Senior Legal Project Manager

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher; New York (NY); On-site; USD 200,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health care

Retirement benefits

Paid time off (vacation & sick)

Parental leave

Basic life insurance

Flexible Spending Accounts

Performance bonuses

Job summary

Gibson Dunn is seeking a Senior Legal Project Manager based in New York or Washington, D.C., to lead a portfolio of high‑value matters, coordinate timelines and budgets, and deliver strategic guidance to partners and clients.

The role reports to the Director of Legal Project Management, mentors junior staff, and partners with Finance, Legal Operations, Business Development and Technology to optimize delivery and profitability.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in matter and/or portfolio management within a law firm.
• Experience mentoring or supervising junior project management professionals.
• Ability to influence senior partners and executive-level client stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead a complex portfolio of high-value matters, aligning timelines, budgets, resources and priorities.
• Serve as senior client contact with strategic insights and advisory recommendations.
• Develop and implement detailed matter plans with milestones and deliverables.
• Collaborate with senior stakeholders to ensure seamless progress and communication.
• Manage staffing, forecasting, and resource allocation across matters.
• Identify risks and develop mitigation strategies at matter and portfolio levels.
• Track budgets, forecast trends, and provide profitability recommendations.
• Prepare regular matter and portfolio reporting and executive summaries.
• Lead initiatives to streamline processes and adopt best practices.

Skills

Advanced Excel

Stakeholder management

Interpersonal skills

Project management

Education

PMP certification

Tools

MS Project

Asana

Job description

Gibson Dunn is a leading global law firm, advising clients on significant transactions and disputes. Our exceptional teams craft and deploy creative legal strategies that are meticulously tailored to every matter, however complex or high-stakes. The firm’s work is distinguished by a unique combination of precision and vision.

Based in New York or Washington, D.C., the Senior Legal Project Manager will be responsible for enhancing our client service delivery, driving operational efficiency, and elevating the firm’s legal project management capabilities. This senior position will take ownership of the firm’s largest and most complex legal matters within a defined portfolio of work, providing strategic guidance to partners and clients, mentoring junior team members, and ensuring that matters are delivered on time, within scope, and in line with client expectations.

This role reports to the Director, Legal Project Management.

Responsibilities

• Independently leading a complex portfolio of high-value matters, ensuring alignment across timelines, budgets, resources, and priorities; providing consolidated visibility to firm leadership and driving opportunities to improve performance and profitability.
• Serving as a senior point of contact for key clients on legal matter and portfolio delivery, including providing consolidated updates and strategic insights and advisory recommendations across the portfolio.
• Developing and implementing detailed matter plans, including timelines, milestones, and deliverables, for the firm’s most complex and high-stakes engagements to ensure successful execution.
• Collaborating with and influencing senior internal and external stakeholders, including relationship partners, client legal operations teams, and third-party vendors, to ensure seamless matter progress and effective communication.
• Managing resources across matters within the portfolio, balancing workloads, forecasting demand, and advising partners on optimal staffing to maximize delivery and efficiency.
• Identifying and assessing potential risks and proactively developing mitigation strategies to address matter and portfolio-level risks.
• Tracking, analyzing, and reporting on matter and portfolio-level budgets, including forecasting, trend analysis, profitability assessment, and recommendations to improve financial performance.
• Preparing regular matter and portfolio-level reporting, including dashboards, performance metrics, and executive summaries.
• Leading initiatives to streamline processes, reduce inefficiencies, and implement best practices in matter and portfolio management.
• Working closely with various internal departments such as Finance, Legal Operations, Business Development, Technology, and others to ensure effective coordination and alignment on matter requirements, resources, and objectives.
• Mentoring and coaching Legal Project Managers and Analysts, supporting onboarding and training, and contributing to the continued development of the firm’s LPM methodology, tools, and best practices.

Qualifications

• Demonstrated ability to work effectively under pressure in a fast-paced, high-stakes environment.
• Strong interpersonal skills with experience managing relationships and expectations with various stakeholders, including the ability to influence senior partners and executive-level client stakeholders.
• Advanced Excel skills with a proven ability to analyze data, create financial models, and produce insightful reports.
• Familiarity with project management methodologies (e.g., Agile, Waterfall) and tools (e.g., MS Project, Asana) is a plus; PMP or equivalent certification is preferred.

Experience

• A minimum of 8 years in matter and/or portfolio management within a law firm, with a proven record of independently managing large, complex matters and portfolios within a defined client or practice group.
• Experience mentoring, coaching, or supervising junior project management professionals and leading initiatives with minimal oversight.

Gibson Dunn will consider for employment qualified Applicants with Criminal Histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of local law.

The annual compensation range for this position is $200-230k. The salary offered within this range will depend upon qualifications and other operational considerations.

Benefits offered for this position include health care; retirement benefits; paid days off, including sick time, and vacation time; parental leave; basic life insurance; Flexible Spending Accounts; as well as discretionary, performance-based bonuses.

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For technical difficulties with our online application, please contact us at [e-mail]. Our recruiting support team will respond as soon as possible.

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Gibson Dunn is committed to ensuring equal employment opportunities for all qualified applicants, including individuals with disabilities. We strive to ensure an inclusive and accessible hiring experience. The Firm will provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities to enable participation in the application and recruitment process, unless doing so would impose an undue hardship, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.
If you require a reasonable accommodation to complete an application, participate in an interview, or otherwise take part in the recruitment process, please contact us at [e-mail]. Please note, this is a dedicated email inbox established exclusively to assist applicants with accommodation request related to the recruitment process. Inquiries about the status of an application or other non-accommodation matter will not receive a response.