorships, conferences, memberships, associations, client alerts, and internal and external newsletters.

Brand Management

• Ensure the Firm’s brand and the Practice Group’s brand are consistently maintained across materials, communications, and client-facing initiatives.
• Coordinate with the Firm’s web support team to ensure website content remains current, accurate, and relevant.

Firm Positioning and Events

• Maintain the Practice Group’s mailing lists and related contact information.
• Work with local office resources to execute client seminars, conferences, webinars, internal meetings, sponsorships, partnerships with outside organizations, and other events requiring Firm or Practice Group participation.

Budget Management

• Support budget planning by developing business cases for budget requests, monitoring business development expenditures, and obtaining necessary approvals for Practice Group business development expenses.
• Monitor Practice Group business development expenditures and coordinate approvals for business development expenses with Practice Group managers.

Practice Group Administration

• Maintain Practice Group email distribution lists, calendars, intranet content, and matter database uploads, and perform other duties as assigned to support and advance regional strategy.
• Perform other duties as assigned to support and advance regional strategy.

Skills and experience:

• Bachelor’s degree required, preferably in marketing, communications, business, or a related field.
• Strong business development, marketing, or related experience, preferably in a legal or professional services environment.
• Experience supporting Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) practices is required; exposure to Healthcare & Life Sciences (HLS) is strongly preferred.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Self-motivated and able to work independently with minimal supervision.
• Well-developed organizational, communication, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build credibility, develop strong relationships, and work collaboratively with colleagues at all levels.
• Highly organized and detail-oriented, with strong project management skills and the ability to manage multiple priorities and competing deadlines.
• Strong technology skills, including proficiency with Outlook, Teams, Copilot, Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Adobe Acrobat, or similar tools.
• High level of discretion and diplomacy, with a commitment to maintaining confidentiality.
• High level of energy and persistence, with an understanding of the importance of delivering exceptional service to internal and external clients.