Chief Operating Officer (COO)

Melone Hatley; Virginia Beach (VA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 300,000; Full time

Job summary

Melone Hatley, P.C. seeks a results-driven Chief Operating Officer to translate high-level firm strategy into disciplined daily execution across all offices and departments.

The COO will lead and mentor office leaders, standardize SOPs, optimize processes, monitor workflows with Managing Attorneys for 90%+ billable utilization, and partner on budgets to protect margins. Strong financial acumen and legal industry experience are required.

Qualifications

• Executive leadership experience across multi-site operations.
• Experience in legal operations or multi-location professional services.
• Strong financial acumen with P&Ls, budgets and headcount modeling.
• Ability to build scalable operational frameworks and leverage automation.

Responsibilities

• Lead and mentor office leaders and department managers.
• Standardize SOPs and drive process optimization.
• Monitor workflows with Managing Attorneys and target 90%+ utilization.
• Manage budgets, Revenue per FTE and margins.
• Ensure cross-functional alignment across departments.
• Oversee facilities, IT resources, and vendor contracts.

Skills

Executive leadership

Legal operations

Budget analysis

Process optimization

Systems thinking

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business Administration

MBA or JD preferred

Tools

Legal tech

Job description

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Job Title: Chief Operating Officer (COO)

Company: Melone Hatley, P.C.

Location: On-Site in Virginia Beach or Remote (with regional travel)

Melone Hatley, P.C. is seeking an experienced, results-driven Chief Operating Officer (COO) to translate high-level firm strategy into disciplined, profitable, and scalable daily execution across all offices and departments.

Reporting directly to the Owner/CEO, you will hold enterprise-wide authority over multi-location legal operations, process standardization, cross-department handoffs, facilities, and capacity management.

Key Responsibilities

Operational Leadership: Lead and mentor office leaders and department managers, driving a culture of high performance, accountability, and independent problem-solving.

Process & System Optimization: Centralize, audit, and enforce standard operating procedures (SOPs), identifying root-cause friction points and leveraging automation to boost efficiency.

Legal Production & Utilization: Partner with Managing Attorneys to monitor workflows, track case progression, and maintain target capacity (aiming for 90%+ billable utilization).

Financial Accountability: Partner with the CEO and CFO to manage annual budgets, monitor Revenue per FTE, optimize Average Case Value, and protect office-level net margins.

Cross-Functional Alignment: Remove bottlenecks between Legal, Intake/Sales, Marketing, HR, IT, and Finance to ensure clean operational handoffs and minimize executive escalations.

Infrastructure & Procurement: Oversee facility expansions, physical security, IT resources, and vendor contracts across all regional footprints.

Core Performance Metrics (KPIs)

Your impact is measured through clear, results-oriented benchmarks:

Firm Growth & Capacity (60%): Revenue per FTE, Average Case Value, legal staff utilization ($\ge$90%), office-level net profitability, and attorney retention (<12% annual attrition).

Operational Health (40%): Process standardization, leadership accountability, cross-department throughput, facility readiness, and escalation reduction.

Qualifications

Executive Experience: Proven track record in a senior operations leadership role (COO, VP of Operations, Director of Operations) managing managers across multiple sites.

Industry Background: Strong preference for experience in legal operations, law firm management, or multi-location professional services.

Financial Acumen: Deep competency analyzing P&Ls, budgets, headcount modeling, and utilization metrics.

Systems Architect: Demonstrated ability to build, document, and scale repeatable operational frameworks and leverage legal tech/automation.

Education: Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Operations, or related field required; MBA or J.D. strongly preferred (active bar license not required unless supervising legal representation).

Ready to Scale With Us?

Base Salary: $150K and up to $300K with Bonuses.