Senior Manager, Practice Analytics & Profitability

Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP

California

Hybrid

USD 175,000 - 190,000

Full time

2 days ago

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Benefits offered by this job

Medical benefits

Retirement benefits

Hybrid work schedule

Job summary

Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP is seeking a Practice Analytics Senior Manager to lead the Practice Analytics team and partner with Practice Management leadership and Industry and Service Leaders. You will translate financial and operational data into actionable insights that support revenue growth, margin improvement, profitability, pricing, matter budgeting, forecasting, utilization and collections.

The role requires seven-plus years in financial analysis within professional services, strong

Qualifications

Seven plus years of progressive experience in practice management, pricing, FP&A or related financial analysis roles within a professional services environment.
Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Business or a related field; an advanced degree (MBA, JD or Master’s) is preferred.
Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to influence partners and collaborate effectively with Finance & Accounting, Billing, Attorney Development, Recruiting and other business professionals.
Must have exceptional organizational skills and strong attention to detail.
Demonstrated reliability and the ability to work both independently and collaboratively within a hybrid (remote and in-office) team environment.
The Firm operates on a hybrid work schedule requiring in-office presence Tuesday through Thursday, with optional remote work permitted on Mondays and Fridays. All employees must remain available for onsite work up to five days per week as business needs dictate. This schedule is subject to change; flexibility is required.
Demonstrated expertise in law firm financial performance drivers, including rate strategy, realization, leverage, utilization, matter profitability, WIP/AR management and collections.
Understanding of the financial performance metrics and levers critical to the successful operation of a client-centered professional services environment, preferably a partnership and/or law firm.
Proficiency with advanced functions of Excel and experience with legal financial/billing systems and reporting tools; strong Word and PowerPoint skills.
Ability to evaluate financial performance data and recommend proactive changes to improve revenue and profitability outcomes for assigned practice groups.
Executive presence and sound judgment; able to handle sensitive and confidential matters with discretion.
Self-directed with proven ability to prioritize competing demands, meet varying deadlines and drive improvements with limited direction.
Travel as necessary between firm office locations.

Responsibilities

Lead the Practice Analytics team and work closely with the Senior Director of Financial Analytics on the strategy and key initiatives of the team.
Serve as the lead analytical partner to assigned Industry and Service Leaders, providing insights and recommendations to support revenue growth, margin improvement and execution against annual targets.
Own practice group FP&A activities, including annual budgeting, rolling forecasts, variance analysis and KPI reporting.
Develop and maintain client/matter and timekeeper profitability models and reporting, including realization, leverage, utilization and effective rate; identify drivers and recommend corrective actions.
Oversee preparation of monthly and quarterly financial packages for leadership meetings; surface trends, risks and opportunities with clear narratives and recommendations.
Manage tracking and reporting of financial objectives; establish consistent definitions, dashboards and cadence for ongoing performance review.
Work with the Director of Financial Analytics on regularly scheduled reports and financial presentations for the Board of Directors.
Partner with Finance & Accounting and practice leadership to proactively address billing and collection performance, including aging review, action planning and escalation of at-risk matters.
Partner with Marketing and Business Development to create and implement strategic goals and track performance against those goals over time.
Monitor matter lifecycle financial health, including budget-to-actual, WIP, AR and write-downs/write-offs, and drive issue resolution with partners and billing teams.
Provide leadership in data integrity and financial process improvement related to matter setup, rate structures, budgeting tools and reporting workflows; ensure consistent adoption within assigned groups.
Coordinate resource planning and workload analysis for associates, staff attorneys, contract lawyers and paralegals to support utilization goals and efficient leverage.
Stay current on significant group developments, including new clients, key matters and lateral arrivals/departures, and translate impacts into financial and capacity implications.
Stay abreast of relevant industry and regional market trends and competitor developments, with a focus on rate, pricing and profitability benchmarks.
Support annual rate processes and practice-specific rate strategies in coordination with Finance and firm leadership.
Contribute financial diligence, modeling and onboarding support for lateral partners and portable practices, including performance tracking post-integration.