Chief Operating Officer

Silverman Law Office, PLLC; Helena (MT); On-site; USD 160,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Silverman Law Office, PLLC in Helena, Montana seeks a Chief Operating Officer to serve as second-in-command to the CEO, translating the firm’s strategic vision into disciplined, day-to-day execution across all offices. The COO will own firm operations, EOS-based planning, financial oversight, and growth initiatives.

Human Resources is the defining priority; the role will own workforce planning, recruiting, onboarding, offboarding, performance management, compliance, and culture to build scalable

Qualifications

• 8–12+ years of leadership in a professional services, legal, or operations environment with significant HR leadership.
• Proven HR systems development for hiring, onboarding, performance management, policy, and compliance.
• Strong knowledge of employment law; Montana preference.
• Strong financial literacy including budgeting, P&L, and revenue analysis.
• EOS/Traction experience or willingness to become EOS-certified.
• Experience leading multi-office or geographically dispersed teams; law firm experience preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead HR across the firm: workforce planning, recruiting, onboarding and offboarding.
• Design performance reviews, career paths, training, and succession planning for attorneys and staff.
• Maintain HR policies and ensure compliance; lead investigations with discretion.
• Facilitate EOS across the firm: weekly leadership meetings and quarterly rocks.
• Oversee day-to-day operations across IT, supply chain, and admin; develop SOPs.
• Act as CFO-level: budgeting, financial reporting, and profitability by practice group and office.

Skills

HR leadership

HR systems

Employment law

Financial literacy

EOS/Traction

Executive presence

Law firm experience

Education

Bachelor’s degree in HR/Business

Master’s degree preferred

SHRM-SCP or SPHR certification preferred

Job description

Location: Helena, Montana (HQ), with regular travel to Bozeman, Billings, Butte, and Big Timber

Reports To: Joel Silverman, Founder, CEO & Managing Partner

Salary Range: $160,000 – $190,000 annually, commensurate with experience

ABOUT SILVERMAN LAW OFFICE

Silverman Law Office, PLLC is a Montana law firm with offices in Helena, Bozeman, Billings, Butte, and Big Timber. Over the past several years the firm has gone through a period of rapid growth in headcount, practice areas, and office locations. Our culture is built on three core values: Humble, Hungry, and Smart.

THE OPPORTUNITY

We are seeking a Chief Operating Officer (COO) to serve as second-in-command to the CEO and translate the firm’s strategic vision into disciplined, day-to-day execution across every office. The COO owns firm operations, strategic planning under the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS), financial oversight, and growth initiatives.

Human Resources is the defining priority of this role. The firm’s growth has outpaced the people systems that support it. The COO will personally own the Human Resources function end to end, including workforce planning, recruiting, onboarding and offboarding, performance management, compliance, employee relations, and culture. The goal is to build an HR infrastructure that can scale with the firm and keep it a place where high-caliber legal and administrative professionals choose to build their careers.

WHAT YOU WILL DO

Lead Human Resources

• Build and execute a strategic workforce plan aligned with the firm’s growth objectives and office expansion.
• Own full-cycle recruitment: job postings, screening, interviews, background checks, offer letters, and alignment letters, using structured, compliant, and equitable hiring practices.
• Run consistent onboarding and offboarding across all offices, including orientation, systems access, policy acknowledgment, exit interviews, and secure recovery of firm property and access.
• Design and administer performance reviews, career pathways, training, and succession planning for attorneys, paralegals, legal assistants, and administrative staff.
• Maintain the employee handbook and HR policies; ensure compliance with federal and Montana employment law; lead workplace investigations with impartiality and discretion.
• Track turnover, retention, and engagement data and act on the trends.

Drive Strategy & Operations

• Facilitate EOS across the firm: weekly leadership meetings, Quarterly Rocks, the scorecard, and Annual Planning.
• Oversee day-to-day operations across legal teams, IT, supply chain, and office administration; lead development and enforcement of firm-wide SOPs.
• Assume CFO-level responsibilities: budgeting, financial reporting, collections, A/R, and profitability by practice group and office.
• Partner with the CMO on market development, geographic expansion, new practice areas, lateral hiring, and strategic partnerships.
• Chair the Monday Morning Meeting in the CEO’s absence and lead the Monthly Attorney Meeting; support the Summer Associate Program.

WHAT YOU BRING

• 8–12+ years of progressive leadership experience in a professional services, legal, or operations environment, including significant hands‑on HR leadership.
• A track record of building structured HR systems (hiring, onboarding, performance management, policy, compliance) in a growing organization.
• Strong knowledge of employment law and compliance requirements; familiarity with Montana employment law, including the Wrongful Discharge from Employment Act, strongly preferred.
• Strong financial literacy, including P&L management, budgeting, and revenue analysis.
• EOS / Traction experience, or willingness to become EOS-certified.
• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related field (Master’s preferred), or equivalent experience. SHRM‑SCP or SPHR certification preferred.
• Experience leading multi-office or geographically dispersed teams; law firm experience preferred.
• Executive presence, sound judgment, high emotional intelligence, and absolute discretion with confidential matters.