Legal Project Manager

Fisher Phillips LLP; United States; Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Fisher Phillips LLP is seeking an early-career Legal Project Manager to help develop, build, and oversee legal project management initiatives across the firm. You will focus on people, process, and technology solutions to enhance client experience.

The role requires supporting project stages, budgeting, and reporting, with a view to profitability. Hybrid or remote work is available to candidates in the U.S. near an office.

Qualifications

• Three to five years of experience working in a law firm, with a focus on legal project management.
• Experience supporting project management stages, budgeting, and reporting.
• Ability to develop relationships with firm management, attorneys and committees.

Responsibilities

• Assist with management and delivery of work for large client engagements within budgets.
• Implement internal tools for litigation portfolios, including milestone tracking and automation.
• Create scoping and scheduling frameworks and maintain related tools.
• Assist with matter budget templates and budget-to-actual reporting.
• Develop client service summaries and perform quality control to meet needs.
• Monitor KPIs, prepare progress reports, and propose efficiency improvements.
• Collaborate with pricing and client accounting on billing arrangements.
• Translate financial data into actionable plans to improve revenue and profitability.
• Identify opportunities to improve delivery via technology, processes, and staffing.
• Help establish client-based core teams and educate them on processes.
• Develop and communicate lessons learned to clients and stakeholders.
• Support evaluation and implementation of matter-management tools and ensure usage.

Skills

Legal project management

Budgeting

Financial reporting

Stakeholder management

MS Office proficiency

Tools

Billing systems

Matter management software

Job description

Work Arrangement: Hybrid or Remote (Open to candidates located in the U.S. near an existing Fisher Phillips office.)

Fisher Phillips, a premier international labor and employment law firm, is seeking an early-career Legal Project Manager to collaborate on the development, building, and oversight of various legal project management initiatives throughout the firm, focusing on "people, process, and technology" solutions to enhance our clients’ experience.

The successful candidate will bring foundational experience in supporting the well-established project management stages for legal work (e.g., scoping/initiating, planning, executing, monitoring/controlling, and closing); an eagerness to learn financial reporting and portfolio management; an emerging understanding of the levers that affect the profitability of legal work; and the ability to develop strong working relationships and credibility with firm management, leaders, attorneys, and committees across the firm.

Key Responsibilities

• Assisting with the management and delivery of work for large client engagements to ensure consistent service delivery, effective resource management, timely internal and client-facing reporting, and success working within budgets.
• Implementation of internal firm tools for large litigation portfolios, including milestone tracking databases, document automation, and other financial and non-financial tools designed to improve efficiency.
• Assisting with the creation of project management scoping and scheduling frameworks, and the associated maintenance and tracking of those tools.
• Working with the Director of Legal Project Management to create matter budget templates, building out and implementing budget-to-actual reporting and technology, monitoring budget-to-actual performance, and intervening when appropriate to develop solutions.
• Creating summaries of client service expectations and statements of work and performing quality control to ensure those needs are being met.
• Monitoring leverage, staffing, and other financial KPIs for key clients, developing progress reports and watch lists, and working with the Director of Legal Project Management on methods for effectuating needed improvements.
• Working with the Strategic Pricing and Client Accounting departments to understand and ensure effective implementation of complex billing arrangements.
• Communicating financial information and data to non-financial personnel effectively, and translating that information and data into clear and concise action plans leading to the improvement of efficiency, revenue generation, and profitability.
• Identifying opportunities for improved efficiencies in the delivery of work via technology, processes, and staffing, and working with the Director of Legal Project Management, partners, and other key stakeholders to implement those changes.
• Working with the Director of Legal Project Management and other key stakeholders to establish client-based core teams of attorneys and paralegals to handle work more efficiently and effectively, and then designing processes to ensure the ongoing education of those core client teams.
• Assisting with the development and implementation of solutions to identify and communicate “lessons learned” to clients.
• Participating in the evaluation and implementation of matter-management and other technologies and then building out processes to make sure that they are being used appropriately.
• Monitoring write-downs and write-offs on client work and investigating root causes.
• Working with the Director of Legal Project Management to promote better revenue capture initiatives, including improved time narratives, task codes, and better and more efficient identification of flat-fee, carve-out, or other alternative-fee billing events.
• Partnering with the various other departments and business units within the Firm to provide project management support, including with the Firm’s Litigation Paralegal Manager, Data Analytics Team, eDiscovery, and the Knowledge Management/Innovation team.
• Along with the Chief Legal Operations Officer, Director of Legal Project Management, Knowledge Management team, and Finance group, assisting with the development of the systems and processes for delivering data-driven insights and presentations to clients.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Excellent interpersonal skills, and an ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with internal and external personnel.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Ability to delegate, manage resources, and effectively get work done through others.
• Ability to think creatively and to innovate in a fast-paced environment subject to change, new technologies, and market disruptions.
• Highly organized with the ability to effectively manage various projects and prioritize multiple assignments to meet deadlines.
• Strong organizational and analytical skills with exceptional attention to detail.
• Must possess superior judgment and discretion and be able to protect and maintain sensitive and highly confidential information.
• Ability and flexibility to travel to Firm offices and events, as needed.

Education, Experience & Certification Requirements

• Three to five years of experience working in a law firm (legal project management experience preferred.)
• Prior experience in a large law firm strongly preferred.
• Previous experience working directly with attorneys on matter and portfolio-level financial levers and profitability.
• Previous experience with law firm billing systems, alternative fee arrangements, and financial reporting.
• Demonstrated success establishing, developing, and managing legal project management initiatives in a national, multi-office environment.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications, including Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Excel in order to independently produce quality communications and presentations.

Compensation

The typical hiring range for this position is $110,000 - $140,000, though salaries up to $150,000 may be considered for candidates in high-cost markets or those with advanced experience. Actual base pay will vary by region and will be determined by several factors, including location, relevant experience, internal equity, skills, qualifications, and other job-related considerations permitted by law.

Qualified applications with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with both the FCO and the California Fair Chance Act (FCA).

Why Join Us

At Fisher Phillips, we recognize that exceptional talent is the foundation of our success, enabling us to deliver outstanding service to both our internal and external clients. Joining our team means collaborating in a professional yet dynamic environment that leverages cutting-edge technology. Our leadership is committed to fostering your professional growth and providing opportunities to challenge yourself in meaningful ways.

We believe in rewarding talent with more than just a competitive salary. Our comprehensive benefits package includes health, dental, and vision insurance, a 401(k) with profit sharing, 18 days of vacation, 10 accrued sick days, and 10 paid holidays per benefit year.

Your well-being is our priority. We offer 24/7 telehealth services, a variety of wellness programs, and additional optional benefits designed to support your unique lifestyle. At Fisher Phillips, you’ll find a workplace that values your health, happiness, and continued professional development. To learn more about our firm, visit us at www.fisherphillips.com .

Equal Opportunity Employer

Fisher Phillips is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, sex (including related medical conditions), gender, sexual orientation, national origin, citizenship status, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy, age, disability, or any other protected status, in compliance with all applicable laws.

The statements in this position description are not necessarily all-inclusive. Additional duties and responsibilities may be assigned, and requirements may vary from time to time.