Executive Director of Partner Law Firm

Catalex Network; Phoenix (AZ); On-site; USD 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual bonus (30%)

Full benefits package

401(k)

Job summary

Catalex Network is seeking an Executive Director to lead the business side of a growing Phoenix firm, owning HR, operations, finance, IT, and back-office functions. You will execute with partners and Catalex, driving growth and efficiency.

This senior role requires 8+ years in operations leadership, with strong budgeting, billing, and tech fluency, including Clio and AI-assisted timekeeping, to deliver measurable bottom-line improvements.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of operations leadership.
• 3+ years running the business side of a law firm or professional services firm of 20+ people.
• Strong leadership ability and energy.
• Track record of owning a budget and growing bottom and top-line.
• Working knowledge of law-firm billing and collections; insurance defense and e-billing experience strongly preferred.
• Strong technology fluency; experience with Clio and AI-assisted timekeeping tools is a plus.
• Sound judgment, discretion, and ability to have direct conversations with attorneys and staff.

Responsibilities

• Own firmwide HR with support: drive strong performance management, engagement, and employee relations.
• Manage full-cycle recruiting and onboarding for paralegals, legal assistants, and staff, and partner with Catalex on attorney hiring.
• Direct daily business operations: office administration, facilities, business registrations, firm insurance, and records.
• Supervise billing, IT, and administrative staff and lead across departments (including owning the paralegal and legal assistant recruiting lines).
• Own the annual operating budget with the Managing Partners and Catalex.
• Drive the billing cycle through the finance lead — timely time entry, pre-bill review, carrier billing-guideline compliance, regular rate increase requests, e-billing submission, WIP follow-up, and collections.
• Manage IT workflows with the firm's IT manager and managed services provider, and drive adoption of practice management, AI-assisted timekeeping, and e-billing tools across the firm.
• Translate firm strategy into a clear one-page plan and quarterly OKRs, and hold the back office accountable to them.

Skills

Leadership

Budget management

Change management

Billing knowledge

Client billing guidelines

Technology fluency

Discretion/Judgment

Attorney communication

Tools

Clio

AI-assisted timekeeping tools

Job description

Catalex Network is a management services organization that partners with elite insurance defense law firms, bringing institutional-grade finance, technology, recruiting, and operating support to the firms we work with. We are conducting this search on behalf of one of our partner firms: a 50+ person insurance defense firm in Phoenix, Arizona, on a path to 100+ people. Firm information will be shared with candidates who advance in the process.

This is an opportunity to lead the business side of a growing firm and to fully own its P&L. You will have what most law firm administrators never get: the resources of a much larger organization behind you — Catalex's financial reporting, dashboards, technology platform, and attorney recruiting engine — paired with the authority to run the firm's operations and be held accountable for its results.

The Role

The Executive Director is the senior business executive of the firm. Reporting to Catalex leadership with a strong dotted line to the firm's equity partners, you will own people and HR, day-to-day administration, finance and billing workflows, technology, and the back-office team, and you will execute through team leads in finance, IT, and HR/administration. The role is hands-on and senior at the same time: you set the operating plan with the partners and Catalex, then you run it. If you have run operations for a law firm or professional services firm and want to own outcomes rather than support someone else who does, this is that job.

What You'll Do

• Own firmwide HR with support: drive strong performance management, engagement, and employee relations. Receive support from Catalex on payroll, benefits, and compliant employment practices.
• Manage full-cycle recruiting and onboarding for paralegals, legal assistants, and staff, and partner with Catalex on attorney hiring so headcount keeps pace with growth.
• Direct daily business operations: office administration, facilities, business registrations, firm insurance, and records.
• Supervise billing, IT, and administrative staff and lead across departments (including owning the paralegal and legal assistant recruiting lines).
• Own the annual operating budget with the Managing Partners and Catalex.
• Drive the billing cycle through the finance lead — timely time entry, pre-bill review, carrier billing-guideline compliance, regular rate increase requests, e-billing submission, WIP follow-up, and collections.
• Manage IT workflows with the firm's IT manager and managed services provider, and drive adoption of practice management, AI-assisted timekeeping, and e-billing tools across the firm.
• Translate firm strategy into a clear one-page plan and quarterly OKRs, and hold the back office accountable to them.

How Success Is Measured

You will have clear targets and the authority to hit them. The headline measure is growth in the firm's bottom line of 15% or more per year; supporting it are staffing ratios across the back office, firm eNPS, timely time entry and pre-bill review by all timekeepers, paralegal and attorney utilization, billing cycle time, realization and write-down rates, and audit readiness. Catalex provides the dashboards and reporting — you will not be building measurement systems from scratch. Your job is to run the firm off the numbers and move them.

Compensation

• 30% target annual bonus, based on the firm's bottom-line growth (15%+ per year) and the related operating KPIs above.
• Full benefits package, including medical, dental, vision, 401(k), and paid time off.

What You Bring

• 8+ years of operations leadership, including 3+ years running the business side of a law firm or professional services firm of 20+ people.
• Strong leadership ability and energy.
• A track record of owning a budget and growing both bottom and top-line.
• Working knowledge of law-firm billing and collections, including timekeeping standards, pre-bill review, and client billing guidelines; insurance defense and e-billing experience strongly preferred.
• Strong technology fluency and comfort leading change; experience with Clio and AI-assisted timekeeping tools is a plus.
• Sound judgment, discretion, and the ability to have direct conversations with attorneys and staff.

Why This Role

• Full ownership of the firm's P&L, with the bonus tied directly to growing it.
• The resources of a larger organization — Catalex's finance, reporting, technology, and recruiting support — so you can focus on people, execution, and results rather than building infrastructure.
• A growing firm with a clear mandate for change and leadership that wants an operator to drive it.
• A seat inside the Catalex network, with exposure to how a multi-firm platform is built and run.